In May 2023, the Senator of Trans Nzoia County, Senator Allan Chesang sponsored the Real Estate Regulation Bill (Bill), which is currently under consideration by Senate. The Bill draws heavily from the Indian Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016 (RERA), which regulates India’s real estate and property market. Kenya’s real estate market is estimated by Statista to be worth USD 7.91 Billion is dwarfed in comparison to global giants like India’s USD 265.18 Billion market. While the two countries’ real estate sectors differ significantly in size, they seem to share common concerns: the need for a specialised legal framework to protect real estate consumers.
Maureen Nyakinyua is a real estate and finance lawyer. She mainly focuses on property law, general conveyancing, property development work, joint ventures, banking, and finance transactions.
Maureen has assisted commercial, residential, and mixed use property developers and private clients in property acquisition and disposal process including due diligence, legal structuring, formation of investment vehicles, title processing, transaction management, completion formalities and related advice.
Maureen also advises financial institutions and individual clients in structuring and re-structuring financial lending transactions and conducting due diligence.
In addition, Maureen works with the corporate team in undertaking due diligence of properties involved in merger and acquisition transactions.
Experience has included advising:
- One of the largest real estate developers in Kenya, in structuring four developments within Nairobi County and two developments in Kilifi County.
- A real estate developer in negotiating a USD45 million term loan facility.
- A real estate developer in negotiating a USD65 million term loan facility.
- A leading real estate developer in structuring, drafting, and negotiating the terms of a joint venture partnership for the construction of 365 residential apartments.
- Advising a real estate developer in negotiating and reviewing the terms of a KES2 billion real estate development facility.
- A leading real estate developer in structuring, drafting, and negotiating the terms of a joint venture partnership for the construction of 268 residential apartments.
- A real estate developer in the sale of serviced land in a mixed use development.
Professional Qualifications
- Advocate admitted to the High Court of Kenya (2015)
Education
- Kenya School of Law, Diploma in Law (2013)
- Kenyatta University
Prior Experience
- 2021 to date, Senior Associate, IKM Advocates, DLA Piper Africa member firm in Kenya;
- 2018 to 2021, Senior Associate, Centum Real Estate Limited;
- 2015 to 2018, Associate, TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP.
Memberships
- Member of the Law Society of Kenya
- East Africa Law Society
The Sectional Properties Act 2020 ("Act") was enacted in 2020 to align with the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the land laws enacted in 2012. Subsequently, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning gazetted the Sectional Properties Regulations ("Regulations") on 16 November 2021. Please read the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Act and the Regulations below.
Secure property rights, efficient land ownership and use are the cornerstone of any modern economy. Kenya has kept up with global trends in recognizing the fundamental role that land plays in sustainable economic growth and has made efforts to ensure that property rights are secured and that the law is clear to foreign investors looking to invest in real estate in Kenya
The real estate sector has been the key to creation of wealth for some of the world’s tycoons. It therefore comes as no surprise that Kenya too has been, more so in the last decade, experiencing massive investment in real estate developments due to the sector’s perceived high return. Kenya is also estimated to have an annual housing deficit of approximately 2 million residential houses, which arguably makes a case for the large-scale residential developments as a lucrative sector for investors looking for high returns. However, like any other good investment, careful planning of a developer’s exit in such developments is essential to navigate the significant legal and management issues that could potentially dilute a developer’s return, more so, in large scale and phased residential developments.