Can One Sibling Sell Family Land Without the Others?

A cousin mentions it on the family WhatsApp, almost in passing. Your brother has found a buyer for the plot your father left. Or it is already done: a deposit taken, a document signed, strangers clearing the land. You are thousands of miles away, your name is on nothing, and the only question in your head is whether one sibling can sell family land without the others agreeing.

Sources last checked: 2 October 2026, against the official sources listed at the end of this guide. If a fee, form or portal has changed since, tell us and we will correct it.

Usually, not alone. In Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya the answer turns on how the land is held: as customary family land, as a dead parent’s estate, or as land registered to several named people. Each has its own rule about who must sign, and none lets one person quietly sign for everyone. But “not allowed” does not mean “automatically undone”. Some of these sales stand until someone challenges them, and delay can cost you the challenge. So the check is: find out how the land is held, find out who had to consent, and act in writing, quickly.

Step 1: Find out how the land is held

Families say “family land” for four different things, and the law treats each differently.

• Customary family land. Held by the family as a group, managed by a recognised head.
• A dead parent’s own land. Bought and held in your father’s or mother’s own name.
• Land registered to several people. Siblings or relatives on one title, as joint owners or owners in common.
• Land in one sibling’s sole name. Whoever paid, the register shows one owner. Our guide on whose name goes on the title explains why that matters.

To find out which one you face:

1. Commission your own official search. In Ghana, a Lands Commission search. In Kenya, a title search through ArdhiSasa. In Nigeria, a search at the state land registry by a lawyer you instruct. It shows the recorded owner and anything pending.
2. Ask whether the recorded owner has died and, if so, who holds probate or letters of administration (in Kenya, a grant of representation). Ask for a copy and the court reference.
3. Ask whether a written family resolution or signed consent authorises the sale, and who signed it.
4. Write down every answer with names and dates. If the story changes when you ask again, note that too.

Step 2: If it is customary family land, check who had to consent

Ghana. Section 9(1) of the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) vests family land in the family, in trust for its members, under customary law. Section 13(2) makes the family head a fiduciary, accountable as one. Section 13(5) applies the Head of Family (Accountability) Law 1985 (PNDCL 114), whose section 1 makes a head of family, or anyone controlling family property, accountable for it to the family.

Two lines matter most. Section 182(13) keeps the duty, customary or otherwise, to consult and secure the consent or concurrence of other family members. Section 182(14) says the Land Registrar shall not register a disposition of family land unless it is satisfactorily proved that the requisite consent and concurrence has been given. A sibling acting alone has not produced that proof.

Nigeria. The rule comes from customary law as stated by the courts, and it varies between communities. For Yoruba customary law, the Supreme Court in Folami v Cole (1990) stated that a sale of family property by the head alone is valid until set aside, that is, voidable at the instance of the other members, and that to make it unchallengeable all the principal members must join the head. The judgment framed the case on the basis that a sale by someone who was not the head at all would be void. The members in that case still lost, because they “slept over their right of action”.

In both countries, ask: who is the recognised head, who are the principal members, and did they all sign? Custom differs by family, so ask a licensed local lawyer what applies to yours. The guide on the customary land trap in Ghana covers the buyer’s side of the same question.

Step 3: If a parent died owning the land, check who may deal with the estate

A parent’s own land does not pass to whichever child lives nearest. It passes through the estate, handled by a personal representative the court appoints.

Kenya is the most explicit. Section 45 of the Law of Succession Act (Cap 160) bars anyone, without authority such as a grant of representation, from disposing of or intermeddling with a deceased person’s free property, and section 45(2) makes it an offence. The proviso to section 82(b) says no immovable property shall be sold before the grant is confirmed. Section 61(1) of the Land Registration Act 2012 lets the personal representative be registered “as administrator” or “as executor” on producing the grant.

Ghana. Section 174 of the Land Act 2020 lets a deceased registered owner’s personal representative be registered, or register a transfer, on producing probate or letters of administration; under section 174(3), two or more representatives act and sign jointly. The Intestate Succession Law 1985 (PNDCL 111) decides who inherits a person’s own property without a will, but section 1(2) says it does not apply to stool, skin or family property. Know which kind of land it is first.

Nigeria. Estates are administered under state law, which we have not set out here. Ask a licensed Nigerian lawyer: has probate or letters of administration been granted, by which High Court, to whom, and have they signed the sale?

Step 4: If several people are on the title, read how they hold it

• Kenya, joint tenants. Section 91(4) of the Land Registration Act 2012 says dispositions may be made only by all the joint tenants. A transfer by one of them to an outsider is void.
• Kenya, tenants in common. Section 91(6) says none may deal with their share in favour of an outsider without the others’ written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld. Section 91(8) lets the Registrar dispense with consent on adequate proof it cannot be obtained or is unreasonably withheld.
• Ghana. Section 40(3) of the Land Act 2020 presumes a conveyance to two or more people creates an interest in common unless it says otherwise.
• Spouses. In Ghana, section 47 bars a spouse from selling land acquired for value during the marriage without the other spouse’s written consent, absent a written agreement otherwise. In Kenya, section 93 of the Land Registration Act treats land a spouse acquires during marriage for both spouses’ co-ownership and use as matrimonial property.
• Kenyan farmland. Section 6(1) of the Land Control Act (Cap 302) makes a sale, transfer or partition of agricultural land in a land control area void for all purposes without the land control board’s consent.

Step 5: What to do when you hear a sale is happening

1. Ask, in writing, for the plot details, the buyer’s name, and a copy and date of anything signed. Keep everything.
2. Run your own search (Step 1). Never rely on one the seller supplies.
3. Write to the seller and, for family land, the family head: state that you have not consented and ask who did. You are creating a record, not starting a fight.
4. In Ghana, watch the Lands Commission’s published notices of application for deeds registration. Each says registration will proceed if no objection is lodged at the Land Registration Division within fourteen days of the notice. An objection needs a letter stating its basis and the supporting documents; the notices give judgments, wills and letters of administration as examples.
5. Ask a licensed lawyer about a caveat (Ghana) or caution (Kenya). In Ghana, section 184 of the Land Act 2020 allows a caveat by someone claiming an unregistered interest, and section 185(2) stops an inconsistent disposition being registered while it stands, without the caveator’s consent or a court order. In Kenya, section 71(1) of the Land Registration Act lets someone claiming a right to an interest lodge a caution. In Nigeria, ask what notice can be placed at the state land registry.
6. If the family cannot settle it, take advice on court. In Ghana, section 2 of PNDCL 114 lets a family member apply for an account from the head, but only after trying to settle it within the family. Keep evidence that you tried.

If someone back home acts for you, give them narrow written authority for this step only. Our guide on power of attorney back home explains how.

Step 6: If you are the buyer, check the seller’s authority

1. Run your own search and compare the recorded owner with the person selling.
2. Ask the seller, in writing, how they came to hold the land. Ask again later and compare.
3. For family land, get the names of the recognised head and principal members, and their signatures on the conveyance or an attached family resolution. Have your own lawyer confirm who they are with people other than the seller.
4. For a dead owner’s land, see the probate or letters of administration (in Kenya, the confirmed grant) and check every named representative signs.
5. For co-owned land, every joint owner signs; for owners in common, see the written consents. Ask whether the seller is married, and get spousal consent where the law requires it.
6. In Kenya, for agricultural land, see the land control board consent before completion.

In Lagos, the same logic sits behind our guide to buying family land safely.

What a wrong answer sounds like

• “I’m the eldest, I can sign for everyone.” Age is not authority. For family land, the question is who the recognised head is and whether the principal members joined; for an estate, who holds the grant. Reply: “Show me the document that entitles you to sign.”
• “The family agreed verbally.” In Ghana, section 182(14) needs consent proved before family land is registered. Spoken agreement leaves nothing to point to. Reply: “Then it is easy to put in writing. Who signed?”
• “Your share will come later.” Later is after the money has gone. In Kenya, estate land cannot be sold before the grant is confirmed. Reply: “Let’s agree the shares in writing before anything is signed.”
• “Dad’s land is mine now, I’m the one at home.” Living nearby is not letters of administration. Reply: “Which court issued the grant, and to whom?”
• “Just sign this consent quickly, the buyer is waiting.” A consent without the plot, price and buyer named is a blank cheque. Reply: “Send me the full document. I’ll sign once I’ve read it.”
• “It’s already sold, there’s nothing you can do.” That depends on how the land was held and how fast you act. Reply: “Send me the document and the date. I’m taking advice.”

How Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya differ

• Ghana writes the family consent duty into statute (Land Act 2020, sections 9, 13 and 182) and backs it with PNDCL 114. Published registration notices give you a window to object.
• Nigeria relies on customary law as stated by the courts, and custom varies. A transfer of a statutory right of occupancy also needs the Governor’s consent under section 22 of the Land Use Act; see our Governor’s Consent guide. We could not read a state family-property statute on an official host, so we cite none.
• Kenya is register-driven: the title, the confirmed grant and, for farmland, the land control board decide who may sell.

For more on land and relatives, see When It Is Family.

Frequently asked questions

Can my brother sell our late father’s land without letters of administration?

Not lawfully in Kenya or Ghana, if the land was your father’s own. In Kenya, section 45 of the Law of Succession Act bars disposing of a deceased person’s free property without authority such as a grant, and section 82(b) bars selling immovable property before the grant is confirmed. In Ghana, section 174 of the Land Act 2020 requires probate or letters of administration before a personal representative registers a transfer. In Nigeria, ask a licensed lawyer whether a grant exists and who holds it.

Is a sale of family land without everyone’s consent void?

Not always, and the difference matters. For Yoruba customary law, the Nigerian Supreme Court in Folami v Cole (1990) stated that a sale by the family head alone is voidable at the instance of the other members, and the members who waited too long lost. In Ghana, section 182(14) of the Land Act 2020 bars registering a family land disposition without proof of the requisite consent. In Kenya, a transfer by one joint tenant to an outsider is void under section 91(4) of the Land Registration Act. Ask a licensed lawyer how your facts fit, and do not wait.

How do I stop a family land sale from abroad?

You cannot guarantee it, but you can make an unauthorised sale harder to complete. Ask for the details in writing, run your own search, and tell the seller and family head in writing that you have not consented. In Ghana, watch the Lands Commission’s registration notices and lodge a documented objection within the period the notice gives, and ask a lawyer about a caveat under section 184 of the Land Act 2020. In Kenya, ask about a caution under section 71 of the Land Registration Act.

Education, not legal, financial or tax advice. Verify locally and use licensed professionals.