An Act to provide for the tenure, ownership and management of land and for related matters.

The Land Act

The Land Act (Cap 236) is Uganda's primary law governing land ownership, tenure, and administration. It applies to all Ugandan citizens, non-citizens, communities, and any person with an interest in land in Uganda. The Act defines four systems of land tenure — customary, freehold, mailo, and leasehold — and establishes the legal framework for acquiring, managing, and transferring land. It also protects the rights of lawful and bona fide occupants, outlines procedures for converting customary land to freehold, creates local land boards and tribunals, and sets penalties for unlawful eviction and other land-related offences.

<h3>Key Definitions</h3>
The Act uses specific terms that determine who owns or can use land. Important definitions include:
<ul>
<li>Owner: person with registered or customary ownership rights.</li>
<li>Lawful occupant: someone who entered land under old laws or with the registered owner's permission.</li>
<li>Bona fide occupant: someone who occupied land unchallenged for 12 years before the Constitution (1995) or was settled by the government.</li>
<li>Tenant by occupancy: a lawful or bona fide occupant on registered land.</li>
<li>Non-citizen: any person or company not a Ugandan citizen, limited to 99-year leases.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Types of Land Tenure</h3>
Land in Uganda is held under one of four tenure systems, each with distinct rights:
<ul>
<li>Customary tenure: governed by local customs, can be held by individuals, families, or communities indefinitely.</li>
<li>Freehold: full ownership powers (sell, lease, mortgage) subject to law.</li>
<li>Mailo: similar to freehold but protects pre-existing occupants’ rights.</li>
<li>Leasehold: possession for a fixed period under a lease agreement.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Customary Land Ownership and Conversion</h3>
If you hold land under customary tenure, you may apply for a certificate of customary ownership through the local land committee. The committee verifies boundaries, hears claims, and submits recommendations to the district land board. Once issued, the certificate allows you to lease, sell, or mortgage the land (unless restricted). You also have the right to convert customary land to freehold by applying to the committee and paying a fee. The Land Board will order a survey and may impose conditions. If denied, you can appeal to a district land tribunal.

<h3>Rights of Tenants by Occupancy (Lawful and Bona Fide Occupants)</h3>
If you are a lawful or bona fide occupant on registered land, you have security of occupancy. Key rights and obligations include:
<ul>
<li>You must pay an annual nominal ground rent set by the board.</li>
<li>You cannot be evicted except by a court order, and only for non-payment of rent.</li>
<li>Eviction orders must give you at least six months to vacate.</li>
<li>You may apply for a certificate of occupancy from the landowner after fulfilling rent obligations.</li>
<li>You can assign, sublet, or subdivide your tenancy only with the owner's written consent.</li>
<li>The owner must give you first option to buy if the land is sold; you must give the owner first option to take over your tenancy before selling it.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Spousal and Family Land Rights</h3>
The Act protects family land, which includes your ordinary home, land used for food cultivation, or land agreed to be family land. You cannot be evicted from your home without your consent, and any sale, mortgage, or transfer of family land requires written spousal consent. If a spouse unreasonably withholds consent, the owner may appeal to a district land tribunal. A non-owning spouse may lodge a caveat on the title to protect their interest.

<h3>Non-Citizen Land Ownership</h3>
Non-citizens (including companies controlled by non-citizens) cannot own freehold or mailo land in Uganda. They may only lease land for a maximum of 99 years. Leases of five years or more must be registered. If a Ugandan citizen acquires freehold or mailo land and later gives up citizenship, the land automatically converts to a 99-year lease.

<h3>Land Administration Bodies</h3>
The Act establishes several institutions to manage land:
<ul>
<li>Uganda Land Commission: holds and manages government land, administers the Land Fund, and acquires land for public purposes.</li>
<li>District Land Boards: manage land at district level, allocate unoccupied land, set compensation rates, and issue certificates.</li>
<li>Local Land Committees: assist the board at subcounty level, verify boundaries, and mediate disputes.</li>
<li>District Land Tribunals: hear land disputes up to 2,500 currency points, with powers to order specific performance, injunctions, and compensation.</li>
<li>Land Mediators: appointed by tribunals to help parties reach voluntary agreements.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Key Procedures: Application for Freehold or Customary Certificates</h3>
To obtain a freehold title or certificate of customary ownership, you must follow a step-by-step process:
<ol>
<li>Submit an application on the prescribed form to the local committee or land board.</li>
<li>The committee publishes a notice, holds a hearing, and mediates conflicting claims.</li>
<li>The committee submits a report with recommendations to the land board.</li>
<li>The board reviews, may order a survey, and approves or rejects the application (with reasons).</li>
<li>If approved, the Registrar of Titles issues a certificate of title (for freehold) or the recorder issues a certificate of customary ownership.</li>
<li>You can appeal a board decision to the district land tribunal within 60 days.</li>
</ol>

<h3>Compensation and Eviction Rules</h3>
If the government acquires your land for public purposes, you are entitled to fair compensation based on market value, plus a disturbance allowance of 15% (or 30% if less than six months' notice). Unlawful eviction of a lawful occupant is a criminal offence carrying up to seven years' imprisonment. The court may also order compensation and restitution of the land.

<h3>Penalties for Violations</h3>
The Act imposes severe penalties for land-related offences:
<ul>
<li>Unlawful eviction: up to seven years in prison, fines, and compensation.</li>
<li>Non-citizen fraudulently acquiring freehold: land forfeited.</li>
<li>Making false declarations about land: fine or imprisonment.</li>
<li>Occupying land without consent: criminal offence.</li>
<li>Interfering with public rights of way or water resources: penalties under other laws.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Important Rights You Should Know</h3>
<ul>
<li>You have the right to equal treatment regardless of gender — women, children, and persons with disabilities cannot be denied access to customary land.</li>
<li>You have the right to use water on your land for household and small-scale farming without a permit.</li>
<li>You have the right to public rights of way over any land, unless the Minister changes them.</li>
<li>You have the right to traditional dispute resolution through clan leaders or elders before going to court.</li>
<li>You have the right to appeal any land board or tribunal decision to a higher authority, including the High Court.</li>
</ul>

For specific legal advice, consult a qualified lawyer or the nearest district land office.

The Land Act uses specific definitions for words like 'owner', 'occupant', and 'customary tenure'. These definitions decide who owns or can use land, and what type of ownership you have. For example, 'lawful occupant' and 'bona fide occupant' have different legal protections. Knowing these terms helps you understand your land rights, what the government can do with land, and how to resolve disputes.

Learn the exact meanings of land terms under Uganda’s Land Act – including customary ownership, leasehold, and who qualifies as a lawful occupant.

Section 1: Key Definitions for Land Rights in Uganda

"alienated" means alienated by the grant of an estate in freehold or leasehold which is registered under the Registration of Titles Act, and "unalienated" shall be interpreted accordingly;

"association" means a communal land association established by section 15;

"authorised undertaker" means a person or authority authorised or required by law to execute public works;

"board" means a district land board established by Article 240 of the Constitution and referred to in section 57;

"bona fide occupant" and "lawful occupant" have the meanings assigned to them in section 29;

"certificate of customary ownership" means a certificate issued under section 4;

"certificate of occupancy" means a certificate issued under section 34;

"Commission" means the Uganda Land Commission established by Article 238 of the Constitution and referred to in section 47;

"committee" means a land committee established by section 65;

"community" means an indigenous community of Uganda as provided for in the Third Schedule to the Constitution, or any clan or subclan of any such indigenous community communally occupying, using or managing land;

"currency point" has the value assigned to it in the Schedule to this Act;

"customary tenure" means a system of land tenure regulated by customary rules which are limited in their operation to a particular description or class of persons the incidents of which are described in section 3;

"District Land Tribunal" means the District Land Tribunal established under section 75;

"former controlling authority" means the Uganda Land Commission or a designated authority in existence before the coming into force of the Constitution;

"former designated authority" means a city council, municipal council, town council or town board established in a designated urban area;

"former public land" means land previously administered under the Public Lands Act, 1969, prior to the coming into force of the Land Reform Decree, 1975;

"freehold land tenure" means the holding of registered land in perpetuity subject to statutory and common law qualifications the incidents of which are described in section 3;

"gazetted" means published in the official Gazette by either a statutory instrument or a legal notice issued by the responsible Minister;

"leasehold land tenure" means the holding of land for a given period from a specified date of commencement, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the lessor and lessee, the incidents of which are described in section 3, and includes a sublease;

"mailo land tenure" means the holding of registered land in perpetuity and having roots in the allotment of land pursuant to the Uganda Agreement, 1900 and subject to statutory qualifications, the incidents of which are described in section 3;

"mediator" has the meaning assigned to it in section 86;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for lands;

"public works" means the construction of railways, roads, canals or airfields; the placing of telegraph lines and electric lines, and the erection of supports for those lines; the laying of sewer and water pipes; the construction of drains; the prospecting, exploration, mining and extraction of petroleum resources; the construction of dams and hydropower plants; the establishment of meteorological and water quality stations; the construction of water and sewerage treatment plants, storage reservoirs and pumping stations; and any other works, construction of public buildings and other public institutions, declared by statutory instrument to be public works, the construction of buildings for public use, such as hospitals and universities, for the purposes of section 74; and any other works ancillary or incidental to the foregoing;

"recorder" means the recorder established by section 69;

"Register Book" means the book kept by the Registrar of Titles in accordance with the Registration of Titles Act;

"registered owner" means the owner of registered land registered in accordance with the Registration of Titles Act;

"registrable interest" means an interest registrable under the Registration of Titles Act, namely, mailo, freehold, leasehold and subleasehold, but includes a certificate of customary tenure and a certificate of occupancy;

"Registrar of Titles" means the registrar of titles appointed under the Registration of Titles Act;

"road" means a road reserve as defined in the Roads Act;

"tenant by occupancy" means the lawful or bona fide occupant declared to be a tenant by occupancy by section 31;

"third party right" means a right, interest, privilege or liberty which a person has or possesses, either indefinitely or for life or for a lesser period under customary law, common law or equity to use or occupy for a specific purpose or for a specific period all or part of the land of a landowner or to prevent a landowner from exercising any right, interest, privilege or liberty in, on, under or over his or her land, and includes but is not limited to an easement, a profit a prendre, a usufructuary right, a restrictive covenant, a right arising out of a share cropping agreement, a right of a person as a member of a group to go on to and to gather and use the fruits of communally owned land or a right to use land which a spouse may acquire by virtue of marriage, but does not include a lease or sublease;

"urban area" means an area gazetted as an urban area by the Minister responsible for urban affairs.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

Interpretation

You have the right to own land in Uganda as a citizen. The law says all land belongs to Ugandan citizens, but this is subject to Article 237 of the Constitution. Land can be owned under four systems: customary, freehold, mailo, or leasehold. Each system has different rules about how you can use, sell, or pass on the land.

Section 2: All land in Uganda belongs to citizens under customary, freehold, mailo, or leasehold tenure, subject to Article 237 of the Constitution.

Section 2: Land Ownership Rights for Ugandan Citizens

Subject to Article 237 of the Constitution, all land in Uganda shall vest in the citizens of Uganda and shall be owned in accordance with the following land tenure systems—

Land ownership

If you own land in Uganda, your rights depend on the type of tenure that applies to your land. The four main types are customary, freehold, mailo, and leasehold. Customary tenure follows local customs and can be owned by individuals, families, or communities forever. Freehold gives you full ownership powers, such as selling, leasing, or mortgaging, subject to the law. Mailo is similar to freehold but also protects the rights of people who were living on the land when the tenure was created. Leasehold gives you the right to possess land for a specific period under a lease agreement. Each type has its own rules and restrictions that you must follow.

Learn about the four main types of land tenure in Uganda: customary, freehold, mailo, and leasehold, and what each means for your land rights under the Land Act.

Section 3: Types of Land Tenure in Uganda - Your Rights

applicable to a specific area of land and a specific description or class of persons;

subject to section 27, governed by rules generally accepted as binding and authoritative by the class of persons to which it applies;

applicable to any persons acquiring land in that area in accordance with those rules;

subject to section 27, characterised by local customary regulation;

applying local customary regulation and management to individual and household ownership, use and occupation of, and transactions in, land;

providing for communal ownership and use of land;

in which parcels of land may be recognised as subdivisions belonging to a person, a family or a traditional institution; and

involves the holding of registered land in perpetuity or for a period less than perpetuity which may be fixed by a condition;

using and developing the land for any lawful purpose;

taking and using any and all produce from the land;

entering into any transaction in connection with the land, including but not limited to selling, leasing, mortgaging or pledging, subdividing, creating rights and interests for other people in the land and creating trusts of the land;

disposing of the land to any person either as a gift inter vivos or by will.

enables the holder to exercise, subject to the law, full powers of ownership of land, including but not necessarily limited to—

Freehold tenure is a form of tenure deriving its legality from the Constitution and its incidents from the written law which—

For the avoidance of doubt, a freehold title may be created which is subject to conditions, restrictions or limitations which may be positive or negative in their application, applicable to any of the incidents of the tenure.

involves the holding of registered land in perpetuity;

permits the separation of ownership of land from the ownership of developments on land made by a lawful or bona fide occupant; and

enables the holder, subject to the customary and statutory rights of those persons lawful or bona fide in occupation of the land at the time that the tenure was created and their successors in title, to exercise all the powers of ownership of the owner of land held of a freehold title set out in subsections (2) and (3) and subject to the same possibility of conditions, restrictions and limitations, positive or negative in their application, as are referred to in those subsections.

Mailo tenure is a form of tenure deriving its legality from the Constitution and its incidents from the written law which—

created either by contract or by operation of law;

the terms and conditions of which may be regulated by law to the exclusion of any contractual agreement reached between the parties;

under which one person, namely the landlord or lessor, grants or is deemed to have granted another person, namely the tenant or lessee, exclusive possession of land usually but not necessarily for a period defined, directly or indirectly, by reference to a specific date of commencement and a specific date of ending;

usually but not necessarily in return for a rent which may be for a capital sum known as a premium or for both a rent and a premium but may be in return for goods or services or both or may be free of any required return;

under which both the landlord and the tenant may, subject to the terms and conditions of the lease and having due regard for the interests of the other party, exercise such of the powers of a freehold owner as are appropriate and possible given the specific nature of a leasehold tenure.

Incidents of forms of tenure

You have the right to obtain a certificate of customary ownership if you, your family or community hold land under customary tenure on former public land. This certificate proves your customary ownership of that land. To get it, you must apply using the official form and pay the required fee to the committee of the area where your land is located. The certificate will be issued in a specific format prescribed by law.

Learn who can acquire a certificate of customary ownership for land held under customary tenure, the prescribed form, and the application process including fee and submission to the local committee.

Section 4: How to Acquire a Certificate of Customary Ownership

A person, family or community holding land under customary tenure on former public land may acquire a certificate of customary ownership in respect of that land in accordance with this Act.

A certificate of customary ownership shall be in the prescribed form.

An application for a certificate of customary ownership shall be in the prescribed form and shall be submitted, together with the prescribed fee, to the committee of the area in which the land the subject of the application is situated.

Certificate of customary ownership

The committee has many responsibilities when someone applies for a certificate of customary ownership. It must determine and mark the land's boundaries, and identify rights of way or other easements over the land. The committee decides disputes using customary law, and records who owns the land and what shares each person has. It also records any third party rights like leases or pledges. The committee must safeguard the interests of women, absent people, minors, and those with disabilities. When holding hearings, the committee must follow fair procedures (natural justice) and can use flexible evidence rules.

Learn about the committee's duties when processing applications for certificates of customary ownership: marking boundaries, resolving disputes, protecting women, minors, and absent persons.

Section 5: Committee's Role in Customary Land Ownership Applications

determine, verify and mark the boundaries of all interests in the land which is the subject of the application;

demarcate rights of way and other easements over the land the subject of the application and any adjacent land which benefit or burden or are reputed to benefit or burden any such land or which it considers will be necessary for the more beneficial occupation of any such land in respect of which an application may be granted or any adjacent land;

adjudicate upon and decide in accordance with and applying customary law any question or matter concerning the land referred to it by any person with an interest in land which is the subject of an application or any land adjacent to it, including the question of whether the customary law applicable to the land the subject of the application recognises individual rights to the occupation and use of land and, if so, subject to what conditions and limitations;

record that if any person has, or two or more persons have, exercised rights under customary law over the land the subject of the application that should be recognised as ownership of that land, that person or those persons, as the case may be, shall, prirna facie, be entitled to be issued with a certificate of customary ownership and in the case of two or more persons, the shares of each person and the nature of their ownership;

if any persons have exercised any right over the land or any part of it or are entitled to any interest in the land or part of it not amounting to ownership, including any lease, right of occupation or use, charge, pledge or other encumbrance whether by virtue of customary law or otherwise, hereafter in this Act referred to as a third party right, record the nature, incidents and extent of that third party right and the persons entitled to the benefit of it;

advise the board upon any question of customary law;

safeguard the interests and rights in the land which is the subject of the application of women, absent persons, minors and persons with or under a disability;

take account of any interest in land in respect of which, for any reason, no claim has been made; and

exercise such other functions as may be prescribed.

On receipt of an application for a certificate of customary ownership, the committee shall—

hear evidence which would otherwise not be admissible in a court of law;

use evidence contained in any official record or adduced in any other claim;

refer any matters to any customary institution habitually accepted within the area as an institution with functions over land for its advice and, where relevant, use, with or without adaptations and additions, customary procedures relating to the settlement of disputes over land recognised and in general use within the community where the land is situated; and

The committee shall, in the exercise of any of its powers under this section which involve a hearing, comply with the rules of natural justice and, subject to that duty, may—

In order to discharge the functions referred to in subsection (1), the Chairperson of a committee shall have power to administer oaths and to issue summonses, notices and orders requiring the attendance of such persons and the production of such documents as he or she may consider necessary for carrying out the functions of the committee.

Functions of committee on application for certificate of customary ownership