Duties of Land Surveyor

Categories:Education

DUTIES OF A LAND SURVEYOR

The main responsibilities of a land surveyor range from developing land survey reports and performing calculations of measurements and evaluations. Here’s a detailed version of the 13 duties of a land surveyor.

1) Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.

2) Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.

3) Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.

4) Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.

5) Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.

6) Prepare or supervise the preparation of all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.

7) Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.

8) Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.

9) Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.

10) Coordinate findings with engineering and architectural personnel, clients, and others concerned with projects.

11) Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.

13) Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).

In conclusion: After reading this the next time you see a land surveyor, you won’t be confused about what they do. If you have any land title issues ranging from land surveying to land title processing, give us a call or pass by our office on LUBA House -Mpererwe.

Call: 0773259007 or 0757444666 or,

email: info@lubaproperties.ug

Nov 10 5 Comments

What is Kabaka’s Land and how it differs from Private Mailo Land

Categories:Education,Land

What is “Kabaka’s Land”?

During the 1900 Buganda Agreement, all land in Buganda was divided into two; crown land, which was under the control of the colonial government, and mailo land.

This mailo land was also divided into two; Official mailo and private mailo.

Official mailo includes the land given to the Kabaka (350 square miles) and the ssaza chiefs who got eight square miles, among others.

The 350 square miles is the land that is currently managed by the Buganda Land Board. This land is predominately found in suburbs such as Nansana, Munyonyo, Buziga, Konge, Kigo, Maganjo, Kagoma, and Ganda, among others.

One cannot buy and own the “Kabaka’s land”. The reason why they only give leases on this land. The difference between “kabaka’s land” and private mailo is that a buyer is only given a leasehold title for Kabaka’s land while for private mailo one can get either a leasehold title or an outright transfer.

The Difference Between Private Mailo Land and Kabaka’s Land

Private Mailo; Private Mailo is the land parcelled out to individuals in the sense that it was their property. “People such as Kabaka Daudi Chwa, his mother, the Muhamedian prince, who was Mbogo, and the mother of Mwanga, were given land as individuals.

They could deal with this land as they deemed fit; they could transfer it, or if one got a financial problem or any other, they could sell it.

Between 1900 and 1908, roughly 1,300 Baganda individuals and institutions, including churches, were given the Private Mailo. Private owners own their property in perpetuity (forever) and can sell or pass their rights on to their heirs.

Official Mailo; the Kabaka owns this land because of his position. The sale of Kabaka’s land is not permitted because it benefits the Kabaka’s office, Katikkiro, Ssaza, and Gombolola Chiefs. In distinction, with Private Mailo, one can get either a leasehold title or an outright transfer.

The other difference is that one has to pay the premium and annual ground rent for Kabaka’s land. In contrast with the Private Mailo, you only pay for the premium.

The official premium is 10% of the land’s capital value, while ground rent is 1% of the premium. Let’s say “If a plot, say in Buziga, costs USh 40 million, that is its capital value. The premium is 10 per cent, which translates into USh 4 million, while the ground rent is one per cent of USh 4 million which is USh 400, 000. For that plot in Buziga one pays premium once, and annual ground rent over the 49 years.”

When the lease expires, the land returns to Kabaka’s ownership. The Kabaka’s office determines whether to extend the lease. But it is the policy of Buganda Land Board that once a lease expires, we renew it and give it to the sitting tenant.”

All land sold at LUBA Properties Limited is Private Mailo Land. Talk to us on 0773259007 or 0757444666 for more information.

Oct 21 No Comments

Understanding Customary Land Tenure in Uganda

Categories:Education,Land

CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN UGANDA
Customary land owned by community members, consent of the community members is required for any land transaction while for land owned by a family, consent of the spouse and children must be obtained.

Customary land can also be converted to freehold land where the owners wish to change it. (Section 9 of the Land Act)
Under customary systems, the land is owned and disposed of under customary regulations. The land can be owned by an individual, a family, or a community, and is the most dominant system in Uganda. Under this tenure, proper records are not kept which makes it difficult to purchase land and resolve land-related conflicts. The inherent insecurity leads to mismanagement and degradation, as little personal interest in the land exists.

Types of Customary Land

1. Customary communal land; where persons or communities share ownership or use of land for a common purpose. A particular group of people in a particular area for purposes like grazing, water source, and firewood collection, wild fruits and vegetables, fishing, harvesting honey, and white ants, cutting papyrus, etc, communally owns the land. In most cases, the rights to access this land are inherited.

2. Customary family land; is where the head of the family or clan may be said to ‘own’ the land. Its utilization is usually controlled by the family head, elders, clan heads, or a group in its well-defined administrative structures. The family heads are responsible for protecting the land and ensuring that every family member gets the right to use some part of the land. Family land is inherited within the family. The management of the land is passed down from parents to children and their family members but kept within the family.

3. Individual customary land; is where an individual is said to ‘own’ land because the land was allocated to them, to use or own permanently, or they inherited the land or purchased the customary land as an individual. This will include the right to allocate potions of the land to the next generation.

Customary land is very different from Kabaka’s land or official mailo.

What is “Kabaka’s Land”?

During the 1900 Buganda Agreement, all land in Buganda was divided into two; crown land, which was under the control of the colonial government, and mailo land.

This mailo land was also divided into two; Official mailo and private mailo.

Official mailo includes the land given to the Kabaka (350 square miles) and the ssaza chiefs who got eight square miles, among others.

One cannot buy and own the “Kabaka’s land”. The reason why they only give leases on this land. The difference between “kabaka’s land” and private mailo is that a buyer is only given a leasehold title for the Kabaka’s land while for private mailo one can get either a leasehold title or an outright transfer.

Buying land is easy more so if you have the money at hand. But always be mindful of the type of tenure of the land in question.

At Luba Properties, all the land we sell is private mailo which means the land is titled and can be owned forever and can be passed on to the next generation. Give us a call on 0773259007/ 0757444666 or email us at info@lubaproperties.ug

Oct 14 14 Comments

Procedure of acquiring a Land Title in Uganda

Categories:Education,Land

Acquiring land and a valid land title is very easy when you follow the right procedure.

Visit the Site

The first step you need to take when purchasing land and acquiring land is a visit to the site and verify if the plot you are buying exists.

This visit also helps you appreciate the neighborhood, the geography, and other preferred features.

Use a professional surveyor

You have to verify the property size before executing the acquisition of the land title.

Get a professional registered surveyor to carry out a topographic survey of the land and confirm to you the size and shape as indicated on the title.

The surveyor will also identify the land boundaries and mark stones. And he will issue to you a survey report in that respect to avoid future conflicts with the neighbors.

Payment of land title

You must know if the payment rate for the title is a legitimate requirement and the seller should clear any pending debts on the property before completing the transaction.

The seller should present a clearance certificate for the land before it is transferred to the buyer, including the original land title, transfer documents if any, and consent to transfer. The seller organizes transfer documents to be executed by both parties.

These documents will only be accomplished following an issued consent to transfer by the commissioner of lands.

Requirements for transfer

When the registration course is done, the lawful possession of the land shall have legally changed hands there and then and have independent ownership.

For a legal transfer of ownership to take place, one needs:

The original title deed of the land.
Original stamp duty assessment forms, and receipt
Duly stamped transfer documents.
Clearance certificate.
Stamp duty valuation report.
Original land rates clearance certificate.
Consent to transfer plus application for registration.

Sep 06 34 Comments

Understanding the process of buying land in Uganda

Categories:Land

Land in Uganda is riddled with conmen and fraudsters and the buying process most times takes a turn in an unimaginable direction. Over the years, we at Luba Properties have hired and recruited a great team with vast experiences in selling, dealing, and handling land-related matters. From our experience, comes this article to enlighten you about the legal process of acquiring titled land in Uganda, and in this case, we are going to use a Private Mailo title.

In summary, the process of acquiring land legally in Uganda moves along these well-defined steps;
1. A visit to the property.
2. Carry out a search at the Ministry of lands
3. Negotiation with the seller.
4. Hire a surveyor to verify the land size
5. Preparation of sale agreement and payments.
6. Transfer of rights.
7. Property valuation
8. Payment of stamp duty
9. Final payment and handover of the title.
In detail …

A visit to the property

This is the first step to acquiring land in Uganda. Getting to assess the physical, economic, and social infrastructure of the area in which one would like to buy land. This visit will enable you to access the leadership (L.C 1) and neighbors to ascertain ground ownership and in any case if the land has any squatters or other occupants.
Many make the mistake of buying land they haven’t visited and this has led to unending legal battles and loss of lives.

Carry out a search at the ministry of lands zonal office.

For this step, use the services of a lawyer to verify the authenticity of the title of ownership in the land office. All you will need a photocopy of the land title deed from the seller to carry on the search properly. The Lands office will offer a Search Report, which must show the names of the owner in question plus other details as indicated on the title.
Based on how busy the land office is, it takes one day to 3 days to get search results as feedback to a search application form attached with a title copy. This search assists the buyer to ascertain the right property ownership, its genuineness, establish its existence plus identifying the conditions, caveats, pending rates, or encumbrances on the title.

Negotiation with the seller

After ascertaining the proper ownership and provenance of the land in question, the buyer and his client can then meet the seller and negotiate on how much to pay for the land.

Hire a professional Surveyor to verify the size of the land.

Verifying the property size before any transactions are very paramount. Procure the services of a professional registered surveyor to carry out a topographic survey of the land and confirm to you the size and shape as indicated on the title. The surveyor will also identify the land boundaries and mark stones. And then issue to you a survey report in respect of the land.

Sale agreement

This sale agreement will be drafted by the buyer with all terms and conditions agreed on by both parties. This will stipulate all the demarcations, sums, payment schedules, and implications.

Payment of land rates

Buyers must know the payment of rates on land is a legitimate requirement of landowners and the seller should clear any pendent rates on the property before completing the transaction. And a seller should present a clearance certificate for the land before it is transferred to the buyer.

Transfer Documents and Consent to transfer

The lawyer of the seller organizes transfer documents to be executed by both parties. These documents will only be accomplished following an issued consent to transfer by the commissioner of lands.

Property Valuation

An application for valuation is always made to the government valuer, who makes a site visit to enable him or her to prepare the requisite valuation report all for purposes of Stamp Duty. This duty is vital since it acts as a registration fee for the property. The duty is determined by a professional government valuer and the valuation is to determine the true open market value of the as at the date of transfer.
The buyer has the responsibility of applying for the valuation of the land using the valuation form properly completed by the seller. The lands office uses such papers to fix the stamp duty payable.

Payment of Stamp Duty

The buyer has the obligation to pay the stamp duty, a tax levied on land transactions for registration and transfer purposes. It is imperative to know that the registration of transfer at the lands office cannot be executed not until the stamp duty has been cleared with a receipt to prove so.

Final Payment and Exchange of documents

On receiving the completion documents from the seller, the buyer is obliged to pay to the seller the total balance on the purchase price to complete the registration of the documents following payment of the obligatory stamp duty. Documents from the lawyers of the seller encompass the land’s original title deed, the signed and witnessed transfer documents into the buyer’s names, receipts indication paid-up land rents plus clearance certificate, and the consent to transfer.

When the proper steps and due diligence are carried out, the chances of fraud are limited. However, it is always imperative to use the services of a Land Lawyer who can advise on the nitty-gritty of the law.

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Tag: <span>Buying Land in Uganda</span>

Duties of Land Surveyor

DUTIES OF A LAND SURVEYOR

What is Kabaka’s Land and how it differs from Private Mailo Land

Understanding Customary Land Tenure in Uganda

Procedure of acquiring a Land Title in Uganda

Understanding the process of buying land in Uganda

A visit to the property

Carry out a search at the ministry of lands zonal office.

Negotiation with the seller

Hire a professional Surveyor to verify the size of the land.

Sale agreement

Payment of land rates

Transfer Documents and Consent to transfer

Property Valuation

Payment of Stamp Duty

Final Payment and Exchange of documents

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