A Kenyan court has explained what land buyers can recover when a property deal turns fraudulent and eventually collapses.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

As per the court, buyers may recover money paid for the land and some expenses directly linked to the failed transaction.

The decision stems from a case where a buyer agreed to purchase two parcels of land in Manyatta, Kisumu County, for Ksh600,000. She paid Ksh260,000 as a deposit towards the purchase.

She also paid for succession proceedings to help the seller obtain authority to deal with the property. Later, she funded a civil case after discovering that the land had been registered in another person's name.

📌 What You Need to Know

Without informing her, the seller eventually settled that case with the registered owner. She reported the matter to the police, leading to the seller's conviction for obtaining money by false pretences. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Seeking compensation, she went to court and asked for ownership of the land or a refund of Ksh780,000. This included her deposit as well as money spent on succession proceedings, legal cases and other expenses.

A trial court declined to give her the property but ordered the seller to pay Ksh614,000. The amount included her Ksh260,000 deposit and Ksh100,000 in legal fees related to the criminal case.

On appeal, she argued that she deserved more money and that the registered owner's title should be cancelled. However, the Environment and Land Court in Kisumu maintained that she could not be given the property because the seller had no title to transfer to her.

Her attempt to cancel the registered owner's titles also failed. Although questions remained about how the properties were registered, there was not enough evidence to prove that the registered owner had participated in fraud.

Some of her additional expenses, however, were found to be directly connected to the fraudulent transaction. A criminal conviction, the court noted, does not prevent an affected party from pursuing civil remedies.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke