The Sectional Properties Act 2020 (“the current SPA”) was passed to address the challenges under the former Act and to align the law on sectional properties to the current land laws and the Constitution of Kenya. The salient features of the current SPA include: the requirement that owners of sectional units be responsible for any rates, rent or taxes; the establishment of the Corporation (body responsible for managing the common areas) and the responsibility of the Lands Registrar in its establishment; the duties and powers of the Corporation and the review of existing long-term leases to ensure that they are properly georeferenced and that the geo-referencing has been approved by the Survey of Kenya. The current SPA is intended to ease the registration and the management of the sectional properties and consequently encourage investment in sectional properties in Kenya. However, it is yet to be observed whether the new provisions will remedy the delays in the registration of units under the sectional properties regime. Further, the requirement that all long-term leases should be reviewed is expected to inconvenience many owners and developers who are required to have completed the review process by 28th December 2022.
