When considering buying a residential or commercial stands in Zimbabwe please note that the first approach is to check with the Local Authority such as the Local City Council or the Rural District Council and, then proceed to the Deeds office and Surveyor general’s offices.
The following documents and information are required to be verified
- Subdivision permit- issued after layout plans have been approved
- Development Permit – issued after engineering designs have been approved by Council Engineers
- Dispensation Certificate – issued after title survey have been approved by Surveyor General
- Certificate of Compliance- issued by council
- Title deed of the property(title deed gives the legal name of the property which can be verified by the Registrar of Deeds. including the person who owes the property or stand) or Offer letter from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works & National Housing (this can be verified by the Department of State land or Department of Physical Planning)
- Also note that in Zimbabwe there are only 2 Local Authorities which are allowed to give subdivision permits (at this point in time) without passing through the Ministry of Local Government, that is City of Harare and City of Bulawayo.
If the seller fails to produce these when the buyer requests for them. This might call for the raise of concern about the interested property. Please note that a number of people get conned during this process of acquiring a property in Zimbabwe.
Please stay safe and always engage a legal firm or an individual lawyer so that all the verification can be done before making the final process of making a payment to the property owner or seller.
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