Buying Land With a Kibanja on It: Steps and Risks

Can I buy land that has kibanja holders on it?

Yes, but you are buying the land with its occupants. Section 36(9) of the Land Act says a change of ownership of the title by sale, grant, succession or otherwise does not affect the existing lawful interests or bona fide occupants, and the new owner must respect them. A lawful or bona fide occupant is a tenant by occupancy with security of occupancy on registered land (s.31(1)), and cannot be evicted except on a court order and only for non-payment of the annual nominal ground rent (s.33(1)).

So the price you pay should reflect that the part of the land the occupants use is not available to you. If you want the land empty, you need a settlement with the occupants before you pay in full, not after. This page is general information as of November 2026 and is not legal advice. The wider rules are in Land Act Uganda, and you can read what a kibanja is in What Is a Kibanja (Bibanja)?.

What are the steps to buy land with bibanja?

1. Search the title. Confirm the seller is the registered owner and read every entry, including caveats and mortgages.
2. Walk the land with the seller and neighbours. List every house, garden, grave and boundary, and who claims it. Take dated photographs.
3. Interview the occupants. Ask who they are, how they came to the land, how long they have been there, and whether they pay busuulu.
4. Ask the seller what has been offered to occupants. The owner who wants to sell the reversionary interest must first offer it to the tenant by occupancy (s.36(3)).
5. Agree the settlement in writing. Get signed agreements with each occupant, witnessed, and have a lawyer check them.
6. Put the settlement in the sale agreement. Make part of the price payable only after the occupants have been dealt with.
7. Complete the transfer. See transfer mailo land for the registry steps.

Do not pay the full price before steps 3 to 5 are done.

What are the landlord's first option and consent rules?

The Land Act sets two linked rules. Which one applies depends on what is being sold.

How long does the option take? The person who receives an offer has three months to refuse it or respond in a way that allows negotiation (s.36(6)). After three months of negotiation either party may go to the mediator, and if the mediator cannot help after another three months, the party who made the offer may sell to someone else free of the option (s.36(7) and (8)). That is why you should ask the seller for proof that the first option was offered, and what the answer was.

Older printed copies, and many news articles, number the consent and first option sections as 34 and 35. In the revised Cap. 236 they are sections 35 and 36. Check which edition your lawyer is quoting.

What settlement options exist with the occupants?

The Act leaves the settlement to agreement, with some structures set out in section 37. Typical options are:

• Occupants stay as tenants by occupancy. You buy the land subject to their rights and receive their annual ground rent.
• Subdivide. The owner and the tenant agree to divide the land into portions, each with exclusive ownership or occupation. They give the Registrar of Titles evidence of the agreement and certified survey plans, and the Registrar issues new titles (s.37(1) and (2)). See subdividing land.
• Become joint proprietors. The parties agree to hold the land together, as joint tenants or tenants in common with agreed shares (s.37(1)).
• The occupant buys the reversion or sells the kibanja. This follows the first option rules above, on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.
• Informal land sharing. Take care. Daily Monitor reported on 1 September 2023 that the State Minister for Lands called informal sharing of a tenant's land, so that the landlord can sell the rest, illegal, and the Attorney General said such deals are acceptable only with informed consent and no coercion.

If the seller has already sold part of a title to several buyers, read Buying Part of a Shared Mailo Title as well.

Why may banks refuse kibanja mortgages?

Daily Monitor reported in July 2024 that the Commercial Court held a mortgage over a kibanja invalid and unenforceable because the landlord, the Buganda Land Board, had not consented, so the bank gained no interest as a mortgagee. The court noted that a kibanja holder is a lawful occupant under section 29(1) of the Land Act. The report says more than ten banks then asked the board for guidance, and the board told them to get its consent before taking a mortgage on bibanja.

That fits the Act. A tenant by occupancy may assign or sublet only with the owner's consent (s.35), so a lender taking a kibanja as security without consent risks the same problem. For you as a buyer, it means a kibanja you buy may be hard to finance, so plan to pay in cash or secure the landlord's consent in writing.

What is the buyer's checklist?

• Current title search, and the seller's identity matched to the registered owner.
• Written list of occupants, with their boundaries, marked on a sketch plan.
• Proof that the seller offered the reversion to the occupants, or a written waiver from each.
• For a kibanja: written landlord consent and proof of busuulu paid up.
• Signed, witnessed settlement agreements, checked by a lawyer. See Do You Need a Lawyer to Buy Land in Uganda?
• If the seller is a company, its authority to sell. See buy land from a company.
• Spouse consent where the land is family land (s.40).

If you are a seller, our guide on Selling Land With Kibanja Holders or Occupants shows what to prepare. Buyers can browse plot listings and ask our team on WhatsApp or by email to help check occupants before you pay.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• What Is a Kibanja (Bibanja)? Tenancy by Occupancy
• How to Transfer Mailo Land
• Buying Part of a Shared Mailo Title
• Do You Need a Lawyer to Buy Land in Uganda?
• Selling Land With Kibanja Holders or Occupants
• Uganda Land Law and Land Titles Explained