Ardhisasa is a platform through which land transactions, previously done manually, can now be done online. Some of the services offered on the Ardhisasa portal include land registration e.g., registration of transfers and charges, land administration e.g., payment of land rent, physical planning applications, valuation, survey and mapping. The launch of Ardhisasa was a revolutionary milestone in the digitization of land records in Kenya.

To transact on Ardhisasa, one is required to create an individual or corporate account. This is done using the procedure below:

For Individual Accounts

1. go to https://ardhisasa.lands.go.ke/home;
2. click on the tab ‘Register’ and a drop-down will appear. Select and click on ‘Individual Registration’
3. under Identification Type, indicate ‘National ID;
4. under ID Number, indicate your National ID number and click on ‘verify’. A new tab will pop-up requiring you to enter the following information:
   1. ID Serial Number;
   2. First Name;
   3. Surname;
   4. Mother’s Maiden Name;
   5. Gender; and
   6. Nationality.
5. after entering the information in (d) above, click on ‘verify’ and a new tab (titled ‘Phone Number Verification’) will open;
6. under Country, select ‘Kenya’;
7. under Phone Number, enter your mobile phone number;
8. click on ‘Get OTP’ and an OTP code will be sent as a text message to your phone;
9. enter the OTP Code in (h) above and then click on ‘verify’ to have your phone number verified. A new tab (titled ‘Email Verification’) will open;
10. enter your email address;
11. click on ‘Get OTP’ and an OTP code will be sent to your email address;
12. enter the OTP Code in (k) above and then click on ‘verify’ to have your email address verified. A new tab (titled ‘Set Your Password’) will open;
13. follow the instructions on the screen to set your password;
14. tick the box at the bottom-left corner of your screen to confirm that you agree with the terms and conditions and then click on ‘Register’;
15. once registration is confirmed, your Ardhi Sasa ID will be provided.

For Company Account Registration

1. go to https://ardhisasa.lands.go.ke/home;
2. click on the tab ‘Register’ and a drop-down will appear. Select and click on ‘Company Registration’
3. under Company Name, indicate the registered name of the company;
4. under Company Registration Number, indicate the company’s registration number;
5. under Company’s Country of Incorporation, indicate ‘Kenya’;
6. after entering the information in (e) above, click on ‘verify’ and a new tab (titled ‘Phone Number Verification’) will open;
7. under Phone Number, enter the company’s phone number;
8. click on ‘Get OTP’ and an OTP code will be sent as a text message to the phone number;
9. enter the OTP Code in (h) above and then click on ‘verify’ to have the phone number verified. A new tab (titled ‘Email Verification’) will open;
10. enter the company’s email address;
11. click on ‘Get OTP’ and an OTP code will be sent to the email address;
12. enter the OTP Code in (k) above and then click on ‘verify’ to have the email address verified. A new tab (titled ‘Set Your Password’) will open;
13. follow the instructions on the screen to set the password;
14. tick the box at the bottom-left corner of your screen to confirm that you agree with the terms and conditions and then click on ‘Register’;
15. once registration is confirmed, the company’s Ardhi Sasa ID will be provided.

Once an account is created, one is required to upload details of their property for verification which process entails an audit of the manual records for a specific parcel and confirmation of its veracity. It is only upon completion of verification that one can transact online through Ardhisasa. To apply for verification of your property details, follow the steps below:

1. Log in into your account;
2. Click on the main tab on the top left corner of the screen and click on ‘My Properties’. A new tab with a list of your properties that are verified/undergoing verification will appear;
3. Click on ‘Add Property’ on the right hand corner of the screen;
4. A new tab will pop up, requiring you to input the proprietorship details (parcel number and the proprietor’s Ardhi Sasa ID), property details and to upload a copy of the title document and other relevant documents such as the proprietor’s ID and PIN certificate;
5. Once all the required information is provided, a new tab titled ‘confirmation’ will pop up. After confirming the details are correct, click on ‘ submit’;

The application will be processed by the Ministry officials and once completed, you will be able to transact online.

Currently, the above processes are only being undertaken with regard to properties located within Nairobi. For property owners whose titles are in the format of NAIROBI/BLOCKXX/XX the verification process is done immediately the property details are uploaded. Owners whose properties are not in the above format are required to first undertake conversion before verification is undertaken. It is expected that the digitization process will gradually be rolled out to the rest of the country.

Given the current backlog at the Ministry, we highly  recommend that property owners kick off the above processes in advance, whether or not you have a transaction to be registered on the portal, to avoid delays in any future transactions.

Please read the full article on digitization of land records here.