Can Kenyans abroad and foreigners buy land in Kenya?
Yes. Kenyan citizens, including those living abroad and dual citizens, can hold freehold or leasehold land; non-citizens can hold land only on a lease of up to 99 years.
The rule is in Article 65 of the Constitution: a non-citizen may hold land on leasehold only, for no more than 99 years, and any document that tries to give more is read as a 99-year lease. A company counts as a citizen only if it is wholly owned by citizens, so a Kenyan company with any foreign shareholder is treated as a non-citizen. Agricultural land in a land control area is generally not open to non-citizens.
| Buyer | Can hold |
|---|---|
| Kenyan citizen, at home or abroad | Freehold or leasehold |
| Dual citizen with Kenyan citizenship | Freehold or leasehold, with proof of citizenship |
| Non-citizen | Leasehold of up to 99 years |
| Company wholly owned by Kenyan citizens | As a citizen |
| Company with any foreign shareholder | As a non-citizen |
Take advice on structure before you sign. Ask us what tenure the Mambrui Beach Bay titles carry, and your advocate how that applies to you.
How do you buy a Mambrui lot from abroad?
Take a live video tour, appoint an advocate in Kenya, sign documents before a notary or at a Kenyan embassy, pay by bank transfer to the company, and let your advocate register the transfer.
- Video tourWe walk the estate, your lot and the beach on a live call, and send the plan and documents. Request one.
- Appoint an advocateChoose an advocate in Kenya yourself; they run the search and review the agreement.
- Get a KRA PINYou need a Kenya Revenue Authority PIN to buy and register land.
- Sign properlyDocuments signed abroad must be executed and certified correctly to be accepted in Kenya; your advocate tells you how.
- Pay safelyBank transfer to the company account named in the agreement.
- RegisterYour advocate pays stamp duty and lodges the transfer.
Should someone in Kenya act for you?
Your advocate is the safest person to act for you. If you give anyone a power of attorney, make it registered, specific to this purchase and limited in time.
Many diaspora land losses start with a relative or friend holding money or documents informally. Keep it formal: money goes from your bank to the company’s bank, documents go through your advocate, and you see every receipt and the search yourself.
How should you send money for land in Kenya?
By bank transfer from an account in your name to the company account named in the sale agreement, after confirming the details by phone with the office.
- Prices are in Kenya shillings; the shilling amount received is what counts.
- Compare your bank’s exchange rate and fees with a regulated transfer service.
- Confirm account details by calling the office on a number you already have, never only by email: payment-diversion fraud is common.
- Keep the bank’s confirmation and our receipt for every payment.
See the price list and buying costs.
Questions from buyers abroad
Do I have to visit before I buy?
No, but we recommend seeing the land, in person or on a live video call, and having your advocate check the documents before you pay.
What happens at the end of a 99-year lease?
Leases can usually be renewed under the law in force then. Ask your advocate about renewal terms for your title.
Can I rent my villa out while I am away?
Holiday letting is common on the coast. Check the estate rules, register for tax, and plan who will manage the house. See building your villa.
Come and see the estate
Walk the 3-acre lots and the beach, see the roads and services going in, and go through the title documents and the estate plan with us. Want less than 3 acres, or more? Ask.