Kiambu registers land agents to curb fraud

Land Governor Ferdinand Waititu. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Kiambu County said it will, in the next three months, register all brokers to mitigate against fraud it estimates at Sh3 billion annually.
  • Governor Ferdinand Waititu said this will make it possible for the devolved unit to rein in rogue dealers whose only agenda is fraud.

Kiambu County is set to tighten regulation on property brokers weeks after it was reported as the only Nairobi neighbourhood to record a drop in quarter three prices of land.

The county said it will, in the next three months, register all brokers to mitigate against fraud it estimates at Sh3 billion annually.

The move targeting elimination of briefcase operatives comes after Hassconsult reported prices in the county—previously fast rising—had fallen particularly due to restriction on conversion of agricultural land to real estate.

Limuru sub-county was hardest hit with a 5.7 per cent fall.

Governor Ferdinand Waititu said this will make it possible for the devolved unit to rein in rogue dealers whose only agenda is fraud.

“We are going to register all of them. We want to be aware of your office, the deals you are in, whether those properties you are offering in the market are genuine. We will assume the role of final authority on their authenticity,” he said.

Mr Waititu noted that there was an increase of court cases touching on land fraud in Kiambu.

“Within three months, we will have registered all of them and feed the information on an e-platform. We will be demanding an updated list of properties they are placing in the market and before any transaction gets through, we will be giving the go-ahead,” Mr Waititu said.

Potential customers will have a customer care desk at the county where they will be registering the intended transactions with Kiambu property brokers.

“For a fee of Sh100, we will be executing searches for them and following it up with authenticating transaction documents. Land registries are devolved units and as a county government, we will bring sanity in this sector,” he said.

He said malpractices had threatened the local real estate sector for the past five years.