Email: mlhud@mlhud.go.

ug
Telephone: General: 342931/3
Hon. Minister: Direct: 253871
Hon. Minister of State (Lands): 231020
Hon. Minister of State (Housing): 349265
Hon. Minister of State (Urban Development):
Permanent Secretary: 230879
Under Secretary: 236359

MINISTRY OF LANDS, HOUSING

AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
P.O. BOX 7096
THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

KAMPALA, UGANDA

In any correspondence on
this subject please quote No

BEWARE OF LAND TITLE FRAUDSTERS

Land title fraud occurs in many ways. The most common tricks used by
fraudsters are:

1. Where a fraudster manages to have a duplicate title issued, when in fact

the original is still in existence. This type of fraud may occur with the
cooperation of unethical officers in a number of Government offices.
2. Where unscrupulous persons arrange for the issuance of title documents
on land that is otherwise not available for sale. In this category you find forged
title documents issued on road reserves, forests, environmentally fragile land,
and Government land.
3. Where unscrupulous persons offer land for purchase on the strength of
forged title documents.
4. Where dishonest persons take advantage of naive purchasers and proceed
to offer them land for purchase yet it belongs to Ugandans in the Diaspora.
The sellers, pose as Land Agents, to con unsuspecting buyers, yet in actual
sense targeted land is not on sale.
5. Where forgery of transfer documents is used to effect the sale of land by
unscrupulous persons.
6. Where sale of land is done during the dry season without informing
prospective purchaser that the land offered for sale is in a wetland / swamp.
Some Land Agents take their clients to plots on higher grounds when in actual
sense the land for sale is in a swamp. The buyer only discovers after paying
when he/she wants to begin development. At this moment, the Agents phone
contact is no longer in use.
1

Tips to beat the fraudsters: A prospective land purchaser should:

1. Visit the land and physically inspected it.

2. Talk to all the neighbours in the vicinity of the land in order to confirm that
the purported seller is in fact the rightful owner. If there are any disputes, do
not buy.
3. Meet the actual owner of land and not merely his / her purported agents.
Come with him / her or a representative to the Land registry to verify the land
in question.
4. Hire a registered Advocate to act on your behalf in the land transaction, as
the acquisition of land is a technical legal process.
5. Consult a reputable Valuer or our Government Valuers to establish a fair
market value for the parcel of land on offer. Property offered for sale at throw
away prices and in a great hurry may not always be genuine. The buyer
should insist on seeing the original land title and should bring it to the Land
registry for verification before money changes hands.

In case of any inquiries on land call the Ministry of lands Housing & Urban
Development helpline 0414-373511. You will be assisted and /or advised.

Dennis Obbo
For: PERMANENT SECRETARY