The Ministry of Lands has proposed new changes that would increase land transaction fees, which could hit Kenyans who are already ravaged by rising cost of living and increased taxes.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has proposed amendments to the law, increasing some land charges that have not been revised for decades.
''The main objective of the proposed statutory instruments is to amend the existing state instruments that have not been updated for a long time, especially in respect of fees and charges prescribed for various services rendered by the Government in the land sector,'' the CS stated.
An official search of land has been revised to 2,000 while Registration of documents will be charged at Ksh 1,500 as well as corporation of certificate fees.
The ministry has also hiked fees for incorporation of trust from the previous Ksh 5,000 to Ksh 50,000.
In her proposals, the application for certified copies of the proceedings that arise from the determination of the land registrar has been revised to Ksh 3000 for the first 10 pages. Applicants will be charged Ksh 100 for any additional page.
Resubmission for registration of any document will cost Ksh 1,500 while correction of name that has not been done by the registrar will cost Ksh 2,500. Revocation of power of the attorney will cost Ksh 5,000.
Confirmation of boundary disputes will now cost Ksh 5,000 whereas fixing boundaries will be charged at Ksh 5,000. Placement of a caution will cost Ksh 3,000.
Any land registry that spends a day outside the office will cost Kenyans Ksh 5,000 same as transport while offering registry advice.
According to the ministry the revisions have been done since there haven't been major updates for over 30 years.
The proposals come on the back of a recent rush by the government to increase taxes and charges for major services.
Recently, the Ministry of Interior gazetted a list of revised charges on various government services including acquiring citizenship, replacement of an ID, and acquiring passports among other services.
