Homa Bay County Land Registrar Edward Bosire said lack of information had led to a backlog of 18,189 uncollected title deeds, saying the locals had no idea about the collection process.
Bosire said out of the 18,189 documents, 588 belong to women and 119 for public utility, while the rest belong to men.
He said that land ownership illiteracy and unresolved land issues still remain major challenges in the county, a situation that prompted the department to sensitise the public on matters of land.
He said many land-related cases in Ndhiwa courts, including boundary disputes and succession matters, could be avoided if couples opted for joint land ownership. "If a couple jointly owns land, the surviving spouse can present a death certificate to obtain a title deed in case one partner passes away," he suggested.