Protecting your land

Any valuable possession MUST be protected in every way possible, lest someone snatches it. You have to do everything possible to protect what is yours. Some people even go to extremes of killing. People don’t joke.

When it comes to land ownership and protection, an identification has to be made. Land isn’t given names like people or animals, but land is measured and given a proper documentation called a land tittle.

I will broadly put the aspect of land titles in 2 simple forms. Freehold and leasehold. Leasehold is what existed before the land act of 1998 when people picked up the freehold aspect . With leasehold, someone owned land up to a number of years say 99 or 125 years, and had to renew the land title and hold it for another long period. With freehold, someone gets a land title which makes this land free to holding by other people. One land title works for a life time. Changes can occur if you sell part of this land, transfer it to your children or any organisations. Then the details of this land title have to be edited.

Currently, almost all the new land titles are freehold. With leasehold currently, it’s for property on the land. Say a flat. Someone can own land, but have another lease the land for a flat, say a shopping mall for a number of years. They are occupying the land, but the land is held by someone else. When these years elapse, the land and the shopping mall will all belong to the initial freeholder. This is common in developed cities like London but some investors and tycoons in our country Uganda have picked it up.

Land can be grabbed during the process of renewing and conversion from leasehold to freehold. I have been made to understand that someone can process a land title way faster than you if you delay, and they will appear like the rightful owner of your land. Remember, before a land title is issued, the registra of lands has to confirm that this land isnt owned by another person. If your land title expires and you take long to get another (especially with this transition from leasehold to freehold) , your land could wake up to a new owner.

The process of acquiring a new land title can drag sometimes. It could even take 5 years depending on many factors. I once thought that a new land title is processed after another has expired. NO! infact, the process of renewing a land title should start as early as possible. Could even be 15 years prior. It helps prevent that lag which creates chance for the land to be grabbed .

Stay with me. In the next blog, I’ll tell you about some things to ensure when buying land. Gimme your thoughts and contributions.

Big hugs ❤️