The Sectional Properties Act 2020 explained: what every apartment owner in Kenya needs to know

Most apartment owners in Kenya hold their unit under a regime almost none of them have ever read. The Sectional Properties Act 2020 came into force in December 2020 and replaced the Sectional Properties Act 1987. It is the law that defines what an apartment owner actually owns, what they share with their neighbours, who governs the building and how decisions get made. Reading the Act in full is dry. Knowing the parts that affect your daily life as an owner is genuinely useful. Here is the practical 2026 explainer for diaspora owners and Nairobi apartment buyers.

What the 2020 Act changed

The 2020 Act modernised and tightened the regime in several ways:

1. All long term sub leases that were previously used to deliver apartment ownership had to be converted into sectional titles within a transition period
2. Each unit gets a separate sectional title, registered at the Lands Registry, which the owner can sell, mortgage and transfer just like any other immovable property
3. Common areas (lobbies, lifts, corridors, rooftops, gardens, parking) are owned in undivided shares by all unit owners through a legal entity known as a corporation
4. The corporation is automatically formed on registration of the sectional plan and replaces the old style management company in many buildings
5. Stricter rules on by laws, meetings, financial management and reserves apply

What you actually own as an apartment buyer

Under the Act, a sectional title gives you:

• The unit. The space inside the inside surface of the bounding walls, floor and ceiling of your apartment. The walls themselves are common property in most cases.
• Accessory units. Parking spaces, store rooms, balconies and other designated extras allocated to your apartment.
• An undivided share in the common property. Calculated by your unit factor (sometimes called participation quota), which is set in the registered sectional plan.
• A vote in the corporation weighted by your unit factor.
• An obligation. Service charge and reserve fund contributions, by laws, insurance levies and any special levies the corporation properly resolves.

What your unit factor actually means

The unit factor is the number that quantifies each unit’s share in the common property and the common expenses. It is set in the registered sectional plan and it determines:

• What share of the service charge your unit pays
• What share of any special levy applies to your unit
• What weight your vote carries in corporation meetings
• What share of the proceeds you receive if the building is ever wound up

Unit factors are typically calculated based on floor area, sometimes adjusted for unit type or floor level. Once registered they are very hard to change. Buyers should confirm their unit factor before purchase, not after.

The corporation and what it does

The corporation is the legal entity formed automatically when the sectional plan is registered. Its members are all the unit owners in the building. Its job is to manage the common property, collect contributions, insure the building, enforce the by laws and represent the owners as a body.

• Executive Committee. The corporation elects a committee (usually three to seven members) to handle day to day governance.
• Annual General Meeting. Held once a year. Approves budget, accounts, committee, and any major decisions requiring an ordinary or special resolution.
• Special General Meeting. Called for specific matters between AGMs.
• Resolutions. Ordinary resolutions for routine matters; special resolutions (75 percent of unit factors) for major decisions; unanimous resolutions for the rare items the Act reserves for full owner consent.

Corporation vs management company

Older Kenyan apartment buildings were typically delivered through a management company structure, where each apartment had a sub lease and the common property was held by a management company whose shares the unit owners owned. The 2020 Act replaced this in most cases with the corporation model.

For older buildings:

• The transition to sectional titles was supposed to be completed within two years of the Act (with extensions). Many buildings have completed this. Some have not, and still operate under the old structure.
• Buyers in older buildings should specifically ask whether the building has converted, what stage the conversion is at, and what the implications are for their title.
• Many corporations contract a property management company to handle day to day management on their behalf. The corporation is the principal; the management company is the agent.

We cover the management company side in detail in our HOA and management company fees piece.

Service charge and reserve fund

The Act requires the corporation to maintain:

1. A service charge fund for ordinary running costs (security, cleaning, gardening, lift maintenance, generator fuel, water, insurance, management fees)
2. A reserve fund for major repairs and replacements (lift overhaul, generator replacement, roof refurbishment, painting cycle, road resurface)

The service charge is approved annually at the AGM based on a budget. The reserve fund must be topped up over time so the building can pay for big ticket items without surprise levies. We cover the practicalities in our service charge piece.

By laws: the rules of your building

The Act provides default by laws for sectional property. Each corporation can adopt its own by laws by special resolution, within the framework the Act allows. Common by law topics:

• Use of units (residential only, short stay allowed or not, commercial use restrictions)
• Pet policy
• Renovation rules and approvals
• Noise hours
• Parking allocation and guest parking
• Use of common areas (pool hours, gym rules, rooftop bookings)
• Procedure for collecting service charge arrears

For Airbnb and short stay use specifically, by laws are increasingly restrictive in many compounds. Buyers planning short stay rental should read the by laws before purchase and understand the restrictions that apply.

When things go wrong

The Act gives owners several routes when the corporation, the committee or another owner is not behaving properly:

1. Internal complaint to the corporation and enforcement of by laws
2. Mediation through the Land Registrar or the Tribunal
3. Land and Environment Court for serious disputes (governance, large arrears, structural issues)
4. Owner action to set aside resolutions improperly passed

Questions every apartment buyer should ask

1. Has the building completed conversion to sectional titles under the 2020 Act
2. What is the unit factor for this unit
3. What is the current service charge per square metre and what is the trajectory over the last five years
4. What is the reserve fund balance and what major works are forecast in the next five to ten years
5. Are there any active special levies or any planned in the near term
6. What is the service charge collection rate (the single best signal of building health)
7. What are the by laws on short stay use and renovations
8. Are the audited accounts of the corporation available for the last three years
9. What insurance is in place at corporation level (buildings, public liability) and at owner level (contents, owner’s liability)
10. Are there any pending disputes or court matters

The unit is what you live in. The corporation is what makes the building work. Both matter.

How Goldstay handles it

For sourcing clients we run corporation level diligence (audited accounts, service charge history, reserve fund position, collection rate, active disputes) before we recommend a unit. For management clients we represent the owner’s interests in corporation matters, attend AGMs by proxy where helpful, and flag any governance issues before they affect the owner’s position.

Read also our pieces on service charge in Nairobi apartments and HOA and management company fees for the operational and financial picture that sits inside the legal framework above.