Securing tenure rights in informal settlements

The Constitution of Kenya provides that every citizen has the right to property. The provision ensures that an individual or group of people that acquire land have the protection to own this property if acquired lawfully. Individuals living in informal settlements then have a right to have property when acquired through proper means. Even though there are processes in progress to address the issue of securing tenure rights in informal settlements by the government. It is insufficient as there is a shift from many land laws to a more harmonized legal framework there is still a gap on addressing issues on informal settlements. The lack of security of tenure - in law and practice - makes protection against forced eviction very difficult, leaving the most vulnerable, such as inhabitants of informal settlements, at risk of a range of human rights violations. Therefore, this paper seeks to address how informal settlements can acquire security of land tenure through being categorized as a community. It analyses the theory of the tragedy of the commons and social contracts in relation to informal settlements. Finally, it establishes whether the community land act of 2016 shall be able to accommodate informal settlements to resolve the issue of land tenure