Buying property as an unmarried couple in Kenya: the honest guide
Many couples buy property in Nairobi before marriage. The legal, tax and structuring decisions are different from a married couple’s purchase. Here is the honest 2026 guide on co-ownership, financing, exit and the documentation that actually protects both parties.
Many couples buy property in Nairobi before marriage. The legal, tax and structuring decisions are different from a married couple’s purchase. Here is the honest 2026 guide on co-ownership, financing, exit and the documentation that actually protects both parties.
Ownership structures
- Joint tenancy: both parties hold an undivided joint interest with right of survivorship
- Tenancy in common: each party holds a defined share (e.g. 60/40); on death the share passes by will or intestacy, not to the surviving co-owner automatically
- Sole ownership with contribution: title in one name, the other contributing under a separate documented loan or gift
- Company ownership: property held by a company in which both parties hold shares
Recommended for unmarried couples
- Tenancy in common with explicit ownership shares matching financial contribution
- Co-ownership agreement covering contribution, exit, dispute resolution and treatment on relationship change
- Mirror wills appointing each other (if intended)
- Power of attorney provisions for incapacity
Finance considerations
- Banks accept joint mortgage applicants regardless of marital status
- Both parties co-sign and become jointly and severally liable
- Income aggregation increases mortgage size
- Default by one party affects the other
Exit if the relationship ends
- Co-ownership agreement should cover: forced sale, right of first refusal, valuation mechanism, mortgage assumption
- Without an agreement, a partition action through the courts is slow and expensive
- Refinancing to allow one party to buy out the other is a typical exit
Cohabitation and presumption of marriage
- Kenyan courts have applied a presumption of marriage doctrine in some long-cohabitation cases
- The Marriage Act 2014 narrowed this but the legal landscape continues to evolve
- Document the property arrangement in writing; do not rely on presumptions
Risks
- Relationship breakdown without documentation produces expensive litigation
- Death without will produces succession outcomes that may not reflect intent
- Mortgage default by one party affects both parties’ credit and asset
Most expensive Kenyan unmarried couple property disputes are not about the property; they are about the absence of a written agreement when the relationship ended.
How Goldstay handles it
For unmarried couple clients we coordinate with independent counsel on the co-ownership agreement. Read also our pieces on personal name vs company and property and divorce Kenya.
The Goldstay Legal Desk covers Kenyan and Ghanaian property law, title diligence, sale agreements, stamp duty, succession and the regulatory environment that property owners and investors encounter. Pieces are written in collaboration with our advocate partners.
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