Property rights—and responsibilities? The case of Kenya

This paper takes forward the findings of an earlier study (Community Land Trusts and other tenure innovations in Kenya. In: Payne, G. (Ed.), Land, Rights and Innovation: Improving Tenure Security for the Urban Poor, ITDG Publishing, London, 2002, pp. 233–263) on three innovative approaches to tenure in Kenya, namely, community land trusts, shares in land-buying companies, and temporary occupation licences, by examining the degrees of security and property rights associated with them. It further explores the extent to which the different tenure forms have been applied more widely since the previous research, and the factors which may have facilitated or constrained this, such as changes in the broader policy, institutional and legislative framework. The paper concludes by giving pointers towards areas that warrant further investigation and longer-term monitoring.