How do I check if a land title in Uganda is genuine?

Carry out an official search at the land registry office for the zone the land sits in, using the plot and block numbers from the title. The search result tells you who is registered as the owner and whether anything is registered against the land.

What is an encumbrance on a land title?

Anything registered against the land that limits what an owner can do with it: a mortgage, a caveat lodged by someone claiming an interest, a court order, or a right of way. An encumbrance does not always stop a sale, but you must know about it before you pay.

Is a search at the land registry enough on its own?

No. A search tells you what is on the register. It does not tell you whether the boundaries on the ground match the ones on the paper, or who is living on the land. Both need a visit and, for the boundaries, a surveyor.

How to verify a land title in Uganda before you buy

A title is a claim recorded in a register. Verifying it means two separate jobs: checking what the register says, and checking that the land in front of you is the land the register is talking about. People who lose money have usually done the first and skipped the second.

1. Get the details off the title

Ask the seller for a copy. You need the plot number, the block number and the tenure, and you need to know which registry zone the land falls under. If a seller will not give you a copy of the title before you have paid anything, that is the end of the conversation, not a hurdle to work around.

2. Carry out an official search

A search is done at the land registry office for that zone. It is a routine, inexpensive procedure. What comes back tells you:

who is registered as the proprietor — and whether that is the person selling to you;
the tenure and the size as registered;
anything registered against the land.

Do the search yourself, or have your lawyer do it and hand you the result. Do not accept a search result supplied by the seller. A document you did not obtain is a document you cannot rely on.

3. Read the encumbrances

An encumbrance is anything registered that limits what the owner may do: a mortgage, a caveat lodged by somebody claiming an interest, a court order, a right of way. Their presence does not automatically kill a sale — a mortgage can be discharged on completion, and that is ordinary — but you must know what is there, who put it there and what it will take to clear it, before money moves.

4. Walk the land with the title in your hand

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that catches the expensive problems. A clean title tells you nothing about whether the four corners a broker showed you are the four corners on the register.

Have a surveyor open the boundaries against the registered plan.
Look for anyone farming, building or living on it, and ask who they are.
Ask the neighbours who owns it. They will tell you, and they have no reason to lie.
Ask the local council. A dispute the register has not caught up with is usually known locally.

5. Establish that the seller can actually sell

Being registered is not always sufficient on its own. Spousal consent is required for family land. An estate being sold by relatives needs letters of administration. A company needs a resolution and the right signatures. If you are dealing with an agent rather than the owner, ask to see the power of attorney — and then verify the person who granted it exists and intended it.

Ruhaama sells plots on estates it has bought, surveyed and subdivided itself, and each plot page states its survey and title references. You are still entitled to do every check above, and we would rather you did. See what is available.