COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

ISUKHA WEST WARD, SHINYALU SUB-COUNTY,

KAKAMEGA COUNTY

Doreen Magotsi|Linet Khalumba|William Onura Akwanyi|Violet Shivutse|Serah Kiragu-Wissler

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE

GUIDELINES

This booklet presents community-led land lease guidelines for Isukha West Ward. The

booklet outlines how the Isukha West community conducted the process and the land

lease guidelines. The aim of developing these community-led land lease guidelines was

to increase security of tenure in leasing land for agricultural purpose and to ensure

mutually benecial relationships for the lessee and the lessor. The community also

developed a land leasing agreement form. This form is included in this booklet.

The push for enhancing tenure security in land leasing goes back to a multi-stakeholder

Lessons Learnt Workshop that took place in Kisumu in February 2016. In this workshop,

all participants agreed on priority areas to be tackled to enable more sustainable land

management in western Kenya.

The community-led process was facilitated through the nancial support of the German

Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and technical support from TMG Research

gGmbH, Berlin, and Shibuye Community Health Workers (SCHW), a Shinyalu-based

community-based organization (CBO).

Special thanks to the Director of Shibuye Community Health Workers, Mrs. Violet

Khayecha Shivutse for providing the leadership for the preparation of the land lease

guidelines. Much appreciation goes to the people of Isukha West and their leaders for

taking up the land lease guidelines development process with a lot of enthusiasm.

We also acknowledge the County Government of Kakamega (CGK) for recognizing and

supporting the process of developing land lease guidelines in Isukha West Ward.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Doreen Magotsi is a Programme Ofcer with Shibuye Community Health Workers (SCHW) CBO,

Shinyalu

Linet Khalumba is a Project Assistant with Shibuye Community Health Workers (SCHW) CBO, Shinyalu

William Onura Akwanyi is a Research Assistant with Center for Training and Integrated Research in

ASAL Development (CETRAD)

Violet Shivutse is the Director for Shibuye Community Health Workers (SCHW) CBO, Shinyalu

Serah Kiragu-Wissler is a Research Associate with TMG Research gGmbH, Berlin

Frontpage photo: Ward-level Land Lease Guidelines awareness creation and process consultation

meeting at Munasio P.A.G. Church in Mukhonje Sub-location © Violet Shivutse

ISUKHA WEST WARD, SHINYALU SUB-COUNTY

KAKAMEGA COUNTY

Doreen Magotsi|Linet Khalumba|William Onura Akwanyi|Violet Shivutse|Serah Kiragu-Wissler

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE

GUIDELINES

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................... i

BACKGROUND: LAND LEASING – TOWARDS IMPROVING

ACCESS TO LAND FOR FARMING ................................ 1

LAND LEASE GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ......... 2

1|Awareness creation, consultation and negotiation

between institutional stakeholders ................................................2

2|Mobilization at the community level

(sub-location committees) ..........................................................3

3|Drafting of land lease guidelines (drafting committees) ........................3

4|Consolidation and approval of land lease guidelines ............................4

5|Launch of the lands lease guidelines ...............................................5

6|Land lease guidelines implementation and monitoring .........................6

LAND-LEASE GUIDELINES ................................. 7

1|Community land lease committee ......................................... 7

2|Land leasing procedure ..................................................... 8

3|Conditions .................................................................... 11

LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FORM ........................ 16

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

BACKGROUND:

LAND LEASING – TOWARDS IMPROVING

ACCESS TO FARMING LAND

Agriculture is the backbone of economic

development in Kenya. It is a major economic

activity to many households. The most

common way of acquiring agricultural land

in western Kenya is through inheritance.

As dictated by customary laws on land

inheritance, family pieces of land are in the

hands of elder male members of the family

and are passed on to other male members,

sons, when they are considered mature

enough to take care of the land. Women’s

access to family land is through their husbands

and is depended on their relationship with

their husbands. The increase in population

has led to fragmentation of land to the extent

that the small pieces are uneconomical for

agriculture. Restricted land access is a major

constraint to participation by many people

in agriculture. In most cases, the youths and

women are predisposed to restricted land

access. For most families and

people without land or with

insufcient land for farming

the only remaining avenue

for them to access this land is

through leasing.

Land leasing in the villages

is commonly done informally

and in informal settings such

as by the road, in churches or

market places. Some leasing

arrangements are done

without the involvement of

key parties such the spouse

(mostly the wife) and other

family members. In many

cases, there are neither

written agreements nor

witnesses to the land lease arrangements. This

exposes the parties involved to risks such as

premature termination of leases, unplanned

prolonged leases or even conict over sharing

of produce or resources on the leased land.

In view of the above risks and conicts, the

Isukha West Ward community from Shinyalu

Sub-county in Kakamega County decided to

develop their own guidelines to manage land

leasing arrangements.

The process of formulating the land-leasing

guidelines was facilitated by Shibuye

Community Health Workers (SCHW), a

grassroots organization working with

communities in Kakamega County, with

technical support from TMG Research gGmbH,

Berlin. It is hoped that these guidelines will

help solve the many conicts associated with

land leasing.

The Ward Administrator giving his remarks at the opening of the land

lease guidelines awareness creation and process consultation meeting

at Munasio PAG Church in Mukhonje Sub-location © Doreen Magotsi

LAND LEASE GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT

PROCESS

the process to be involved. Participants

included:

a) Ward Administrator, Isukha West Ward;

b) Ward Agriculture Ofcer, Isukha West

Ward;

c) Representatives from the Land Control

Board (LCB), Shinyalu sub-county;

d) Chief, Ilesi Location;

e) Assistant Chief, Mukhonje Sub-

location;

f) Assistant Chief, Mugomari Sub-

location;

g) Assistant Chief, Malimili Sub-location;

h) Some village elders from Isukha West

Ward; and

i) Some nyumba kumi (village security

vigilante team) ofcials from Isukha

West Ward.

Both the idea and process were unanimously

accepted by the institutional stakeholders and

the local community. The idea of developing

land lease guidelines for Isukha West Ward

was considered as a timely step to reducing

conicts related to land leasing. Although

a land leasing form was said to be available

on the website of the Ministry of Lands, the

local community had neither seen nor used it.

A representative from the Land Control Board

(LCB) informed the gathering that interested

persons were expected to download the form,

ll it and then pay KES1,000 to a lawyer for

endorsement. The participants felt that

the bureaucratic process of obtaining that

form did not resonate with their needs for

simplicity, accessibility and affordability of a

leasing procedure.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

The process comprised of the following

steps:

1) Awareness creation, consultation and

negotiation between institutional

stakeholders and the local community in

Isukha West Ward;

2) Awareness creation and consultation at

the community level;

3) Drafting of the land lease guidelines;

4) Consolidation and approval of the land

lease guidelines;

5) Launch of the land lease guidelines; and

6) Implementation and monitoring of the

land lease guidelines.

1|AWARENESS CREATION,

CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION

BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL

STAKEHOLDERS

This rst step aimed at introducing

the concept of land lease guidelines to

institutional stakeholders and the local

community in Isukha West Ward with a view

of obtaining their consensus and input into

the process. This step was done through a

Baraza (public meeting) held at Munasio

Pentecostal Assemblies of God (P.A.G.)

Church in Mukhonje Sub-location on 1st

November 2017. During the meeting, Shibuye

Community Health Workers CBO shared

with the local community and institutional

stakeholders, the idea of developing land

lease guidelines for Isukha West Ward and

2|MOBILIZATION AT THE

COMMUNITY LEVEL (SUB-

LOCATION COMMITTEES)

Mobilization was done in November 2017

through four meetings in the sub-locations.

The aim of the meetings was to mobilize the

participation of as many people in the Ward in

the development of the land lease guidelines.

Each sub-location committee included the

area assistant chief, some village elders,

some Nyumba kumi (village security vigilante

team) ofcials, representatives from the

Land Control Board (LCB) and the local

community members comprising of men,

women and youths who represented different

categories in the community such as young

farmers, opinion leaders, retired ofcers

from the public service, church leaders,

widows, lessors and lessees. These committee

meetings were chaired by their respective

area assistant chiefs. The area chief, the

ward administrator and the representatives

from the Land Control Board (LCB) were in

attendance in most of the sub-location and

drafting committee meetings.

The four sub-location level committees

were Mukhonje A, Mukhonje B, Malimili and

Mugomari. Each committee had an average

of thirty (30) persons. Mukhonje sub-

location was split into two committees due

to its large size.

The initiative to prepare land lease

guidelines was welcomed in all the sub-

locations. A participant from Malimili Sub-

location was very happy with the idea and

had this to say:

“I am an elder in this community and I am

happy with this initiative of developing land

leasing guidelines. For the many years that

I have lived here, I have never witnessed a

process like this happen. I am even happy

that many people have welcome the idea.”

There were varying views and concerns

about land leasing guidelines from these

committees. Some of the issues that were

discussed at these committees included:

procedure for leasing land; authentication

of land boundaries and ownership;

conrmation of absence of encumbrances;

identication and involvement of family

members and witnesses; period of

leasing; termination of lease; land leasing

committee; conditions of leasing; and

land lease agreement form. At the end of

mobilization and identication of key land

leasing issues that should be agreed up,

the sub-location committees nominated

drafting committees which would then

discuss the issues in more details.

3| DRAFTING OF LAND LEASE

GUIDELINES (DRAFTING

COMMITTEES)

The aim of the drafting committees was

to deliberate on the issues raised at the

sub-location committees and draft land

lease guidelines. There were three (3)

drafting committees, each representing

a sub-location. Each drafting committee

had approximately fteen (15) people and

held a minimum of three (3) sessions {three

(3) days}. Mukhonje A nominated 8 No.

people while Mukhonje B nominated seven

(7) people to form fteen (15) people for

Mukhonje Sub-location drafting committee.

Land lease guidelines consolidation meeting at Munasio P.A.G. Church in Mukhonje Sub-location

4| CONSOLIDATION AND

APPROVAL OF LAND LEASE

GUIDELINES

The draft land lease guidelines and

land lease agreement forms from the

drafting committees were discussed

and consolidated into one Isukha West

Ward land lease guidelines in a meeting

that was held on 21st November, 2017 at

Munasio Pentecostal Assemblies of God

(P.A.G.) Church. The aim of the meeting

was to build consensus on the issues and

recommendations formulated by the

drafting committees.

The meeting comprised of forty (40) people

including the following:

a) Ward administrator, Isukha West Ward;

b) Ward Agriculture Ofcer, Isukha West

Ward;

c) Representatives from the Land Control

Board (LCB), Shinyalu Sub-county;

d) Chief, Ilesi Location;

e) Assistant Chief, Mukhonje Sub-location;

f) Assistant Chief, Mugomari Sub-location;

g) Assistant Chief, Malimili Sub-location;

h) Some village elders from Isukha West Ward;

i) Some Nyumba Kumi (village security

vigilante) ofcials from Isukha West Ward;

and

j) Nominated members of the drafting

committees from all the sub-locations.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

The consolidation committee put

together the Isukha West Ward Land

Lease Guidelines and Isukha West Ward

Land Lease Agreement Form.

5| LAUNCH OF THE LANDS

LEASE GUIDELINES

This step sought to launch the guidelines

and create awareness of their existence

at the sub-location level. A launch meeting

was held on Friday 12th January 2018 at

Munasio PAG Church. The meeting was

attended by all members of all the drafting

committees as well as community leaders

who were present at the consolidation

committee.

The local community commended Shibuye

Community Health Workers (SCHW) for

ensuring proper representation and

participation of people from all over the

Ward. Participants were hopeful that the

land lease guidelines would help prevent

most of the conicts related to land

leasing.

Below are some of the feedback comments

from two participants:

“I am very happy with the idea of preparing

the land lease guidelines. Many people in

this area have suffered under the hands of

greedy lessors and lessees. I hope that we

shall not have people oppressed by these

greedy lessors and lessees if these guidelines

are implemented in the right way.” Everline

Malietso

“We are happy that we now have found a

solution to disputes related to land leasing

that are common in this area. In fact if we

all embrace these guidelines and become

ambassadors of these guidelines to the rest of

the community members then we as leaders

will have more time to handle other duties

other than land-related conicts.” Senior

Chief, Ilesi Location

“I congratulate the people of Isukha West Ward

for making the land leasing guidelines. I will

at your permission apply these guidelines in

my home area in Lugari.” Ward Administrator,

Isukha West Ward

Participants at the launch meeting at Munasio P.A.G. Church in

Mukhonje Sub-location © William Onura

The community emphasized

the need to popularize

the land lease guidelines

so that everybody in the

villages is aware of their

existence and can use

them.

6|LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

IMPLEMENTATION AND

MONITORING

The Isukha West Ward Land Lease Agreement

Form shall be made available for use by

everyone who enters into agricultural land

leasing transaction in Isukha West Ward. This

form will be made available at the Assistant

Chiefs’, and Chief’s ofces and at Shibuye

Community Health Workers’ (SCHW’s) ofce

at Shinyalu Centre. The local community

proposes formation of a sub-location level

Community Land Lease Committee, to be

chaired by the area Assistant Chief – the

Committee will oversee the implementation

of the land leasing processes. Other members

of the committee shall be the area Chief,

a village elder, a men’s representative, a

youth representative who is also farmer,

a representative from the Land Control

Board (LCB), the Ward Administrator, a

representative from the civil society and

a technical advisor from the agricultural

ofce. The Committee will meet regularly

to review the implementation of the land

lease guidelines and ensure that they meet

the needs of the users. The Committee

will also consolidate emerging issues that

may necessitate revision of the land lease

guidelines.

The process of developing the Land Lease

Guidelines is summarized in the diagram

below:

Figure 1: Process of developing the community-led land lease guidelines (CL-LLG)

• Share the concept of CL-LLG

• Consult for input in the process design

Awareness/process

Consultation I

Awareness/process

Consultation II

CL-LLG

Drafting

Consolidation &

Approval

Popularise

CL-LLG

Adoption

Monitoring

• Share the concept of CL-LLG

• Consult for input in the process design

• Nominate CL-LLG drafting commitee

• Discuss, negotiate and draft the lease guidelines

• Consolidate four drafts from sub-location consultations

• Approve consolidated CL-LLG

• Launch and create awareness on the approved guidelines

• Share copies of the guidelines

• Implementation of guidelines

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

LAND-LEASE GUIDELINES

The following are the Land Lease Guidelines as developed by the local community of

Isukha West Ward in Shinyalu Sub-county, Kakamega County between October 2017 and

January 2018.

i) One representative for women – she

shall cut across all categories of women

including married, divorced, separated

and widowed

j) One representative for men – he will only

be elected where more than half of the

other committee members are women

The committee shall have a maximum of

nine (9) members at any one time. This

number excludes the ex-ofcio members.

The representatives of the village elders,

youths, women and men where necessary

shall be appointed/elected/nominated

from the community during a Baraza (public

meeting). The process of appointment/

election/nomination of members of the

community land lease committee shall be

done publicly with the participation of all

people in the community.

The committee shall elect a treasurer. The

ex-ofcio members, the assistant chief (in

the capacity of chairperson) and the civil

society organizations (CSOs) representative

(in the capacity of secretary) shall not

be eligible for election to the post of a

treasurer. The treasurer shall be responsible

for keeping any monies collected from nes

or any transactions relating to land leasing.

The monies shall be used to facilitate the

meetings of the committee and for other

purposes as the committee may decide.

The committee shall hold meetings quarterly

to discuss matters relating to land leasing in

the respective sub-locations. The committee

1|COMMUNITY LAND LEASE

COMMITTEE

There shall be established a committee to

oversee land leasing in Isukha West Ward.

The committee shall be established at each

sub-location. The committee shall be called

community land lease committee. The

committee shall comprise of:

a) The Ward Administrator – he/she shall be

an ex-ofcio member of the committee

b) The area chief – he/she shall be an ex-

ofcio member of the committee

c) The area assistant chief – he/she shall be

the chairperson to the committee

d) One representative from the civil society

organizations (CSOs) – he/she shall be

the secretary to all the committee’s

meetings

e) One representative from the Land Control

Board (LCB) – he/she shall provide

technical advice to the committee

f) Agricultural extension ofcer – he/she

shall provide technical advice to the

committee

g) One representative of village elders –

preference shall be given to a senior

village elder

h) One youth representative – he/she must

be a youth farmer between 18 – 35 years

of age

d) Ensure that the family members of the

land owner are involved in order to

reduce conicts.

e) Authenticate that the piece of land that

he/she wishes to lease belongs to the

lessor by requesting one or more of the

following documents:

i) Land title deed

ii) Certicate of lease

iii) Allotment letter

iv) Legal afdavit

v) Certicate of ofcial search from the

land registrar’s ofce

vi) Any other document or evidence

approved by the laws of Kenya and/or

community land lease committee

f) Verify the details of the above documents

from the land owner’s identication

documents such as national identity card

or valid Kenyan passport.

g) Where there are no documents to conrm

ownership or where these documents are

deemed expensive to obtain, conrmation

of land ownership may be obtained from

family members of the land owner, or

from neighbours, or elders and leaders

of the area where land is to be leased.

This is because these family members,

neighbours, elders and leaders have been

residents in that area for a long time and

therefore understand land ownership

matters in that area.

h) Authenticate that the piece of land that

he/she wishes to lease has no conicts

(free of encumbrances) by consulting

with the family members, neighbours,

elders, local leaders, previous users of

that piece of land and the community

land lease committee.

may hold special sittings depending on the

case necessitating such meetings.

The Assistant Chief shall be the custodian of

the register for all land lease transactions

in his/her sub-location and shall update the

committee of all land lease transactions

within the sub-location for monitoring and

evaluation of the implementation of the

land lease guidelines.

The responsibilities of the committee shall

be:

1) Overseeing land leasing transactions at

the sub-location level.

2) Consolidating emerging issues that may

necessitate revision of the land lease

guidelines.

3) Resolving conicts related to land

leasing. The committee may at the time

of any of its meetings invite the parties

affected by land lease conicts into their

meeting.

2| LAND LEASING PROCEDURE

1) A lessee (person with intent to lease a

piece of land) shall before leasing any

piece of land:

a) Identify the piece of land that he/she

wishes to lease.

b) Identify the owner of the piece of land

that he/she wishes to lease.

c) Involve his/her family members or

relatives especially the spouse and

children and/or close friends and where

possible have a next of kin for the

purposes of the piece of land that he/

she wishes to lease in which case the

next of kin must also be informed.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

3) Both the lessee and the lessor shall, as

part of the process of the transaction

relating to the land leasing:

a) Involve the community land lease

committee and register the lease with

this committee.

b) Not enter into a lease agreement for

community and government land, road

reserves, land belonging to other people

or institutions or land that is meant

for preservation under the law such as

riparian areas (areas situated on the

banks of rivers and streams).

c) Agree on the kind of lease (short-term

or long-term) including possibilities and

requirements for renewal.

d) Agree on the size of land to be leased

and its boundaries, by making clear

descriptions, using important landmarks

on that land such as trees, fences, roads,

terraces, buildings, streams, rocks and

graves among others. A sketch map can

be drawn using these features. A map of

the area if available can also be included.

e) Agree on the rights to possession and use,

and the degree of freedom and control

by both the land owner and the lessee

over the leased piece of land including:

i) The intended use of the piece of the

land to be leased such as the kinds

of crops to be grown or number of

bricks to be made, or amount of gold

or clay to be extracted - where land

is intended for other purposes other

than agriculture.

ii) Arrangements for inspection of the

leased piece of land by the land

owner.

i) Ensure that the lease agreement is

properly written and dully signed by

him/her and the land owner before

the village elder and area the Assistant

Chief or Chief for the area where the

piece of land to be leased is.

2) A lessor (land owner) shall before leasing

out any piece of land:

a) Involve his/her family members and/or

close friends.

b) Ensure that the family members or

relatives of the lessee especially the

spouse and children are involved in

order to reduce conicts.

c) Provide the lessee with adequate access

to the leased piece of land.

d) Provide neighbours with ample access

to property/facilities such as homes or

land etc. located behind the piece of

land to be leased.

e) Provide access to communally shared

facilities and utilities such as water

wells and protected springs located

within the land to be leased.

f) Clearly advise the lessee of any sections

or developments on the piece of land to

be leased that should not be interfered

with.

g) Provide correct information about

himself/herself and the status of piece

of land that he/she wishes lease out.

h) Ensure that the lease agreement is

properly written and dully signed by

him/her and the lessee in presence of

the village elder and the area Assistant

Chief or Chief for the area where the

land to be leased is located.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

h) Note down the physical conditions of

the land at the time the lease is granted

and agree on the expected conditions of

the land at the time it is handed back to

the land owner at the end of the lease

period including whether or not to retain

introduced structures such as fences, rain

water harvesting pans and terraces.

i) Set the compensation or rent to be

offered for the land lease. This may

be money to be paid, a share of crop

harvest, or a share of other products from

the farm such as uprooted stamps for

wood fuel or rocks/stones dug out from

the piece of land. Where land is rented

for other purposes other than agriculture

consideration can be made for sharing

extracted minerals such as gold; or bricks

made form extracted clay.

j) Agree on how the compensation or

rent will be calculated, terms/mode of

payment and consequences to the lessee

for not honoring the payment within the

agreed terms.

k) Agree on the responsibilities of each party

as pertains crops and/or activities on the

leased piece of land including care of the

crops and/or activities.

l) Understand the risks involved and how

to manage them in order to prevent

conicts. In this regard the lessor and the

lessee shall:

i) Involve their family members;

ii) Agree and note down their dispute

resolution mechanisms;

iii) Identify and involve their witnesses

who are of sound mind and age;

iii) Opportunities for the lessee to use

other assets or infrastructure on the

leased piece of land such as perennial

crops including fruit trees and fodder;

latrines; and water points including

rain water harvesting tanks, wells,

boreholes and springs among others.

iv) Obligations for protecting the leased

piece of land by fencing and improving

its fertility through sustainable land

management practices (SLM) such

as liming, terracing, manuring and

planting agroforestry trees.

v) Responsibilities for maintaining

infrastructure such as access roads,

fences, terraces, latrines and water

points; and assets such as trees and

fodder.

vi) Possibilities of the land owner

accessing and using infrastructure

such as latrines and water points;

assets such as trees and fodder; and

cultural assets such as shrines and

graves.

f) Agree on the period of the lease

including the duration of the lease, the

time when the leased piece of land will

be availed to the lessee and when it

will be handed back to the land owner.

Sometimes people allow others to use

their piece of land until such a time

when their children are old enough to

farm on that piece of land. Where the

age of children of the land owner is used

as a time counter for when land is to be

handed back to the land owner, then the

age of a specic child shall be noted.

g) Agree on the exibility of the lease

including whether to review the lease at

a future date and specify the date of the

review.

and attached to the lease agreement.

2) Involvement of the community land lease

committee and registration of lease

a) The community land lease committee

shall be involved from the beginning

through all the steps.

b) Both the lessee and the land owner and

their respective witnesses shall sign the

land lease agreement form in presence of

the assistant chief and/or village elder.

c) The land lease agreement form shall be

lled and signed in triplicate.

d) The assistant chief or chief shall endorse

all the three (triplicates) of the dully-

lled and signed land lease agreement

form on all their pages.

e) The assistant chief or chief shall register

the lease.

f) The land owner, the lessee and the

assistant chief or chief shall each keep

one of the three originally endorsed land

lease agreement form.

g) The assistant chief or chief shall inform

the community land lease committee.

3) Period of leasing land

A land lease year shall begin in January and

end in December of that year or the following

years. However, reasons for any lease period

beginning and/or ending at another time of

the year must be clearly stated in the lease

agreement. The period of leasing land shall

be determined by:

a) The type of crop: A short-term land lease

shall not exceed 1 year of 12 calendar

months while a long-term land lease

iv) Agree in writing the consequences or

penalty to the lessee for misuse of

the leased land, or refusal to vacate

the leased land at the end of the

lease period or any other breach of

contract by the lessee;

v) Agree in written on consequences

to the land owner for premature

termination of the lease and for

encroachment into the lessee’s

crop or leased piece of land during

the period of the lease or any other

breach of contract by the land owner;

vi) Agree in written on their

responsibilities as pertains the leased

land during the period of the lease

and consequences for breach of

contract by either party; and

vii) Agree in writing on compensation by

or penalty to either party in case of

breach of contract.

3|CONDITIONS

1) Age limit: Any adult person above 18

years of age can lease or be lease out

land. The lessor and the lessee must

ensure that their witnesses are of sound

mind and above 18 years of age. In cases

of under-age (below 18 years) orphans

or custodians of family land who wish to

lease out land, the assistant chief and/

or chief shall conrm that they have

genuine need for leasing out that piece

of land and that they have an adult

representative of sound mind and health

from their family, neighbour or family

friends of their own choice who can stand

in as a guardian. The information about

this adult representative should be noted

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

c) In leasing of land for agricultural

purpose the lessee shall apply the best

agricultural practices.

d) Where land is to be leased for other

purposes other than agriculture,

environmental and other relevant laws

shall have to be adhered to.

e) In the event that there is interference

with any activity or destruction or theft

of crop(s) on the leased land by either

lessee or lessor, the appropriate law

should be allowed to take its course.

f) Both the land owner and the lessee shall

inform at least one neighbour of the piece

of land to be leased, of the intention to

lease the land and the intended use.

g) Any use of leased land for purposes of

extraction of natural resources therein

or for an activity that is likely to degrade

the environment shall be subjected to

environmental assessment and approval

by the National Environment Management

Authority (NEMA) as required by Kenyan

law

h) Any use of leased land in a manner that

degrades the environment shall require

that the lessee restores or rehabilitates

that degraded land and environment as

required by Kenyan law

Section 58 of the Environmental Management

and Coordination Act (EMCA), 1999 (Cap. 387),

amended 2015

Section 3(d) of the Environmental Management

and Coordination Act (EMCA), 1999 (Cap. 387),

amended 2015

shall not exceed 6 years of 72 calendar

months. On negotiation however, a

short-term lease or long-term lease will

be subject to renewal for another short-

term lease or long-term lease.

b) The use of the land: Leasing of land

for agricultural use shall depend on

the kinds of crops to be grown. Short-

term leasing shall be used for purposes

of annual crops that are commonly

grown in the area including maize,

pulses (beans, soy beans, peas etc),

vegetables, root crops, ground nuts,

Bambara nuts and other new crops that

may later be introduced in the area.

Long-term leasing shall be used for

perennial crops such as already planted

tea, sugarcane, bananas and other new

crops that may later be introduced

in the area; and other uses other that

agriculture such as gold mining, tree

planting, brick-making, clay extraction,

sand harvesting and business space; or

as agreed between the lessee and the

land owner.

4) Use of land

a) The land owner shall, before entering

into lease agreement, clearly state

to the lessee, areas or developments

on the piece of land to be leased that

should not be interfered with such

as trees, structures, sacred places,

shrines, graveyards.

b) The lessee will not carry out any other

activity on the leased piece of land

other than what will have been agreed

upon in the lease agreement.

children were born within the marriage or

before or outside.

c) One or both parents or a guardian.

d) Siblings of the lessor and/or lessee.

e) A friend or a condant.

f) Any family member.

g) A neighbour to the leased piece of land.

h) A village elder for the village where the

land to be leased is.

7) Next of kin

The lessee shall choose a next of kin for the

leased piece of land. This may be a close or

a distant family member.

8) Review of lease shall be agreed between

the lessor and the lessee and shall be

communicated to the community land

lease committee. A review of lease shall

include one or more of the following:

a) Changes in witnesses;

b) Change of use on the leased piece of

land;

c) Modications on the duration of the

lease;

d) Alteration in the boundaries of the

leased piece of land;

e) Changes in mode/terms of payment of

security and rent;

f) Expansion or reduction on the area of the

leased piece of land;

g) Increase or reduction in the security and

rent offered for the lease;

h) Changes in degree of freedom and

control by both the land owner and the

lessee; and

5) Responsibilities

a) The lessor shall:

i) Not interfere with the crops or

activities of the lessee on the

leased piece of land;

ii) Ensure that his/her family members,

friends or livestock do not interfere

with the crops or activities of the

lessee on the leased piece of land;

and

iii) Adhere to the lease agreement.

b) The lessee shall:

i) Not carry out any other activity on

the leased land other than what

both parties agree on in the lease

agreement;

ii) Ensure security for his crops and/

or activities on the leased piece of

land; and

iii) Adhere to the lease agreement.

6) Witnesses

Both the land owner and the lessee shall

each choose at least two witnesses who

are of sound mind and good health. A land

owner or lessee shall not use witnesses who

are below 18 years. Witnesses must present

their original identication documents

before signing as witnesses on the lease

agreement form. Both family members

(close and distant relatives) and non-

family members may serve as witnesses. In

general, the following persons can serve as

witnesses:

a) A spouse or spouses.

b) One or more of children, above 18years

of age, where the lessor and/or lessee

has children irrespective of whether the

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

11) Breach of contract

a) A breach of contract shall include one or

more of the following:

i) If it is discovered that the lessee

is growing illegal crops such as

marijuana on the leased piece of

land;

ii) Failure by the lessee to pay the

agreed rent promptly;

iii) The lessor damaging the crops and/

or properties or interfering with the

activities of the lessee on the leased

piece of land;

iv) The lessee damaging the leased piece

of land or other environment beyond

the threshold established in the lease

agreement;

v) A lessor not preventing his family,

livestock or friends from destroying

the crops and/or properties or

interfering with the activities of the

lessee on the leased piece of land;

and

vi) Failure by the either lessor or lessee

to observe and adhere to any of one

or more of the conditions set out in

the lease agreement.

b) For whatever reasons that either of the

parties breaches the contract, a penalty

of up to 100 % of the initial agreed rent

plus compensation equivalent to the

value of the destroyed crop as per the

Agricultural guidelines on crop damage

or activities interfered with or damage

to the land as will be advised by the

community land lease committee or any

other legal ofce, shall be paid by the

offender to the offended in presence of

the community land lease committee or

its representative.

i) Any other amendments to what is

written in the lease agreement form.

9) Lease rent

a) The rent for leasing land shall depend

on the type and productivity of the

piece of land to be leased and intended

use.

b) The community proposes a minimum

rent of Kshs. 4,500.00 per acre per year

for short term leases and a maximum of

Kshs. 15,000.00 per acre per year for

long term leases.

c) Rates for leasing tea where applicable

will be in accordance with the Kenya

Tea Development Authority (KTDA)

framework.

d) Rates for use of land for other purposes

other than agriculture shall be agreed

upon based on one or more of the

following factors but will not be limited

to these factors: amount of produce

such as number of bricks made, trucks

of murram and amount of gold or clay;

volume of excavation; acreage; and

time.

e) The gures listed in b) above are

guiding gures as other factors such as

relationship between the land owner

and lessee can be considered and

therefore the decision on the nal lease

rent rests with the land owner and the

lessee.

10) Termination of lease

A lease will be terminated on maturity

or where the land owner and the lessee

mutually agree to do so based on their

own reasons and terms and surrender to

the community land lease committee for

cancellation of the lease agreement.

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

SAMPLE

LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FORM

ISUKHA WEST WARD

This land lease agreement form was developed in 2017 by the local community of Isukha West Ward

with support from Shibuye Community Health Workers CBO with the aim of facilitating good relations

in leasing land.

Date of agreement: (DD/MM/YY)

Parties to the agreement

Name(s)

Lessee (tenant) details

ID./valid passport

No.(s)

Postal address(es)

Telephone/mobile

phone No.(s)

Lessor (land owner) details

Name(s)

ID./valid passport

No.(s)

Postal address(es)

Telephone/mobile

phone No.(s)

Land area being leased

The piece of land measures

(describe the piece of land using visible and permanent marks on that land)

Terms of lease

Period of lease

Purpose of use of land by lessee

Rent in Kshs.

LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FORM -

ISUKHA WEST WARD

More copies of this form can be obtained at the nearest Assistant Chief’s, Chief’s or Shibuye CBO Ofﬁce in Shinyalu Market Centre

(insert dimensions in metres). Its boundaries are

Next of kin of lessee:

Name

Relationship with lessee

Conditions of payment (state the

date and amount of first installment

and how and when to clear the

balance).

SAMPLE

Degree of freedom of control by

the lessor

Degree of freedom of use and

control by lessee

Conditions on return of land by the

lessee back to the land owner

This agreement shall remain binding between the lessor and the lessee

Any amendments or review to this agreement shall mean a new agreement and this shall be communicated to the

community land lease committee

Any breach of this contract shall warrant a fine of Kshs. or a fine

equivalent to

(describe the fine in any other ways)

LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FORM - ISUKHA WEST WARD

More copies of this form can be obtained at the nearest Assistant Chief’s, Chief’s or Shibuye CBO Ofﬁce in Shinyalu Market Centre

Lessor

Signature

Thumbprint

Name

ID./valid passport No.

Postal address(es)

Telephone/mobile phone No.(s)

Signed by:

Date

Lessee

Signature

Thumbprint

Name

ID./valid passport No.

Postal address(es)

Telephone/mobile phone No.(s)

Date

SAMPLE

LAND LEASE AGREEMENT FORM

ISUKHA WEST WARD

More copies of this form can be obtained at the nearest Assistant Chief’s, Chief’s or Shibuye CBO Ofﬁce in Shinyalu Market Centre

Lessee’s witness(es)

1st witness

Signature:

Name:

Thumbprint:

ID./valid passport No.:

Postal address(es):

Date:

Lessor’s witness(es)

Telephone/mobile phone

No.(s):

In the presence of witnesses:

1st witness

Signature:

Name:

Thumbprint:

ID./valid passport No.:

Postal address(es):

Date:

Telephone/mobile phone

No.(s):

2nd witness

Signature:

Name:

Thumbprint:

ID./valid passport No.:

Postal address(es):

Date:

Telephone/mobile phone

No.(s):

2nd witness

Signature:

Name:

Thumbprint:

ID./valid passport No.:

Postal address(es):

Date:

Telephone/mobile phone

No.(s):

Endorsed by:

Chief/assistant chief/village elder

Signature

Name

Designation

Stamp/seal and date

COMMUNITY-LED LAND LEASE GUIDELINES

Contact/Imprint

Violet Shivutse, Director

Shibuye Community Health Workers CBO

on Tel: 0724 233930

Email: [email protected]