Zambia

Registering Property in

Zambia

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: ZMK 265,342,126.39
  • City: Lusaka

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
* 1 Lawyer obtains a non-encumbrance certificate

The search is conducted electronically at the Registry of Land and Deeds

Agency: Registry of Land and Deeds 		1 day (simultaneous with procedure 2) ZMK 25,000
* 2 Lawyer drafts the sale agreement, which is exchanged between buyer and seller

In practice, both the seller and purchaser employ a lawyer for the transaction. The fees are negotiable, but cannot legally exceed 10%.
7-10 days (simultaneous with procedure 1) 1- 10% of the property value
3 The seller applies for the state’s consent to assign

The Commissioner of Lands will verify that the property can be transferred, by checking if ground rent has been paid, and who is buying. The land in Zambia belongs to the State, and can only be purchased by Zambians, Zambian companies, established residents or investors. This application is lodged with the Commissioner of Lands and if all ground rent has been settled and all application papers are in order, the Commissioner of Lands will issue the consent to assign. While the State’s consent to assign application is being processed, the buyer and seller can finalize the deed of assignment, but the sale price stated therein will be subject to the State’s consent for the sale at that price.

The documentation shall include: the consent application, consent fees, buyer’s details such as nationality, address, etc. to show he qualifies to purchase property.

Agency: Commissioner of Lands 		7-10 days ZMK 100,000
4 The seller settles the Property Transfer Tax with the Zambian Revenue Authority (ZRA)

The Property Transfer Tax Act, CAP340, provides that whenever property is transferred, Property Transfer Tax (PTT) is charged upon and collected from, the person transferring the property (transferor) on the Realizable Value (i.e. Open Market Value or Contract Price, whichever is higher). The tax is payable by the transferor. PTT filings require the following documentation:
• NRC/Certificate of Incorporation of both the BUYER & SELLER;
•State/Council CONSENT;
•Seller’s TPIN #;
•Contract of Sale/Deed of Gift or Transfer;
•Lawyer’s STAMP (where dealing as an Advocate of EITHER party);
•VALUATION REPORT (for ALL transactions above ZMK 500million).

Both a receipt for the payment of the Property Transfer Tax and the Tax Clearance Certificate are obtained in this step.


Agency: Zambian Revenue Authority 		1-2 days 5% of the consideration of the transaction or the value of the property, whichever is higher.
5 The purchaser lodges the assignment for registration at the Lands and Deeds Registry to complete the process

The documentation shall include:
Seller’s title deeds (Certificate of Title)
Executed assignment in duplicate
State’s consent to assign (obtain in Procedure 3)
Receipt for payment of Property Transfer Tax (obtained in Procedure 5)
Tax Clearance Certificate (obtained in Procedure 5)
Form DR53 (gives brief details of the transaction, such as seller, buyer, consideration, property number, rentable value, etc.)
Registration fees

In June 2008, the Government of Zambia, following a survey done in 2007 to understand the reason of the backlog at the Lands Registry, implemented a Customer Service Relation Centre and also fully computerized the Land Registry.

Agency: Registry of Land and Deeds 		25 days 1% of property value (registration fee) up to a maximum of ZMK 2,000,000 + ZMK 100,000 for the Deed of Assignement
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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