How to check a title deed in Malawi
A deed you have only been shown a photograph of is not evidence of anything. Here is how to actually verify one.
What you should be looking at
A registered leasehold title identifies the plot by number and by the scheme or area it sits in, names the registered proprietor, states the term of the lease and when it started, and carries the registry's stamp and entry particulars. If any of those are missing or handwritten into a gap, stop.
Note the plot number and the registered proprietor's full name exactly as written. Those two strings are what you take to the Lands office. A deed described only as 'a plot in Area 49' cannot be searched and cannot be relied on.
Run the official search yourself
Go to the district lands office in person, or instruct a lawyer to. Ask for an official search against the title. What comes back should confirm the registered owner and list every encumbrance — mortgages, caveats, cautions, court orders.
Do the search yourself or through your own lawyer. A search result handed to you by the seller proves nothing at all: it is a photocopy of a document you did not watch being produced.
The warning signs, in rough order of how often they come up
The name on the deed is not the name on the seller's ID, and the explanation involves a relative, a friend or a company nobody can produce paperwork for. This is the most common problem and it is not always fraud — but it always means the sale cannot proceed as presented.
You are only ever shown a copy, and the original is always about to be collected from a lawyer. Pressure to pay quickly because 'someone else is coming this afternoon'. A price well below what everything nearby is selling for. Ground rent that has not been paid for years. Any of these on its own is a reason to slow down; two of them together is a reason to walk.
For customary land there is no deed to check at all, and anyone waving one at you for a customary plot is misrepresenting what they are selling. See the customary land guide for what verification looks like in that case.
Common questions
Can I check a Malawi title deed online?
No. There is no public online land register in Malawi. Verification means an official search at the district lands office, done in person by you or by your lawyer.
What does an official search cost?
It is a modest fixed fee, but the amount changes — confirm it at the lands office on the day rather than relying on a figure you read somewhere. It is trivial next to the value of what it protects.
The deed is in the seller's late father's name. Is that a problem?
It is very common and it is not fatal, but the estate must be administered and the title transferred to whoever inherits before that person can sell to you. Until that happens, the person offering you the plot cannot give you good title.