An Application for Registration of a Community (Form CLA 3) is an official legal document used in Kenya to formally register a community under the Community Land Act, 2016. This jurisdiction-specific form is submitted to the Community Land Registrar at the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and serves as the foundational instrument for establishing a community as a legal entity capable of holding, managing, and administering community land. Registration under this form provides communities with legal personality, enabling them to own property, enter contracts, sue and be sued, and exercise collective land rights under Kenyan law.
This form is intended for community land management committees, community members, traditional leaders, community chairpersons, secretaries, elected committee members, and their legal advisors who seek to establish formal legal recognition for their community. It is particularly essential for indigenous communities, pastoral groups, traditional societies, settlement schemes, and any organized group holding land collectively who need to transition from informal customary arrangements to formal legal status under the Community Land Act, 2016.
The application requires comprehensive documentation and information. First, it must be preceded by a community assembly held in accordance with Section 7 of the Community Land Act, 2016, where community rules and by-laws are adopted. The form requires attachment of the draft rules and by-laws governing the community's operations, a register of proposed community members, and certified true copies of the minutes from the assembly meeting that adopted these governing documents.
Key particulars that must be provided include the official name of the community, a detailed description of the community's geographical area as determined under the Community Land Act, the registered office location if any, postal address, and the community's stated objects and purposes. Critical to the application is detailed information about all community land management committee members, including their names, addresses, occupations, dates of birth or ages, and signatures. This committee will be responsible for managing community land on behalf of all members.
The application must be signed by all members of the community land management committee, demonstrating collective authority and consensus. Once successfully registered, the community becomes a legal entity capable of protecting its land rights, engaging with government agencies, accessing development opportunities, resolving disputes through legal mechanisms, and ensuring sustainable management of community resources for present and future generations within Kenya's land governance framework.