Private notaries will soon be allowed to oversee the land transactions in the country, a development aimed at making the process more accessible to many. Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA) announced on Monday, February 14, that private notaries had been invited to apply to start rendering the services, if they meet certain requirements set by the institution. In an interview with The New Times, Esperance Mukamana, the Director General of RLMUA said the development comes to address challenges related to the delays that citizens faced in transaction processes. “Land transaction services were being exclusively rendered by public notaries at the sector level, but the process was not going so well. Citizens were complaining that the process was so slow. When we made an analysis, we found out that there were many challenges,” she said. “For example, the number of transactions were so high some times and would end up overwhelming the notaries. In addition, there were some places where the notaries were not working, or had been given extra responsibilities, and this also affected how they would deliver services,” she added. She noted that when the new system goes into implementation, the transaction processes will be cut to “one or two days” from the current situation where they take up to three weeks. “With the new system, a citizen in need of land transaction services will easily go see a private notary and work on the process there and then, as opposed to having to wait for two to three weeks, as it has been. Now they will be able to get the service in a day or two,” Mukamana said. Private notaries interested in the work have been invited to send in their applications until the 28th of this month. After that, there will be a review process to find out who qualifies. Mukamana hopes that the application process will be done in a short time, so that the notaries will go to work by the end of the next month. What are the requirements for a private notary to be allowed to render the services? According to a communique from RLMUA, for a private notary to qualify for the work, they should have at least a 3-years’ experience in notarial work. They should also have an office that is well equipped with fast internet, a scanner and a printer, and good storage for documents. They are also required to have mechanisms for verifying the authenticity of the information brought to them by the people seeking the services. What services will they be providing? Among the services they will be competent to render include certification of wills involving movable property or documents that nullify them. In addition to this, they will also be in position to carry out the certification and authentication of agreements relating to transfer of land and other immovable property fixed on land through succession, donation, bequest, inheritance, leasing, sale, land leasing, compensation, right of way, provision of a guarantee for the benefit of a third party. RLMUA also will allow them to certify the authentication of contracts relating to condominium agreements, among other documents related to property transactions as stipulated by the law.
