Reasons Why Title Deeds Are Zimbabwe’s Apex Tenure Document:

“Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses…”(Jeremiah 32vs 44; New King James)

For several reasons, title deeds (almost regardless of the various “flavors” such as deed of grant, deed of transfer, certificate of registered title, certificate of consolidated title,?deed of partition, deed of exchange, deed of rectification,?et cetera) are considered the holy grail or ultimate tenure document in Zimbabwe. Reasons include:

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1)Security of tenure:??For instance, vis-a-vis some configurations of cession arrangement (e.g. developer or local authority cession), which may be subject to controversies such as double-allocations of the same immovable property, if the cedent [i.e. local authority or property developer in question] is not conscientious and/or scrupulous in their dealings. Also, unlike, say, a block-share scheme of tenure arrangement, there is no risky scenario of being left “high and dry”, if a holding company in the scheme folds up.

???Generally, and only in the most extreme of scenarios, sections 8 and 18 of the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05] attest that title deeds may only canceled either by:

A)Court order

Or

B)The direction of the Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs [and this specifically in the case of a deed of grant] after following strict procedure set out in the aforementioned section 18 of the specified Act.

2)Ability to leverage or parlay as collateral or security for accessing pecuniary capital: Typically loan financing from various financial institutions. This is typically not the case with the other tenure documents of say, cession or block-share ownership.

3)Signal of fully-serviced, habitable land and built environment:?With few exceptions, immovable property which has the muniment or “mode of ownership” of deed of transfer, signifies that the land in question is fully serviced with on and off-site infrastructure, as per the requirements of a local authority administering the provisions set forth in the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act [Chapter 29:12].

4)Cascading into the phenomenon of higher immovable property market values: The above [and other] reasons then meld together into increasing the perceived market value of properties held under the tenure document of title deeds.

Ergo, now that it is established that title deeds are indeed the kahuna or “big gun” when it comes to securing rights in land and the built environment in Zimbabwe,?should one ever need assistance in purchasing an immovable property whose muniment is that of deed of transfer, please do not hesitate contacting, “Your friendly neighborhood realtor” via:

Email: [email protected]

Mobile (GSM calls, SMS, WhatsApp): +263 714 729 043

See you soon, and thank you.