A land purchase in Uganda can turn into years of dispute if title is not properly verified before money changes hands. Here is what to check first.
Title Verification Comes First
Before any land sale agreement is signed, a proper title search should confirm who actually owns the land, whether the certificate of title is genuine, and whether the seller has the legal capacity to transfer it. This is the single most important step in any land transaction, and it is also the step most often skipped or rushed by buyers eager to close a deal. A search conducted at the relevant land registry will reveal the registered proprietor, the size and description of the land, and any entries recorded against it.
Boundaries and Physical Inspection
A title search tells you who owns the land on paper; a physical inspection tells you what is actually on the ground. We advise clients to have the boundaries confirmed by a licensed surveyor and to visit the land in person before committing to a purchase. Boundary disputes, encroachments, and discrepancies between the surveyed plan and the physical features of the land are common, and they are far cheaper to resolve before a sale than after one.
Outstanding Mortgages, Caveats, and Encumbrances
Land that looks straightforward on the surface can carry encumbrances that are not obvious without a careful search: an outstanding mortgage that must be discharged before transfer, a caveat lodged by a third party asserting an interest in the land, or a lease that survives the sale and binds the new owner. Each of these can materially affect what a buyer is actually acquiring, and each needs to be identified and addressed before money changes hands.
Required Consents
Depending on how the land is held, a valid sale may require consent from a spouse, from co-owners, from a lands committee, or from a controlling authority such as a local council or, for leasehold land, the relevant lessor. A sale agreement signed without a legally required consent can later be challenged and set aside, which is why confirming exactly whose consent is needed is part of our due diligence on every transaction.
Drafting the Agreement Itself
Once the underlying due diligence is complete, the sale agreement itself needs to reflect it accurately: the correct parties, an accurate description of the land, clear payment terms and timelines, conditions precedent to completion, and what happens if either side fails to perform. A well-drafted agreement protects both buyer and seller by making expectations explicit rather than assumed.
What Our Conveyancing Team Checks
Beyond title, we verify boundaries, check for outstanding mortgages or caveats, and confirm required consents before any client signs. We then carry the transaction through to registration of the transfer, so our involvement does not end at the signature but continues until the buyer's interest is properly and lawfully recorded. If you are considering a land purchase, the right time to involve a conveyancing advocate is before you sign anything, not after a problem has already surfaced.
