{UAH} Registered Owner/Proprietor’s Caveat in Uganda – How Absentee Land Owners May Protect Their Land

Property law in Uganda is governed by several legislation to wit;

Applicable laws governing property and land in Uganda

a. The Constitution of Uganda, 1995
b. The Land Act, Cap 227 as amended
c. The Land Acquisition Act, Cap 226
d. The Land Policy, 2013
e. The Registration of Titles Act, Cap 230
f. The National Environment Act, Cap 153
g. The Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation, S.I. No. 13/1998.
h. The Water Act, Cap 152
i. The Mining Act, 2003
j. The Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act, 2013
k. The Electricity Act, 1999
l. The Investment Code Act, Cap 92
m. The Road Act, 1964
n. The Access to Roads Act, Cap 350
o. The Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act, Cap 247
p. The Succession Act, Cap 162
q. The Illiterates Protection Act, Cap 78
r. The Survey Act, Cap 232
s. The National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, No. 8 of 2003
t. The Physical Planning Act, No. 8 of 2010

The discussion relating to caveats will be restricted on the provisions of the applicable laws as cited in the body of this paper.

Key definitions

Land Owner – S.2 of the Land Act defines a Land Owner as Any Ugandan Citizen who owns or holds land under any of the four (4) recognized systems of land holding i.e Mailo, Freehold, Leasehold and Customary tenure however it is imperative to note that under the leasehold tenure system, foreigners are entitled to own land in Uganda for a period not exceeding 99 years under s. 40(2) of the Land Act therefore for all intents and purposes, the guidance below may be utilized by both nationals and foreigners.

On the other hand, a caveat is a document which a person who claims an interest in registered land registers at the Registry of Lands in order to stop any transactions from being carried out in respect to the land. A caveat filed by a spouse on family land is a spousal caveat while a caveat filed by a beneficiary is a beneficiary's caveat however this discussion will focus on the caveat placed by the registered owner/ proprietor.

The registered proprietor of land may lodge a caveat against land registered in his or her name under the authority of S. 139 of the Registration of Titles Act. Such caveats are usually lodged in the following circumstances:

• The caveator/registered proprietor has revoked a power of attorney relating to the subject property but has been unable to give advice of the revocation;
• The caveator has lost possession of a signed instrument e.g. transfer of land, and has not been paid;
• The caveator/registered proprietor has lost possession of the duplicate certificate of title either by fraud, theft or misplacement;
• The caveator/registered proprietor has reasonable suspicions that some unscrupulous individuals are making attempts to deal in their land;
• The caveator/registered proprietor is an absentee land owner who may not be in possession or have the privilege of undertaking personal physical inspection of the property due to staying overseas or being a frequent traveler;
• And last but not least where the caveator/registered proprietor does not have any development on the land and has a reasonable fear that trespassers of fraudsters may take advantage of this and try to dispossess the proprietor of their property.

Required caveat form and format

The evidence to support such a caveat would be a statutory declaration by the caveator setting out the facts and repeating the claim of the caveator.

A caveat, correct as to form by a registered proprietor against his or her land would be accepted by the Registrar.

The Caveat can be signed and lodged with the requisite land office by the registered proprietor themselves or a lawyer acting on their behalf.

How the Claim is Stated
The claim and how it arises of the caveator must be set out clearly in the caveat.

For instance the proprietor may state that they: "claim an equitable interest as purchaser of the property ……. by virtue of a contract of sale dated 12 November, 2019 made between the registered proprietor as vendor and the caveator as purchaser."

Where the caveator is claiming as lessee an example of the claim would be: "claim an estate or interest in leasehold as lessee …… by virtue of a lease dated 12 November, 2019 made between the registered proprietor as lessor and the caveator as lessee."

Procedure and documents required to place a caveat

The Registration of Titles Act, the Land Act and the Land Regulations, 2004 expressly indicate the procedure for registering a caveat and the requisite forms to utilize respectively but in summary the Applicant must have in his/her possession:
a. Two sets of embossed caveat documents duly witnessed by an Advocate and signed by the person who is placing the Caveat (Deponent) and dated;
b. Statutory/ Declaration signed by the Deponent and a Commissioner for Oaths;
c. Two Passport photographs and valid identification (national I.D or passport) of the person placing the Caveat.

Waiver

The information provided above is intended to guide but does not exclusively amount to legal advice as other factors need to be taken into consideration for its execution. Please seek professional assistance from your attorney to determine the most appropriate action to protect your legal rights as a registered owner.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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