Real Estate Law
We handle real estate matters at every stage, from the first due diligence check through closing, registration, financing and leasing, and litigation when things go wrong. We work with Nepalese clients and clients abroad, including non-resident Nepalis, foreign investors, developers, lenders and companies buying, selling or leasing property anywhere in Nepal.
The Legal Framework
Property law in Nepal is spread across the National Civil Code, 2074 (2017), the Land Act, 2021 (1964), the Land Revenue Act, 2034 (1977), the Land (Survey and Measurement) Act, the Apartment Ownership Act, 2054 (1997) and the Land Acquisition Act, 2034 (1977). Where foreign money or a foreign party is involved, FITTA, 2019 usually applies as well, and municipalities set their own zoning and land-use rules that vary from district to district.
Because these laws overlap and land records differ across municipalities, deals are rarely as simple as signing a sale deed. Getting a transaction through cleanly means dealing directly with Land Revenue Offices, the Ministry of Land Management, the Department of Industry and, in foreign investment cases, Investment Board Nepal. We do this regularly and know where deals tend to stall.
What We Do
- Due diligence: checking the ownership certificate (Lalpurja), tracing the chain of title, confirming there is no mortgage, lien or pending case, checking tax clearance and verifying boundaries and permitted land use. Most disputes trace back to something that would have shown up here.
- Structuring the deal: a Nepali company, an NRN, a foreign-invested entity and a lender each face different rules under the Land Act, and we work out which route applies.
- Sale and purchase: negotiation, drafting the agreement, executing the deed at the Land Revenue Office and completing registration.
- Documentation and approvals, including Department of Industry and Investment Board Nepal approvals where foreign investment is involved.
- Licensing: regulatory sign-offs to develop, operate or transfer real estate in line with zoning and land-use requirements.
- Leasing: commercial and residential leases, renewals, rent reviews and landlord-tenant disputes.
- Financing: mortgage and security structures over real property and the documents needed to register and enforce them.
- Disputes: breach of contract, title defects, boundary disagreements, easements, inheritance and partition claims and construction-related disputes, in court or through arbitration and mediation.
Who We Have Worked With
Manufacturing businesses, hotels, international organisations, diplomatic missions, real estate agents, commercial centres, hydropower companies, lenders and service companies, as well as individual owners and NRNs buying a single plot.
