Kuwait

Registering Property in

Kuwait

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: KWD 522,512.2
  • City: Kuwait City

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Apply for the Borders and Cadastral Sheet from the Municipality

The seller must request a Borders and Cadastral Sheet from the Municipality providing the details of the property in question (i.e. its size, the developments on it, the zoning, etc) and confirming that the property is in compliance with all the Municipality regulations. This document is prepared following an inspection of the property by an architect of the Municipality. The warehouse is likely to be in one of the following areas; Shuwaikh, Sulaibiya, Sabhan, Al Rai, Anghara and Ardiya. This is however not an exclusive list. The Kuwait Municipality, which is the authority responsible for zoning, may authorize the construction of a warehouse in an area that is not ordinarily used for warehousing.

The documentation shall include:
Application from the seller on the selling company's letterhead
Copy of the deed of title of the property provided by the seller
Documents proving the authority of the person submitting the application on behalf of the seller
The Borders and Cadastral Sheet will also include among other things; any violations that the property has incurred (e.g. non-maintenance of the property, or encroachment of the property borders on neighboring plots), any violations of the structure (e.g. if the building does not meet the fire regulations), usage of the plot (e.g. for commercial or residential purpose). Any licenses granted to the plot (e.g. license to have machinery brought onto the property to be used on the plot) and drawings of the plot and structures approved from the Municipality showing the areas and utilization of the plot.



Agency: Municipality 		1 day KWD 5
* 2 Inspection of the property by an architect representing the Municipality

The Municipality will send out an inspector/architect to inspect the property in question and collect the relevant information; after which the Municipality will issue the Borders and Cadastral Sheet and transfer the same along with a letter of no objection to the transfer to the Ministry of Justice to continue the process of the property transfer.

It ordinarily takes between 7 – 12 days for the inspection of the property that is located within the Capital Province by an architect/engineer representing the Municipality. For properties located in the other provinces, the process may be shorter or longer depending on the work load of the Municipality officials.

The process is typically as follows: the seller will go to the Municipality (with jurisdiction over the location of the warehouse to be sold) to submit an application for an allocation letter (specifying the size of the plot and the buildings on it if any) and a description certificate (description of the existing buildings if any on the plot and size/use of such building). The fee to be paid for these documents is KD10. The seller concurrently delivers the warehouse's title deed to the Municipality against a receipt thereof. The engineer/architect responsible for the area then fixes a date to meet with the seller at the warehouse to carry out the inspection, or may alternatively carry out the inspection on his own.

Generally, this procedure may take 10 working days (two weeks). Meanwhile, the seller should obtain clearance from the utility authorities (i.e. electricity, water and telephone). When the Municipality engineer completes the inspection and the Municipality has issued the descriptions certificate and the allocation letter for the property, the seller will be issued with a receipt with a reference number from the Municipality with which the seller will receive the original title deed, the allocation letter and the descriptions certificate from the General Registry Division at the Ministry of Justice.

Agency: Municipality 		7-12 days (simultaneous with procedures 3, 4, and 5) KWD 10
* 3 Obtain clearance from the Ministry of Communications

The Seller must obtain a clearance from the Ministry of Communications (necessary for all types of properties both commercial and residential). The clearance is to confirm that the previous owner/seller has settled all related utility bills.

Agency: Ministry of Communications 		1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2, 4, and 5) no cost
* 4 Obtain clearance from the Ministry of the Electricity regarding outstanding electricity bills

Parties obtain a certificate of the Ministry of the Electricity that there are no outstanding electricity bills or other dues to the Ministry.

Agency: Ministry of the Electricity 		1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2, 3, and 5) no cost
* 5 Obtain a certificate from the Minister of Commerce and Industry evidencing the signatory authority of the legal representative of the parties

Parties obtain a certificate from the Minister of Commerce and Industry evidencing the signatory authority of the legal representative of the parties who will sign the sale agreement, together with copies of their civil identification cards. They obtain Form I "Undertaking & Acknowledgement" and Form IX "Acknowledgement of the Representative" from the Department of Commercial Companies at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, that must be submitted for registration in Procedure 6. Form I shows that the parties exist and have the power to conclude the sale/purchase transaction in accordance with their own Article of Association. Form IX confirms the authority of their representatives who follow up the procedures with the Department.


Agency: Minister of Commerce and Industry 		1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2, 3, and 4) KWD 10-14
6 File an application requesting a transfer of title with the Contracts Control Department of the Real Estate Registration Office of the Ministry of Justice

The seller must prepare an application requesting a transfer of title to be filed with the Contracts Control Department of the Real Estate Registration Office of the Ministry of Justice. The Contracts Control Department reviews the application and the attached documents internally (3-7 days). After reviewing the application, the Contracts Control Department will take an extra 17-28 days to check all the documentation and approve the transfer. If approved, the form of the sale agreement is transferred to the notarization department for review. Once approved, the same is printed on the official green papers used by the Ministry and becomes ready for signature.
The 0.5% registration fee is paid to the Department of Real Estate Registration & Authentication (Ministry of Justice) upon the completion of the registration procedures, who approves the submitted documents before parties sign the notarized sale contract.

The documentation shall include:
a) Form of the sale agreement (available at the Real Estate Registration Office)
b) Form I "Undertaking & Acknowledgement" signed by parties (obtained in Procedure 5)
c) Form II "Immediate Sale Form" signed by parties (available at the Real Estate Registration Office)
d) Form IX "Acknowledgement of the Representative" signed by parties (obtained in Procedure 5)
e) Original deed of title of the property;
f) A recent certificate from the Minister of Commerce and Industry evidencing the signatory power of the legal representative of the parties (obtained in Procedure 5).
g) Copies of the articles of association of both companies.
h) If powers of attorneys are used, copies thereof must be attached
i) Municipal certificate of no objection (obtained in Procedure 3)


Agency: Real Estate Registration Office of the Ministry of Justice 		2 weeks 0.5% of property value (registration fee)
7 Legal representative of the parties must appear in person to sign the sale agreement before the notary public

The parties must appear in person or through their attorneys to sign the sale agreement before the notary public. The notary public verifies the contents of the written agreement (a form commonly prescribed by the Ministry of Justice), authenticates the required signatures, and satisfies all other related matters. The notary public is a governmental body in Kuwait providing public service and is part of the Ministry of Justice.

The process may however take a longer (two working weeks at most) or shorter time frame depending on characteristics of the transaction (i.e. if it is a contentious issue) or the work load in the Ministry at the time of application. The duration of the process may also be affected by the identity of the entities or people involved (i.e. the process is relatively shorter and more straight forward for individuals while companies will likely take a longer period of time as more documentation is required – e.g. board resolutions, minutes of meetings, etc).

Furthermore, if the warehouse price reflected in the sale agreement is considered to be below the market value/price, the Ministry in such case may dispatch an expert to carry out a valuation of the warehouse to avoid any loss that may be incurred by the Ministry when it collects the transfer charges that are 0.5% of the property value. The process of the valuation of the warehouses may take approximately 5 - 10 days (one to two working weeks).

The parties must either appear in person or send an attorney authorized to act on their behalf (holder of a Power of Attorney).

The buyer typically receives the title deed on the same day after it has been signed by both parties and the notary public and after it has been stamped and given a registration number from the Department of Real Estate and Registration at the Ministry of Justice.

Agency: Notary public of Ministry of justice 		1 day no cost
8 The sale agreement is recorded under the name of the buyer by the Contracts Control Department

The notary public delivers the notarized sale agreement to the Contracts Control Department for it to be recorded under the name of the purchasing company. The sale agreement is used as the deed of title. An original of the sale agreement, proving title, is delivered to the buyer thereafter.

The actual registration process when the transaction is allocated a registration number occurs at the time the parties sign the agreement before the notary public who issues a registration number under which the agreement will be registered under the purchaser’s name.

The process is initiated when the parties receive the documents from the General Registry Division at the Ministry of Justice and fill in the application to register the transfer of title based on the sale agreement (i.e. registration application) and enclose all relevant documentation and submit it before the notary public at the Department for Real Estate and Registration.

The notary public automatically delivers a copy of the notarized sale agreement to the Department of Real Estate and Registration.

The buyer will receive a registration number on the notarized sale agreement (which is the new title deed for the property) at the time of signing the agreement before the notary public.

The notarized sale agreement received on the date of signing the agreement will reflect the registration number under which the agreement has been registered.

Agency: Contracts Control Department 		20 days no cost
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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