Sectional titles explained: what apartment buyers should know

For a long time, buying an apartment in Kenya often meant buying shares in a management company that owned the building, rather than owning your unit outright. You had a home; what you had on paper was less straightforward.

The Sectional Properties Act changed that, allowing individual units to be titled separately. If you are buying an apartment, whether and when it will be registered under sectional titles is one of the more consequential questions you can ask.

What a sectional title actually is

A sectional title divides a building into units — the apartments themselves — and common property, which is everything else: corridors, lifts, grounds, roof, parking areas.

You receive a title deed for your unit. Alongside it you hold an undivided share in the common property, proportionate to your unit. All owners together form the corporation that manages the common property.

Why it matters in practice

Selling. A titled unit transfers like any other property. Without a title, you are transferring a share in a company, which is slower and narrows your pool of buyers.

Borrowing. Banks lend against title. A unit with a sectional title can be charged straightforwardly; one without it is much harder to mortgage, which again narrows who can buy from you.

Clarity of responsibility. The register defines where your unit ends and common property begins — which settles who repairs what.

What to ask before you buy

• Is the development being registered under sectional titles?
• Has the sectional plan been prepared and approved, and can you see it?
• What is the expected timeline for issuing individual titles?
• What happens if titles are delayed — is anything in the sale agreement about it?
• What is the unit factor for your apartment, since it determines your share of costs and your vote?

On an off-plan purchase, titles typically follow completion rather than preceding it. That is normal. What is not acceptable is a developer who cannot tell you what the plan or the timeline is.

The management corporation

Once titles issue, owners collectively become responsible for the common property through the corporation. It sets the service charge, maintains the building and enforces the by-laws.

This is worth caring about. A well-run corporation with a funded sinking fund keeps a building in good condition and protects your value. A poorly run one does the opposite, and you are jointly responsible for the outcome either way.

Before buying into an established block, ask to see recent accounts and the minutes of the last general meeting. How the building is run tells you more about living there than the show unit does.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Instruct your own advocate on any specific transaction.