Kenyan legislation

The Building Societies Regulations

Edition: 2022-12-31 · In force

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1. Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Building Societies Regulations.

2. Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, "society" means a building society formed for the purpose of raising by the subscription of members a stock or fund from which to make advances to members.

3. Registration of societies

(1)An application for the registration of a society under section 6 or section 75 of the Act shall be in Form BS 1 in the First Schedule, and shall be accompanied by—

(a)two printed or typed copies of the rules of the society;

(b)a statement of the situation and postal address of the head office of the society;

(c)a statement, where the head office is not situated in Kenya, of the situation and postal address of the principal office of the society in Kenya;

(d)a copy of the latest statement and annual account of the society, if any;

(e)the names and address of every director of the society; and

(f)if the society is registered or incorporated whether within or outside Kenya, the particulars of the statute or other law under which registration or incorporation was effected, together with a certified copy of the certificate of registration or incorporation.

(2)On the Registrar being satisfied that the application and rules of the society comply with the provisions of the Act, he may register the society, and on registering a society he shall enter the following particulars in the register—

(a)the name of the society;

(b)the situation and postal address of the head office of the society;

(c)where the head office of the society is not situated in Kenya, the situation and postal address of the principal office of the society in Kenya;

(d)the date of registration of the society under the Act;

(e)the section of the Act under which the society is registered;

(f)whether the society is a new society, a foreign society or an existing society;

(g)if the society is a foreign society or an existing society, the date upon which it was first registered or incorporated, and the country of registration or incorporation, together with details of the statute or other law under which registration or incorporation was effected.

(3)Upon the registration of a society, the Registrar shall issue a certificate of registration in Form BS 2 in the First Schedule.

4. Bonds for binding officers of societies

A bond executed for the purpose of binding an officer of a society with one sufficient surety, as required by section 16 of the Act, shall be in Form BS 3 in the First Schedule.

5. Limitation on advances

(1)For the purposes of section 24 of the Act, no society shall, without the consent in writing of the Registrar, make an advance in excess of three million, five hundred thousand shillings, or a sum exceeding five per centum of the total amount of moneys subscribed to the society by members of the society, whichever is the less.

(2)An application for the written consent of the Registrar, as required under section 24 of the Act, shall be made in duplicate in Form BS 4 in the First Schedule.

(3)Where the Registrar consents to the application he shall endorse the application accordingly and return a copy thereof to the applicant society.[L.N. 195/1974, L.N. 267/1977, L.N. 54/1980, L.N. 537/1991, r. 2, Corr. No. 82/1991, L.N. 337/1995, r. 2, L.N. 17/1998, r. 2.]

6. Security for advance taken from another person

(1)Where any society makes an advance to a member for the purpose of its being used in defraying the purchase price of land and takes any security from another person, the society shall give to the member notice stating—

(a)the maximum amount which the society would consider proper to advance upon the security of that land if no other security were taken;

(b)the amount to be advanced;

(c)the amount by which the advance will exceed that amount which the society would consider proper if no other security were taken;

(d)a description of the land;

(e)particulars of any buildings or other development upon the land;

(f)particulars of the security to be taken from the other person, including the amount to be secured and the type of security;

(g)the name and address of the other person.

(2)A notice required to be given under this regulation shall be in Form BS 5 in the First Schedule.

7. Statements and accounts

(1)An account and statement of a society, prepared in accordance with section 33 of the Act, shall relate to and concern all the business of that society, whether the business has been transacted within or outside Kenya, and shall be in the form and shall contain the particulars as set out in Form BS 6 in the First Schedule.

(2)A society registered or incorporated outside Kenya and registered as a building society under section 75 of the Act shall, in addition to the account and statement rendered to the Registrar under subregulation (1), send to the Registrar an account and statement relating to and concerning the business of the society within Kenya only, and the additional account and statement shall be in the form and shall contain the particulars set out in Form BS 6 in the First Schedule.

8. Return of sales and transfers

A return of sales and transfers prepared in accordance with section 34 of the Act shall be in Form BS 7 in the First Schedule.

9. Notices as to warranty

A notice given to a member in compliance with section 42 of the Act shall be in Form BS 8 in the First Schedule.

10. Notices of completion of sale of land

A notice sent to a member in compliance with section 43 of the Act shall be in Form BS 9 in the First Schedule and shall state—

(a)the particulars of the land sold;

(b)the amount of money realised by the sale;

(c)the expenses and costs incidental to the sale;

(d)the name of the purchaser of the land.

11. Change of name of society

(1)A special resolution by which a society changes its name, and of which in accordance with section 46 of the Act two copies are sent to the Registrar for registration, shall be certified by a statutory declaration declared by an officer of the society in accordance with the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act (Cap. 15).

(2)Where the Registrar registers a copy of the resolution, he shall return the other copy to the society endorsed with a certificate of registration, which shall be in Form BS 10 in the First Schedule.

12. Change of office or address of society

(1)A society which changes the situation of its registered office, whether the office is a head office or a principal office within Kenya, or its registered postal address, shall send to the Registrar a notice thereof in duplicate in Form BS 11 in the First Schedule.

(2)Where the Registrar registers a change, he shall endorse the duplicate notice thereof and return it to the society concerned.

13. Change of directors of society

(1)Whenever a person is appointed director of a society or for any reason ceases to be a director of a society, the society shall send to the Registrar a notice thereof in duplicate in Form BS 12 in the First Schedule.

(2)Where the Registrar registers an appointment or cessation, he shall endorse the duplicate notice thereof and return it to the society concerned.

14. Change or alteration of rules of society

(1)A special resolution by which a society alters or rescinds any of its rules or makes any additional rule, and of which in accordance with section 49 of the Act two copies are sent to the Registrar for registration, shall be certified by a statutory declaration declared by an officer of the society in accordance with the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act (Cap. 15).

(2)Where the Registrar registers a copy of the resolution, he shall return the other copy to the society endorsed with a certificate of registration which shall be in Form BS 13 in the First Schedule.

15. Applications to unite or transfer engagements

(1)An application made to the Registrar, in accordance with section 53 of the Act, by a society desiring to unite with one or more other societies or to transfer its engagements to another society or to undertake to fulfil the engagements of another society shall be in Form BS 14 in the First Schedule.

(2)A notice of an application made under section 53 of the Act and required to be published in the Gazette and in a newspaper shall be so published at least one month before the Registrar hears the application and shall be in Form BS 15 in the First Schedule.

(3)Every publication of a notice in the Gazette or in any newspaper shall be at the expense of the society concerned.

(4)Where—

(a)two or more societies unite and become one society, the united society shall send to the Registrar a notice of union, which shall be in Form BS 16 in the First Schedule, together with the certificates of registration of the societies concerned in the union;

(b)a society transfers its engagements to another or a society undertakes to fulfil the engagements of another, both societies shall send to the Registrar a notice of transfer, which shall be in Form BS 17 in the First Schedule.

16. Reference of disputes to Registrar

(1)Where the parties to a dispute agree to refer the dispute to the Registrar in accordance with section 56 of the Act, the parties shall—

(a)send to the Registrar a notice of the reference in Form BS 18 in the First Schedule;

(b)if the rules of the society direct that disputes be referred to the Registrar, a copy of the rules;

(c)a statement of the dispute;

(d)a statement setting out the submission of each party.

(2)The Registrar may, by notice in writing, require any party to the dispute to appear before him.

(3)The Registrar may, by notice in Form BS 19 in the First Schedule, require any party to the dispute to deposit for inspection, within a time and at a place specified in the notice, such documents, statements, accounts or other evidence as may be considered by him to be relevant to the determination of the dispute.

(4)An award made by the Registrar shall be in Form BS 20 in the First Schedule.

17. Application for inspection of books

(1)An application for the appointment of an accountant or actuary made under section 60 of the Act shall be in Form BS 21 in the First Schedule and shall be signed by at least ten members of the society, and shall state the names of the members of the society on whose behalf it is made.

(2)An application shall be certified, by a declaration declared by a member of the society in accordance with the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act (Cap. 15), to the effect that it is the application of one-tenth of the whole number of members of the society or of fifty members thereof, whichever is the less.

18. Application to appoint an inspector or call a special meeting

(1)An application for the appointment of an inspector or to call a special meeting of a society made under subsection (1) of section 61 of the Act shall be in Form BS 22 in the First Schedule and shall be signed by at least ten members of the society, and shall state the names of the members of the society on whose behalf it is made.

(2)An application shall be certified by a declaration, declared by a member of the society in accordance with the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act (Cap. 15), to the effect that it is the application of one-tenth of the whole number of the members of the society or of fifty members, whichever is the less.

19. Appointment of accountant, actuary or inspector

An appointment of accountants, actuaries or inspectors under sections 60 and 61 of the Act shall be in Form BS 23 in the First Schedule.

20. Forbidding invitations for subscriptions, etc.

(1)A notice served by the Registrar on a society stating his intention under section 62 of the Act to forbid invitations for subscriptions shall be in Form BS 24 in the First Schedule.

(2)An order to a society directing that no invitation to subscribe for, or to acquire or to offer to acquire, securities or to lend or deposit money shall be in Form BS 25 in the First Schedule.

21. Notice of commencement of dissolution of society

(1)A notice of the commencement of dissolution of a society under section 64 of the Act shall be in Form BS 26 in the First Schedule.

(2)Notice of the commencement of dissolution of a society shall be sent by the society to the Registrar within fourteen days from the date upon which—

(a)a court order ordering the winding up of the society was made;

(b)an instrument of dissolution was signed in accordance with the provisions of the section;

(c)the decision was made to dissolve the society.

(3)A notice of the commencement of dissolution shall be accompanied by a copy of the court order or a copy of the instrument of dissolution or a copy of the resolution or decision whereby it was decided to dissolve the society.

22. Notice of completion or termination of dissolution of society

(1)A notice of the completion or termination of dissolution of a society dissolved under section 64 of the Act shall be in Form BS 27 in the First Schedule.

(2)Notice of the completion or termination of dissolution shall be sent to the Registrar within twenty-eight days from the completion or termination of dissolution.

23. Application for Registrar to order dissolution of society

(1)An application for the dissolution of a society made under section 70 of the Act shall be in Form BS 28 in the First Schedule, and shall be signed by at least ten members of the society, and shall state the names of the members of the society on whose behalf it is made.

(2)An application shall—

(a)be certified by a declaration declared by a member of the society in accordance with the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act (Cap. 15), to the effect that it is the application of one-tenth of the whole number of members of the society or of fifty members, whichever is the less; and

(b)be accompanied by a written statement setting out the reasons therefor.

24. Forms of documents

(1)All applications, notices, returns and other documents required to be sent to the Registrar shall be clearly and legibly printed or typewritten in the English language on paper of durable quality.

(2)The forms prescribed in the First Schedule shall be used in all matters for which they are prescribed, being adapted with such alterations or additions as may be necessary and as the Registrar may permit.

(3)Where a document is sent to the Registrar or tendered for registration which, in the opinion of the Registrar, substantially complies with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, the Registrar may accept and, where requisite, register it; but nothing in this subregulation shall prevent the Registrar from refusing to accept or register a document not in the prescribed form, or in the prescribed form but unnecessarily long or containing unnecessary or irrelevant matter.

25. Registrar’s authentication of documents

Every document bearing the signature and, where usual, the seal or other device of the Registrar shall be deemed, until the contrary is shown, to be duly authenticated for the purposes of the Act or these Regulations.

26. Fees

There shall be payable in the manner and for the several matters set out in the first column of the Second Schedule the appropriate fees as set out in the second column thereof.

Source: Kenya Law · Imported 4 October 2026