Selling Land With Kibanja Holders or Occupants
Updated 3 November 2026 · Land & Property editorial team
You can sell registered land that has people living on it, but the buyer takes the land subject to their rights. If the occupants are tenants by occupancy, the Land Act requires you to offer them the first option to buy your interest, on a willing buyer willing seller basis, before you sell to someone else. Disclose every occupant, and settle or document each claim before you advertise. Law as of November 2026.
- First option
- Owner must offer to the tenant by occupancy first (Land Act, Cap. 236, s.36(3))
- Response time
- Three months to refuse or make a meaningful response (s.36(6))
- Eviction
- Only by court order, only for non-payment of ground rent, with at least six months to vacate (s.33)
- New owner
- Must respect existing lawful or bona fide occupant interests (s.36(9))
Can I sell land with people living on it?
Yes, but what you sell is land with those people on it. Section 36(9) of the Land Act (Chapter 236, as at 31 December 2023) says a change of ownership by sale, grant or succession does not affect the existing lawful interests of a lawful or bona fide occupant, and the new owner must respect them. A buyer who finds out late usually walks away or demands a lower price, so disclosure is a selling tool as well as a legal duty. This is general information as of November 2026, not legal advice. Pair it with How to Sell Land in Uganda.
Numbering note: many older articles cite these rules as sections 34 and 35 of the Land Act, Cap. 227. In the 2023 revised edition, Cap. 236, the consent rule is section 35 and the option to purchase is section 36. Quote the revised numbers to your advocate.
Who counts as an occupant with rights?
The Act separates several groups, and the answer decides what you must do.
- Lawful occupant (s.29(1)). Someone occupying under the old Busuulu and Envujjo Law of 1928 or similar laws, or who entered with the registered owner's consent, including a purchaser.
- Bona fide occupant (s.29(2)). Someone who, before the 1995 Constitution, had occupied and used or developed the land unchallenged for twelve years or more, or was settled there by Government.
- Tenant by occupancy (s.31). Lawful and bona fide occupants on registered land are treated as tenants of the registered owner, paying an annual nominal ground rent. On mailo land this is the position of a kibanja holder. The Observer explains a kibanja holder holds an equitable interest that can be transferred with the owner's consent.
- Licensees. A person on the land only under a licence from the owner is not a lawful or bona fide occupant (s.29(4)).
- Others under twelve years. They must seek out the owner and negotiate, with a mediator and then a district land tribunal if talks fail (s.30).
A squatter who arrived recently is not the same as a kibanja holder with receipts for busuulu. Gather their documents before you decide how to approach them.
What is the occupants' first option, and how does the process run?
Section 36(3) says an owner who wishes to sell the reversionary interest must give the first option of buying it to the tenant by occupancy. Offers are on a willing buyer willing seller basis (s.36(4)), so you are not forced to accept a low price. Follow this order:
- Write an offer that states the price, size, terms and payment dates in enough detail for the occupant to understand it (s.36(5)).
- Serve it on the occupant and keep proof of delivery.
- The occupant has three months from receipt to refuse or reply in a way that allows real negotiation (s.36(6)).
- After three months of talks either side may refer the matter to the mediator (s.36(7)).
- If the mediator is unable to help the parties agree after three months, he or she declares so, and you may then sell free of the option to another person (s.36(8)).
Even then, the buyer takes the occupant's existing interest as it stands. The option step protects you from a challenge that the occupant was bypassed.
How do I settle with occupants?
Many sales close only because the owner settled first. Common routes, all to be written down and signed by both sides before witnesses or an advocate:
- Sell to the occupant. They buy your interest, funded by savings, family or a lender.
- Subdivide. Section 37 lets the registered owner and the tenant by occupancy agree to split the land so each holds a portion, or to become joint proprietors, with the Registrar of Titles issuing new certificates on proof of the agreement and certified survey plans. You can then sell your portion with a clean boundary. See sell kibanja for the occupant's side.
- Compensation for giving up the kibanja. Agree an amount and a leaving date. Do not hand over money without a signed release.
- Sell with the occupant staying. The buyer inherits the ground rent relationship and the occupant's security.
Do not try to move people off. Section 33 allows eviction of a lawful or bona fide occupant only by court order and only for non-payment of the annual ground rent, with a vacate date not earlier than six months after the order. Read Illegal Evictions and the Law in Uganda before anyone acts in a heated moment.
How does disclosure protect the sale?
A buyer's advocate will visit the plot and ask neighbours. A Daily Monitor report on due diligence quotes officials advising buyers to talk to neighbours and local leaders, and describes disputes where bibanja occupancy and registered titles overlap. Put the facts on the table first:
- Name each occupant, what they hold, and what papers they have.
- Attach any settlement, ground rent receipts and the dated first-option offer.
- Show a sketch or deed plan marking the portions.
- State plainly in the listing that the land has occupants.
If the land is inherited, check the estate papers first, as set out in Selling Inherited Land in Uganda. If you want to keep the land and sell only the crop on it, see Selling Trees on Mailo, Customary or Leasehold Land. For farmland, see Selling Farmland in Uganda.
Ready to market? list your land free, or list your property free from the sign-up page, and state the occupants honestly in your description.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell land with people living on it?
Yes, but the buyer takes the land subject to the rights of lawful and bona fide occupants (Land Act, s.36(9)). Disclose them, settle or document each claim, and offer the first option to any tenant by occupancy before selling to someone else.
Do occupants have the first right to buy?
A tenant by occupancy has the first option to buy the owner's reversionary interest under s.36(3), on a willing buyer willing seller basis. They have three months to respond. Licensees and recent squatters do not have this right, though they may still have other claims.
Can I evict a kibanja holder to sell?
No, not directly. Under s.33 a lawful or bona fide occupant can be evicted only by court order, only for non-payment of annual ground rent, with at least six months to vacate. Settlement or subdivision is usually the practical route.
Which section numbers should I quote?
In the revised Land Act, Cap. 236, the consent rule is s.35 and the option to purchase is s.36. Older articles cite ss.34 and 35 of Cap. 227. Give your advocate the revised numbers and check the current text.
Sources
- Land Act, Chapter 236 (legislation as at 31 December 2023): ss.29, 31 to 36 and 40, ULII (accessed 2026-11)
- Understanding mailo land and dual ownership, The Observer (accessed 2026-11)
- Lack of due diligence in land sales leaves many Ugandans at a loss, Daily Monitor (accessed 2026-11)