Access Roads and Right of Way to a Plot

What is a right of way, and why does a plot need one?

A right of way is a legal permission to cross someone else's land to reach your own. In law it is one kind of easement. The Land Act (Cap. 236) lists an easement among the "third party rights" that can burden a piece of land, which means it can bind the owner even though the owner did not use the path himself. For a buyer the point is simple: if the only route to your plot runs across a neighbour's land, your right to use that route is only as strong as the paper behind it.

Many buyers look at a plot, see a footpath or a murram track and assume access is settled. It is not. A track used for years by agreement can be fenced off the day the neighbour sells or dies. A plot that the seller calls "accessible" may touch no public road at all on the survey plan. That is why this page treats access as a title and paperwork question first, and a site question second. It sits beside our guide to Water, Power and Access, which covers the other services a plot needs.

Access also matters for the other land types we list. A forest listing sells trees only, the land is not included, and the harvest deadline is negotiable with the seller. Even there a buyer must be able to get trucks to the trees, which is the subject of Access for Harvest Trucks.

What if my plot has no access road?

A plot with no road frontage and no registered route across other land is landlocked. You have three practical options, in this order.

1. Negotiate a written right of way. Agree the route, the width and any payment with the neighbour whose land you must cross, and have it signed and registered (see the next section).
2. Buy or swap a strip. A small strip of land bought from a neighbour gives you your own frontage and avoids a continuing relationship over the path.
3. Apply for leave to build an access road. Section 62 of the Roads Act, 2019 says that where the owner of land is unable, through negotiations, to obtain leave from adjoining landowners to construct an access road to a public road, he or she may apply to the Minister. The Minister, in consultation with the relevant road authority, may grant leave. Before granting it, the Minister must ensure that the applicant compensates the adjoining landowner. The application must follow the form set by regulations.

Two cautions. First, many older guides and articles still send landlocked owners to a land tribunal under the Access to Roads Act (Cap. 350). That Act was repealed by section 79(2) of the Roads Act, 2019, so the Minister route is the one the statute now names. Second, the Minister's route is a last resort that takes time and money, and nothing in the section promises that leave will be granted. A buyer should never pay for a landlocked plot on the hope that this procedure will succeed. If you meet a seller who says "the access will be sorted after you pay", treat that as a reason to stop and take advice.

Separately, section 61(2) of the same Act says that where land has been designated and acquired as an access road, nobody may build or use an entrance or gate onto it without written approval from the road authority, and breaking this rule is an offence. So even a plot that touches a designated access road may need approval for its gate.

What should a right of way agreement say, and how do you register it?

A verbal "you can pass here" is not enough. Ask an advocate to draft an agreement that covers at least these points:

• The route and width, drawn on a survey plan prepared by a licensed surveyor, not described in words only.
• Who may use it: the owner, family, workers, visitors, and vehicles of what size.
• Whether it is permanent or time-limited, and whether it binds later owners of both plots.
• Payment: a one-off sum or an annual fee, and receipts for it.
• Upkeep: who grades, drains and repairs the road, and how the cost is shared.
• Signatures: the registered owner of the burdened land, and where the land is family land, the spouse's written consent. Section 39 of the Land Act restricts dealings in family land without the prior consent of the spouse, and a caveat can be lodged to protect that right.

Then ask the Lands registry how the easement is to be entered against the neighbour's title and noted on yours. We cannot give you a fee for this step, because the published Ministry schedules we checked list fees for transfers, caveats, leases and subdivisions but do not price easement registration separately. Ask the registry for the current fee in writing and keep the receipt. The principle is what matters: a right that appears on the register, or is attached to the survey plan that the registry has approved, is far harder for a later owner to deny than a private letter.

If the plot is held under customary tenure, the process differs. Under section 5 of the Land Act, when an area land committee handles an application for a certificate of customary ownership it must demarcate rights of way and other easements over the land and over adjacent land that benefit or burden it. That is a good moment to get the path recorded.

How do you check access on the deed plan and on the ground?

Do these checks before you pay a deposit, not after.

1. Get the survey or deed plan and look at where the plot boundary meets a road, road reserve or a marked access strip. If the plan shows the plot surrounded by other plots, ask how the owner reaches it today.
2. Walk the route from the public road to the plot, with the seller and at least one neighbour. Note every gate, fence, ditch, swamp or stream crossing.
3. Ask the neighbours directly, not through the seller, whether the path is theirs, whether they agreed to it, and whether anyone has ever blocked it.
4. Request a boundary opening. The Ministry of Lands service standards list a report on boundary opening for dispute resolution at no cost to the applicant, in 10 working days. Subdivision or mutation approval is listed at UGX 20,000 in 5 working days. These are the Ministry's stated targets, and real times are often longer, so allow for delay.
5. Search the title and read the encumbrances, so that you see any easement, caveat or other burden. Our planned roads land guide explains how to find out whether a future road will cut through the plot.

In Land & Property listings, Nov 2026, 7 of our 21 plot listings mention tarmac or an access road in the seller's description. That is a description, not proof, and we still treat it as a claim to check on the visit. When you book an escorted site visit, tell us that access is your first question so that the route is walked and photographed.

How do access disputes start, and how do you avoid them?

Most access disputes follow a few patterns:

• A neighbour sells, and the new owner fences the track that the old owner tolerated.
• A seller subdivides a large plot and sells the back plots without reserving a road between them.
• An estate road shown on a sales brochure was never set aside on the approved subdivision plan.
• Two heirs inherit adjoining pieces and disagree about the path their parent allowed.
• A buyer builds first, then discovers the only vehicle route belongs to someone else.

You avoid most of these by insisting on three things. First, access must appear on a plan, not only in the seller's words. Second, the sale agreement should state the access route and make it a condition of the sale, with a refund if the right of way cannot be confirmed. Third, keep every payment traceable. Our checklist on Land Near Tarmac in Uganda explains how road reserves and frontage affect what you can build.

If a dispute has already started, do not tear down a fence or force a gate. Document the blockage with dated photographs, collect any written agreement, and take advice from an advocate. The route through the Minister under section 62 of the Roads Act applies only where the owner has first failed to obtain leave through negotiation, so keep a written record of your attempts to negotiate.

How does missing access affect the price and resale?

We do not have a dated price series that isolates the effect of access on value in Uganda, so we do not quote a discount. What we can say from how sales work is this. A plot without a legal vehicle route is harder to build on because materials and machines cannot reach it. It is harder to mortgage because a lender will want to see a registered, usable route. It is harder to resell because the next buyer will ask the same questions you are asking now. A plot with a clear, registered access is easier on all three counts.

That is why the cheapest plot in a neighbourhood is not always the best value. Compare like with like: the same tenure, the same size, and the same quality of access. Our own listings show a wide spread. In Land & Property listings, Nov 2026, plot asking prices run from UGX 42 million to UGX 9.25 billion, with a median of UGX 155 million across 21 plots, and descriptions differ a lot on road access. If a price looks far below similar plots nearby, ask whether access, a title problem or a boundary dispute explains the gap.

Before you commit, use browse plot listings to compare plots, and read Land Under Power Lines and Way-Leaves if a line crosses the plot, because a way-leave is another right that other parties hold over land you buy. For wider context see land for sale in Uganda.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Water, Power and Access: Check Before Buying Land
• Check Planned Roads and Projects Before Buying Land
• Land Near Tarmac in Uganda: Is It Worth the Premium?
• Land Under Power Lines and Way-Leaves
• Access for Harvest Trucks: Rights of Way
• Land for Sale in Uganda: Verified Plots and the Complete Buyer's Guide