Practice Areas / Real Estate
Real Estate
Kenya's real estate market is one of the most active in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the most legally complex. Title fragmentation, leasehold conversions, sectional property registrations, and…
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Overview
Kenya's real estate market is one of the most active in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the most legally complex. Title fragmentation, leasehold conversions, sectional property registrations, and the transition to the National Land Information Management System mean that every transaction carries risk if legal due diligence is not properly conducted.
Clay & Associates Advocates advises buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, developers, and financiers across the full spectrum of real estate transactions and disputes. We conduct title searches, advise on encumbrances, prepare and negotiate transaction documents, and act in real estate disputes before the Environment and Land Court.
What we do
9 service lines. Select one to see what it covers.
Real EstateResidential & Commercial Property Transactions
We advise buyers and sellers in residential and commercial property transactions from offer to completion. Our work includes title due diligence, sale agreement drafting and negotiation, stamp duty advice, transfer documentation, and registration with the Lands Registry. We advise on leasehold conversions and extension of government leases.
Real EstateLand Law & Title Regularisation
We advise on title regularisation for properties with historical ownership issues, multiple registered interests, or incomplete registration. We advise on first registration, mutation surveys, subdivision, amalgamation, and conversion from old title systems to the Land Registration Act 2012 framework.
Real EstateCommercial & Residential Leasing
We draft and negotiate commercial leases for office, retail, and industrial premises, and residential tenancy agreements. We advise landlords and tenants on rent review clauses, service charge disputes, dilapidations, subletting and assignment, break clauses, and the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act 1965 where applicable.
Real EstateReal Estate Finance & Security
We advise banks, DFIs, and borrowers on property financing arrangements including facility agreements, legal charges, debentures, and priority security arrangements. We advise on security creation, registration with the Companies Registry and the Lands Registry, and enforcement of security including statutory power of sale and receivership.
Real EstateReal Estate Development Advisory
We advise property developers on project structuring, land acquisition, planning permissions, environmental impact assessments, construction contracts under the FIDIC and NEC frameworks, and off-plan sale agreements. We advise on sectional property registration under the Sectional Properties Act 2020.
Real EstateLand Disputes & Compulsory Acquisition
We handle land disputes including adverse possession, boundary disputes, riparian rights claims, and caution removals before the Environment and Land Court and the National Land Commission. We advise landowners on compulsory acquisition by the government, including compensation assessments, objection procedures, and appeals before the NLC and the ELC.
Real EstateReal Estate Investment Structures
We advise on the structuring of real estate investments through special purpose vehicles, real estate investment trusts (REITs) under the CMA framework, and joint venture arrangements. We advise family offices and institutional investors on portfolio structuring and exit planning.
Real EstateStrata & Sectional Properties
We advise on the creation, management, and disputes within strata schemes and sectional property developments under the Sectional Properties Act 2020. We advise on management company formation, by-law drafting, owners' corporation governance, and disputes between unit owners.
Real EstateAgricultural Land & Conservation
We advise on the acquisition, leasing, and use of agricultural land, including compliance with the Land Control Act (land control board consents), the Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Act, and conservation easements. We advise on community land matters under the Community Land Act 2016.
Most matters cross two or three of these.
Describe the situation in your own words. We will tell you what it actually involves, which services it touches, and what it will cost, before you commit to anything.
Why clients instruct us for real estate
Four commitments specific to this practice.
Title diligence before commitment
Searches across Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado and the wider country, at published fixed fees.
Scale fees applied openly
Conveyancing follows the ARO scale and we tell you the number before you instruct.
The transaction and the dispute in one team
The advocates who handle your conveyance also run land disputes, so risk is spotted while it is still avoidable.
Institutional and individual work side by side
From a first home to commercial leasing portfolios, with the same standard of diligence.
Latest Insights
Discover more
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Real EstatePublic Land Allocation Disputes in KenyaPublic land allocation disputes are common enough in Kenya that a parcel everyone in the area understood to…27 Aug 2026
Real EstateGroup Ranch Subdivision and Conversion to Freehold Title in KenyaMany families who hold land through an old group ranch title assume that converting it into individual freehold…27 Aug 2026
Real EstateCaveats and Cautions on Title: What Kenyan Law Actually RequiresCaveats and cautions on title are terms clients use interchangeably, and getting the distinction right matters. A property…27 Aug 2026
Real EstateStamp Duty on Property Transactions in Kenya: Rates, Exemptions and Valuation DisputesNo property transfer in Kenya completes without stamp duty, and few costs in a transaction are as often…27 Aug 2026
Real EstateNon-Citizen Land Ownership: Leasehold Limits Under the Land ActNon-citizen land ownership in Kenya runs on a clock. Every non-citizen who holds land here, whether an individual…27 Aug 2026
Real EstateBoundary Disputes and the Environment and Land Court: A Property Owner’s GuideA neighbour's fence has crept two metres onto what your title says is your land. Or a family…27 Aug 2026Get in touch
Tell us what you are working on. You will get a clear view of what the matter involves and what it costs before you commit to anything.
- &Your consultation fee is credited in full against your engagement fee
- &Scope, approach and fee confirmed in writing before work begins
- &Our full fee schedule is published online
- &Nextgen Mall, 5th Floor Suite 6, Mombasa Road, Nairobi
What clients say
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