Uganda proposes 30-day notice before replacing lost land titles
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Uganda's Lands Ministry has proposed new guidelines requiring gazette notices, inspections and an objection window before special certificates of title are issued, in a bid to curb land fraud.
Uganda's Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has proposed stricter verification procedures for replacing lost, destroyed or damaged land titles, including a mandatory 30-day public notice period and an opportunity for interested parties to challenge applications. The guidelines, presented by the Minister of Lands on 20 October 2026, are intended to prevent fraud, impersonation, double sales and the irregular transfer of land ownership.
Under the proposal, the Registrar of Titles must publish notices in the Uganda Gazette for at least 30 days before issuing special certificates under Section 69 of the Registration of Titles Act. Notices must also be displayed at the relevant sub-county offices, Local Council I noticeboards and on the land itself, while the ministry publishes a monthly list of applications in a newspaper of wide circulation and posts parcel and applicant details on its website for the notice period.
The notices must identify the land parcel and registration details, the applicant's name and application date, a contact point for objections and, where applicable, details of at least three previous transactions. Any person alleging fraud, impersonation, competing ownership claims, double sales, unlawful retention of land or other material irregularities may lodge a formal objection with the registrar within the notice period, and the registrar must summon both parties for a hearing and rule on the matter.
The guidelines also introduce mandatory land inspections and, where necessary, boundary-opening exercises involving a government surveyor and a registrar of titles or land officer, conducted in the presence of the Local Council I committee with a minimum quorum of five members. Applicants for replacement titles must submit the application in triplicate together with a statutory declaration, proof of payment of statutory fees, a copy of their national identification document, passport-size photographs, a police form reporting the loss, an LC I committee report, inspection or boundary-opening reports, a Gazette notice, a newspaper advertisement and a local notice.
Additional requirements apply to obliterated titles, estates of deceased persons and court-ordered certificates, where the successful party must file a formal implementation request and a certified copy of the court order that the registrar verifies with the issuing court. The registrar may only approve an application after establishing the authenticity of the original title, the identity and legal authority of the applicant, the circumstances of the loss and the legitimacy of the underlying transaction, and must record every decision to approve, defer, reject or suspend an application with reasons.
The ministry said the framework is meant to strengthen the integrity of the land register, improve accountability and ensure replacement titles are issued only after adequate verification. The guidelines are to be read alongside the Constitution, the Registration of Titles Act, the Land Act, applicable regulations and court orders, with Section 69 covering lost, destroyed or unusable duplicate certificates and Section 70 covering special certificates issued on court directions and the associated objection mechanism.