Types of Land Dealings

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Under the National Land Code 1965 there are four main types of dealings :
1) Transfers
2) Leases and Tenancies
3) Charges and Liens
4) Easement

Are you guys cracking out the dictionary? Don’t worry we will explain what these dealings are.

1) Transfers
Transfer means the transfer from one party to another either the land, a share in the land, a lease in the land or a charge on the land. The most common and well known transfer is of course the transfer of the land and the transfer of the lease. The transfer of a lease is more commonly known as a transfer during a sale of a leasehold land (e.g. a 99 year lease land) A less common transaction would be the transfer of a share in the land and a charge on the land.

2) Leases and Tenancies
This refers to the lease of a land by the registered owner and differs from the ‘transfer of lease’ stated above. If you own a piece of property and would like to rent it out to another party for a period exceeding three years and would like that agreement to be afforded protection under the National Land Code, then a lease is usually drawn up. This transaction is very common among landowners who lease out their lands to small farmers, companies and even banks who want a long term tenancy. Tenancies refer to tenancies that do not exceed three years and are exempt from registration. For one, who is a party to a tenancy that exceeds three years, to benefit from the protection of the Code, that dealing must be registered at the land office.

3) Charges and Liens
Charge refer to an instrument that is registered to secure payment of a principal sum (for loans) and are commonly entered by banks. Lien is created when the registered owner of a land deposits the title with another person as a security for a loan. The person who holds the title is known as a lienholder but his interest is not a registrable dealing but protection is afforded by the entry of a lienholder’s caveat. So if you lend your friend some money as a friendly loan, get him to deposit his title with you as a security and you can enter a lienholder’s caveat to protect that interest.

4) Easement
Easement refers to any right given by one registered owner to another registered owner for the beneficial enjoyment of the first registered owner’s land. A well known easement is the right of way. In circumstances where one landowner might need to access another owner’s land to reach a public amenity (like a main road or a river) an agreement can be made between the parties where an easement can be granted to the owner requiring the access.

We hope that the above explanation will somewhat enlighten our readers on the different type of dealings on land.

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