Buying land or a house from someone who is not the lawful owner can leave the rightful owner seeking to reclaim the property and the buyer facing an unexpected loss. But under Rwanda’s legal framework, an invalid sale does not necessarily mean the buyer simply loses the money they paid.
The courts have established principles for dealing with such disputes, including cases in which property is sold without the consent or legal authority of its rightful owner.
Angelique Uwinkindi, an official from Rwanda’s Supreme Court, explained that a sale involving property sold by someone who has no legal right to sell it can be declared invalid.
Once that happens, the basic principle is to restore the parties to the position they were in before the transaction: the rightful owner gets the property back, while the buyer can seek repayment from the person who received the purchase money.
This can become particularly complicated where property is jointly owned.
For example, one person may have rights over family property but cannot lawfully sell it alone. Similar disputes can arise among siblings who inherited property together or between spouses who jointly own property.
Uwinkindi referred to a 2015 case in which a man was entrusted by his family with managing land belonging to his late elder brother. He later sold the land despite not having the legal authority to do so.
The property was supposed to go to the deceased man’s wife, who was outside Rwanda at the time. By the time she returned, the land had already been sold—and the person who initially sold it had transferred it to another buyer.
The court ruled that the rightful owner could recover the property from whoever was in possession of it. It also invalidated the sale because the person who sold the property did not have the legal authority to do so.
But the ruling did not leave the buyer without a remedy.
The buyer can recover the money
When an unlawful sale is cancelled and the property is returned to its rightful owner, the buyer can pursue the person who sold it for reimbursement.
Uwinkindi said the seller is required to compensate the buyer for the value of the property at the time the buyer loses possession of it.
The buyer may therefore be entitled to more than simply getting back the original purchase price.
“The person who sold the property has an obligation to return the value of what was sold at the time it is taken away,” Uwinkindi said.
The seller must also return the money received from the buyer together with interest calculated at the rate prescribed by law.
Importantly, the buyer’s position does not necessarily depend on whether they knew that the seller was not the rightful owner. The same principle can apply whether the buyer was aware of the problem or entered the transaction in good faith.
Improvements can become part of the dispute
The situation can become more complicated when the buyer has invested additional money in the property.
Someone who bought undeveloped land and built a house on it, for example, may have invested considerably more than the original purchase price. Similarly, a buyer may have spent money renovating or improving a house before discovering that the seller had no legal right to sell it.
Uwinkindi said such a buyer can pursue compensation for the improvements made to the property.
Depending on the circumstances, the buyer may seek reimbursement from the person who unlawfully sold the property or raise a claim against the rightful owner concerning the value added to the property.
The principle is intended to prevent a situation in which the rightful owner recovers their property while the buyer is left to bear the entire cost of investments made in it.
Buyers urged to verify ownership
The cases highlight the risks of buying land or other immovable property without first establishing who legally owns it and whether the person selling it has the authority to do so.
Rwandans are therefore advised to conduct proper ownership checks before paying for property and to ensure that sale agreements are properly formalised before an authorised notary.
Taking these steps can help buyers avoid costly disputes over property that a seller had no legal right to sell in the first place.
