Conveyancing

Contract of sale

Where two parties have signed a contract of sale for the purchase of land from one to the other, they have a binding and lawful agreement provided it has complied with all the elements of a basic contract. The two persons must have capacity to own land in Zambia in accordance with the Lands Act of Zambia.

Of course before contracting, we advise that DUE DILIGENCE be carried out on the subject property. M&P will in this process conduct standard searches on the status of the land or property in question; this will include obtaining Lands Register printouts, physical file searches and authentication of the Certificate of Title if it is a case of titled land.

State Consent

The State’s permission to hand over ownership of property from one person to another is needed in order for the land transfer procedure to begin. It is the first stage of the land transfer carried out by the Ministry of Lands and can only be granted when all outstanding Ground Rent fees on the property have been cleared.

Property Transfer Tax (PTT)

Any person or company agreeing to sell their property to another party incurs a tax debt for the transaction which has to be paid to Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA). Once the tax is paid, ZRA will issue a PTT Clearance Certificate which is lodged in together with the property assignment towards the end of the process.

ZRA has set up a station at the Ministry of Lands to help make procedures relating to property transfers as simple and quick as possible; this makes the Ministry of Lands a One-Stop destination with regards to sale of land. Armed with your required collection of documents, we proceed to prepare the tax application and duly inform you when the payment is due.

Registration and Issuance of Buyer’s Certificate of Title

After all requirements above have been met, all the original documents are lodged i.e. State Consent, PTT payment receipt and Clearance Certificate as well as the Deed of Assignment and Original Certificate of Title. The Deed of Assignment is the document that effectively transfers ownership in the land from the Seller to the Buyer. Once the Ministry approves the documents, they are processed and an original certificate of title is typed for the purchaser in readiness for collection; thus marking the end of the standard conveyancing process.