Malawi

Registering Property in

Malawi

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: MWK 2,518,786.09
  • City: Blantyre

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Search for encumbrances at the Lands Registry

Parties conduct a search at the Deeds Registry to ensure that no encumbrances are still pending on the property. The search can be conducted either by the title number (faster) or by plot number (slower). Malawi still has two systems of land title registration i.e. Title registration under the Registered Land Act and Title registration under the Deeds Registration Act. The former is simpler and searches are also simpler and quicker. If it is just one property search it takes no more than 15 minutes in the Title Registry but it may take longer in the Deeds Registry because of cross-referencing. For one property it could take on average about an hour.


Agency: Lands Registry 		1 day MWK 500
2 Obtain City rates clearance certificate

A letter is sent to the City Assembly to obtain a City rates clearance certificate. The parties search for unpaid city taxes on the property at the Municipality, which is free of charge . The system is computerized and it is just a matter of punching in the Rate Payer's details and the account comes up on the screen with all outstanding taxes. One can call to obtain the basic information, but this information cannot be used for official purposes. However, a written certificate is required to be signed by the Chief Executive, which substantially extends the time.


Agency: Blantyre City Council 		1 day, up to one week MWK 500
3 Apply to Ministry of Lands for consent to transfer the property

Parties apply to the Ministry of Lands for consent to transfer the property. The application now is done directly in Blantyre since The Ministry must give its approval of the transaction. The process starts with an application to the Regional Commissioner for Lands, who then forwards the application with an accompanying memo to the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Lands, who then passes it on to the Minister’s office.

Agency: Ministry of Lands 		1.5 - 2 months on average MWK 2,000
* 4 Obtain a Tax Clearance Certificate from the Malawi Revenue Authority

Parties apply for a Tax Clearance Certificate from the Malawi Revenue Authority.
The following documents must be provided to MRA
(i) Original Title Deed
(ii) Sale-purchase agreement
(iii) Evaluation report from a certified evaluator

Agency: Malawi Revenue Authority 		7 (simultaneous with procedure 4) no cost
* 5 Stamping of the conveyance deed at the Registrar General’s office

The deed application and other relevant documents are taken for stamping at the Registrar General’s office. Other relevant documents include: personal identification of the people in charge of the registration procedure, consent certificate from the Minister of Lands (obtained in Procedure 3), old deed provided by the seller, and non-encumbrance certificate (obtained in Procedure 1). If done in person will take 1 day, but by mail could take 1 month.

Agency: Registrar General's office 		1 day (simultaneous with procedure 4) 3% of property value
6 Apply for registration at the Deeds Registry

The parties take all the documents for registration at the Deeds Registry that will issue a title deed under the name of the buyer. The City rates clearance certificate must be presented at that time
The documentation shall include:
Stamped deed (obtained in Procedure 4)
Tax clearance certificate (obtained in Procedure 5)

Agency: Deeds Registry 		7 days MWK 2,000
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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