Sell Your Trees Without Selling Your Land

Can I sell my trees and keep my land?

Yes, and the law is built for it. The National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 says the Government and local governments have no ownership of trees or forest produce situated on private land. The Act adds that any person may contract with the owner of a private forest, or the holder of an interest in it, for the right to harvest, purchase or sell the forest produce. So a buyer can pay for the trees and leave the land with you.

What the buyer gets is only what the contract says. That is why this page is mostly about drafting. The buyer buys the standing trees and a limited right to come onto your land to cut and remove them. Nothing else passes: not ownership, not farming rights, not the right to build, camp or keep animals there. The listing model on Land & Property follows the same rule. A forest listing sells the trees only, the land is not included, and the harvesting deadline is negotiable with the seller. Read trees only, land not included for the idea and how to sell standing trees for the whole sale.

The Act also allows the contract to be registered against your title. Ask an advocate how this works for your tenure. Registering can protect the buyer's right to enter and cut. It also leaves a public record that the trees have been sold, which is useful if you later sell or borrow against the land. Ask an advocate whether registration suits your sale.

How do I define the block that is being sold?

A vague block causes the most disputes. "My forest at the hill" is not a block. Describe it so that a stranger could walk it.

• Boundaries. Use a GPS walk of the planted area and attach a map with corner points, plus a written description of neighbours and landmarks. Do not rely on the title area, because planted area is often smaller. See what a forest inventory report should contain.
• What trees are included. Name the species, the planting years and the number of trees by block, and say whether trees along boundaries, in gardens, around springs and along roads are in or out. Exclude any tree you want to keep, such as shade trees, fruit trees and boundary markers, and mark them.
• The count. State the agreed number and the method, and say what happens if a joint count shows a different number. See per tree or per acre for the choice of price basis.
• Trees not yet planted or not yet grown. Say plainly that seedlings and new planting are not part of the sale.

What entry and access rights should the buyer get?

Think of it as a licence to enter, not a lease. A licence is limited in purpose, route and time. Put these in writing:

• Purpose. Entry only to fell, cut to length, stack, load and remove the sold trees. No farming, grazing, camping, building or storing of other people's goods.
• Route. The exact tracks trucks may use, where they may turn and where logs may be stacked. If neighbours' land is crossed, say who has obtained consent. The page on access for harvest trucks explains neighbour rights of way.
• People and equipment. Named crews, number of vehicles, and a rule that no one lives on site. Ask for a list of crew members and a contact person.
• Times. Working days, hours and wet-season limits, so that roads and gardens are not cut up when the soil is soft.
• Security of your property. Gates closed after use, fences repaired and your livestock and crops protected.

The buyer's entry right ends on the deadline date or when the last tree is removed, whichever comes first, and that is when your normal rights return in full. If you are selling from abroad, appoint a trusted person to inspect the block with you each week, as described in selling land from abroad.

What deadline should I set, and what happens after it?

Every trees-only sale needs an end date. Without one, uncut trees can sit on your land for years while you wait. Our harvest deadline guide sets out the factors, season and extension fees. In your contract, set these points:

1. A start date and a final date, with the work season in between.
2. What triggers an extension, and the fee for it, written as a fixed amount or a stated formula.
3. What happens to trees still standing on the deadline. A common and clear rule is that unharvested trees return to you without refund, and the buyer's right to enter ends.
4. That removal of cut logs and poles is also due by a date, so that stacks do not stay on your land.

Section 62 of the Contracts Act (2010) lets a contract name a sum payable on breach, and says the party who complains is entitled to reasonable compensation not exceeding the amount named. A stated daily charge or a fixed sum for overrun is therefore usable, but keep it reasonable. An advocate can word it.

Who repairs damage and cleans up?

Trucks, crews and felled trees damage roads, drains, gardens and fences. Agree the standard before work starts, not after.

• A condition record. Walk the access route and boundary with the buyer and take dated photographs. Both sign them. This is your proof of what the land looked like.
• Repair duty. The buyer repairs roads, culverts, fences, crops and structures to the recorded condition, or pays a stated rate for each item, within a stated number of days after the last load leaves.
• Stumps and waste. State the stump height, what happens to branches and bark, and whether the buyer may burn waste. Open burning is a fire risk, so say in the contract whether the buyer may burn waste, and ask your District Forest Officer what permission is needed.
• Holding back money. Hold part of the price until the clean-up is signed off. Our page on payment terms shows how to stage payment.
• Insurance and injury. The buyer is responsible for the safety of their crew and for injuries or damage to others caused by felling.

Who owns the regrowth, and who replants?

Eucalyptus often regrows from the cut stump, which is called coppice. Pine does not. The NFA lists "managing eucalyptus coppice" among the topics of its plantation guidelines, so the matter is recognised, but we found no figure to quote. The contract should settle it plainly.

• Default rule. The sold trees are the standing trees at signing. Regrowth after felling belongs to you, unless the contract says otherwise.
• If the buyer wants a second cut. Treat that as a new sale with a new price and a new date.
• Stump treatment and replanting. Say whether you or the buyer will clear or replant, and who pays. A buyer who damages stumps or tills the soil is not entitled to regrowth.

What if the land is mortgaged, or belongs to a family?

Mortgaged land. A mortgage is a charge over land, and the Mortgage Act 2009 gives the lender rights over it. We did not find a rule in the Act about trees by name, so read your mortgage deed and ask the lender in writing for consent before you sell trees. A buyer should ask to see that letter. If you borrowed against the title, selling the crop of trees may change the security.

Family land. Under section 39 of the Land Act (Cap. 227), no person may sell, exchange, pledge, mortgage or lease family land, or give it away or enter another transaction in it, without the prior consent of his or her spouse. Family land, as defined in section 38A, includes land on which the family's ordinary residence stands, land that is both the family's residence and the source of its food or income, land the family agrees to treat as family land, and land treated as family land by the family's customs or religion. A good-faith buyer without notice of a missing consent may find the sale void, though he can claim back what he paid. Ask your spouse to sign the contract or a written consent, so there is no later challenge. Where a spouse refuses without good reason, the Land Act lets you apply to the Land Tribunal.

Estates. If the owner has died, ask an advocate who has the legal authority to sign before any sale. Do not sign on the strength of family agreement alone.

How does tenure change a trees-only sale?

Your right to sell depends on how you hold the land. This is a summary of the Land Act (Cap. 227, as amended to 2010), and the section numbers may differ in the 2023 revised edition. Ask an advocate to check your own title.

A tenant by occupancy, such as a kibanja holder, who wishes to assign the tenancy must first offer the owner the option to take it (section 35). That rule concerns the tenancy, not just the trees, but a tenant who sells trees and walks away may cause a dispute. We did not find a section in the Act that says whether trees count as developments, so ask an advocate and get the landowner's written agreement. For planted trees on land licensed by the NFA, a separate rule applies and is explained on trees on NFA licence land. A stage-payment trees sale should not be mixed up with selling land on instalments, which creates different rights.

What should I do next?

Prepare the block map and count, check consent and tenure, and draft the contract with an advocate. Then list your trees so buyers find them among the forest listings. The forest trees hub has more guides.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Forest Trees for Sale in Uganda: Standing Pine and Eucalyptus
• Buying Trees Only: What You Get and What You Do Not
• Harvest Deadline: How Long Should a Tree Buyer Get?
• What a Forest Inventory Report Should Contain
• How to Sell Standing Trees in Uganda: Seller's Guide
• List Your Forest on Land & Property