PROPERTY GUIDE: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FROM ABC ATTORNEYS
Question: Dear ABC, I was hoping to seek your assistance on a mortgage matter, and how best to go about the same. How can one tell if there are any mortgages or other burdens on a piece of land? I was trying to make sure I was on the clear before proceeding. Regards, Juma from Tabora.
Answer: Dear Juma, Thank you for your inquiry.
It would depend, assuming that the property being discussed is a registered one, you would have to go to the Registrar of Titles. Section 97 of the Land Registration Act CAP 334 provides that, any person may inspect the land register, any filed documents, the index map or any plan filed in the land registry, during the hours of business. And that any person may require an official search in respect of any parcel and shall be entitled to receive particulars of the subsisting memorials appearing in the land register relating thereto. Therefore, in order to discover burdens such as easements, leases for more than 5 years or mortgages, you should apply for a search at the Registrar of Titles.
Please contact a lawyer for more information.
Question: Hello ABC Attorneys, my name is Salma and I recently just managed to save up enough to finally purchase my first piece of land. I was hoping to thoroughly go about the purchase process so as to get value for my cash, please tell me, how far does the duty of due diligence of a purchaser go?
Answer: Hello Ms Salma, thank you for your inquiry.
In order to abide by your duty /obligations during the due diligence process, you must perform 2 searches. The first being on an on-site visit in order to survey the area/property you wish to purchase. That way you can clear your conscience, and having comfort in the fact that is the actual land / property you intend to buy. Further, you may want to tell the vendor what things you want altered and what not. You also want to get the true value of the land and don’t want the price of the property hiked.
Thus, it is important too. In addition to the on-site visit you may also look at things such as the road leading there, the neighbours and so on.
In the second due diligence process when conducting the search, you would now have to involve the respective government entity – conduct a search at the Registrar of Titles - in order to know / verify who the true owner is, etc
Section 67 of The Land Act CAP 113 provides the duty of due diligence and states that, a person has constructive notice of all the facts which he would have acquired actual notice had he made the inquiries and inspections which he ought reasonably to have made. The standard of prudence is that of a reasonable man. The purchaser is presumed to have constructive notice of a fact if you had actual notice that there was an encumbrance and an inquiry would have revealed what it was. Or if you heard there was something wrong but refused to investigate.
Please contact a lawyer for more information.
Q: Greetings ABC Attorneys Team, I just moved to Tanzania and I was interested in residing permanently once I have my business up and running. Meanwhile, if you can assist me with regards to the lease agreement procedures and basic formalities within the Tanzanian Laws, basically things like; what types of leases are available, must they be registered? Etc.
Jeffrey Lawson
A: Dear Mr Jeffrey Lawson, thank you for your inquiry.
There are several types of leases in Tanzania according to the Land Act, but mainly under two categories ; Fixed Leases or Periodic Leases. Periodic leases are usually granted for a certain period and can be renewed depending on the mutual agreement of both parties involved. These are renewable until one party gives a notice (in adherence to the Tanzanian land law) to withdraw from the lease. These leases may be, yearly, monthly, quarterly and in rare cases weekly. With regards to the tenancy period, this can be determined by the frequency on the rent payment.
In the case of fixed term lease agreements, this would indicate a specified period of time and on the contract. And with this type, the length of the contract can be of one year or even ninety nine years, all depending on the basis on the contracts between the two parties. With the fixed lease agreements, they automatically expire at the end of the term and different from the previously discussed Lease type, it automatically expires without having to issue any notice at the end of the contractual lease date. In addition to that, there are future leases which are made for a term to begin at a future date.
Leases that must be registered are those that a term exceeding five years or contain an option whereby the tenant can require the landlord to grant him a further term or terms which, together with the original term, exceed five years as per Section 54 of the Land Registration Act CAP 334.
Please contact your lawyer for more details.
