Innovations in Land Administration

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve on
Doing Business
Cases from Lithuania, the Republic of Korea,
Rwanda and the United Kingdom
Thea Hilhorst and Frederic Meunier, Editors
9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_CVR_1605046.indd 1 10/27/15 9:36 AM

© 2015 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org
Some rights reserved.

1 2 3 4 17 16 15 14
This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions
expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments
they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors,
denominations, and other information shown on any map in this word do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank
concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank,
all of which are specifically reserved.
This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) http://creativecommons.org
/licenses/by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adopt this work,
including for commercial purposes, under the following conditions:
Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: Hilhorst, Thea and Frederic Meunier, eds. 2015. How Innovations in Land Administration
Reform Improve on Doing Business: cases from Lithuania, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda and the United Kingdom. Washington DC.:
World Bank.
Translations—If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This translation
was not created by The World Bank and should not be considered an official World Bank translation. The World Bank shall not be liable for any
content or error in this translation.
Adaptations—If you create a adaptation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This is an
adaptation of an original work by The World Bank. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the sole responsibility of the author or
authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by The World Bank.
Third-party content—The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work. The
World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of any third-party-owned individual component or part contained in the work will
not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. If you wish
to re-use a component of the work, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that re-use and to obtain
permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures, or images.
All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to the Publishing and Knowledge Division. The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW,
Washington, DC 20433, USA: fax 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org.
Cover photo: Marguerite Duponchel

Cover design: Klaus Deininger
9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 2 10/27/15 10:09 AM

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve
on Doing Business
Cases from Lithuania,
the Republic of Korea, Rwanda
contents and the United Kingdom
Preface vi
Abbreviations and Acronyms vii
1. How Doing Business Can Help Improve Quality of Land Administration:

Evidence, Challenges, and Country Experience 1
1.1 Conceptual basis 1
1.2 The Doing Business approach and its evolution 2
1.3 Global evidence on the quality of service provision 5
1.4 How to improve land administration quality? 7
Chapter 1 References 9
2. Implementing and Sustaining Land Tenure Regularization in Rwanda 10
2.1 The Importance of land in Rwanda 11
2.2 Putting the policy and legal framework in place 11
2.3 Testing the procedures before roll-out 12
2.4 Preparing, managing, and monitoring the LTR roll-out 13
2.5 From LTR to sustainable land administration systems used

by stakeholders 17
2.6 Conclusions 19
3. Land and Property Administration Reform in Lithuania 20
3.1 Land reform 20
3.2 Institutions engaged in real property governance 23
3.3 Land information structure 24
3.4 Expanding the use of land data 29
3.5 Issues and new initiatives 31

iv Doing Business 2015
4. Development of a Unified Land Information System in the Republic

of Korea 33
4.1 Economic transformation and changing demands for land

administration 33
4.2 Digitalizing and linking land administration systems and services 34
4.3 Key elements in the development of the KLIS 38
4.4 Challenges building the KLIS 40
4.5 The impact of the KLIS 41
4.6 Conclusion 43
5. Building Business Resilience—the Experience of H.M. Land Registry

for England and Wales 45
5.1 History of land registration in England and Wales 45
5.2 Doing Business rankings 46
5.3 Structure and functioning of Land Registry 47
5.4 Land Registry business governance 48
5.5 Information held by Land Registry 48
5.6 Process for innovating and expanding Land Registry services 51
5.7 Land and property dispute resolution 54
5.8 Lessons learned and future outlook 55
List of Contributors 56
List of Boxes
Box 2.1 Steps for Rwanda’s LTR Procedure 14
List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Rwanda’s Ranking on the Global LAQI (actual vs. potential) 10
Figure 3.1 Lithuania’s Ranking on the Global LAQI (actual vs. potential) 20
Figure 3.2 Evolution of Cadastral Data in Lithuania 26
Figure 3.3 Data Integration in Lithuania’s Centre of Registers 27
Figure 3.4 Timeline of Historical Developments in Lithuania’s Land

Data Registry 28
Figure 4.1 Republic of Korea’s Ranking on the Global LAQI

(actual vs. potential) 33

contents v
Figure 4.2 Republic of Korea’s Dual Land Information System and Integration
to KLIS 37
Figure 4.3 Estimated Cost Savings Associated with the KLIS 42
Figure 5.1 UK’s Ranking on the Global LAQI (actual vs. potential) 45
Figure 5.2 Example of the Proprietorship (B) Register in H.M. Land Register 49
Figure 5.3 Example of a Title Plan in H.M. Land Registry 49
Figure 5.4 Extract of the Index Map in H.M. Land Registry 50
Figure 5.5 H.M. Land Registry’s Service Proposition Lifecycle 52
Figure 5.6 Online Release Schedule for H.M. Land Registry Services 52
Figure 5.7 H.M. Land Registry’s Channel Access Release Schedule 53
Figure 5.8 H.M. Land Registry’s Service Proposition Development

with Stakeholders 53
Figure 5.9 Take-up of MapSearch versus “Search of the Index Map”

Applications—April 2013–May 2015 54
Figure 5.10 Lessons Learned—Put the Customer at the Heart

of Everything You Do 55
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Requirements for Registering a Property (2005–2006) 3
Table 1.2 Quality of Land Administration Index by Region and for Study

Countries 7
Table 1.3 Key Dimensions of Land Administration Quality in Sample

Countries 8

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve
on Doing Business
and the United Kingdom preface
I
nitiated in 2003, the World Bank’s with four specific dimensions: the reli-
Doing Business report aims to deliver ability of infrastructure, the transpar-
knowledge that catalyzes reforms ency of information, the geographic
and helps improve the quality and coverage of land administration, and
efficiency of the rules underpinning aspects of dispute resolution for land
private sector activities. This tool al- issues.
lows economies to track progress over
time and learn from good practices in By expanding its focus on regulatory
business regulations. quality, the Registering Property indi-
cator opens a new area for reforms. The
Over the dozen years since its incep- expectation is that the new data on the
tion, the Doing Business report has quality of land administration will pro-
inspired regulatory reforms around the vide information about good practices
world: in the past 12 years, over 2,600 for policy makers. Thus it is worthwhile
reforms have been recorded globally in to explore and understand how certain
the areas measured by the report. economies have built some of the most
advanced land administration systems
In the area of Registering Property, in the world—taking into account local
more than 300 regulatory reforms have constraints and specificities.
been implemented in 133 economies.
Those reforms focus on increasing the The case studies presented in this re-
efficiency of property transactions port span the globe—from the Republic
thanks to the computerization of reg- of Korea to Lithuania, from Rwanda
istries, streamlining of processes, and to the United Kingdom—and provide
introduction of time limits. lessons on what it takes to succeed
in the area of land administration.
In 2015, the Registering Property Through such efforts, governments
indicator—which used to measure can increase the security of land rights,
the steps, time, and cost required to create wealth for the broader benefit of
transfer a warehouse from one local society, and contribute to the eradica-
business to another—is adding a new tion of poverty.
indicator to encompass aspects of
the quality of land administration. In Augusto Lopez Claros
addition to the efficiency of property Director, Global Indicators Group,
registration systems, the Registering Development Economics,
Property indicator now assesses the The World Bank,
overall quality of land administration Washington, DC

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve
on Doing Business
abbreviations and acronyms and the United Kingdom
ECA Europe and Central Asia

EAP East Asia and Pacific
EU European Union
FM Field manager
GIS Geographic information system
GoR Government of Rwanda
KLIS Korea Land Information System
LAC Latin America and the Caribbean
LAIS Land Administration Information System (Rwanda)
LAQI Land administration quality index
LMIS Land Management Information System (Republic of Korea)
LTR Land tenure regularization
LTRSS Land Tenure Regularisation Support System (Rwanda)
M&E Monitoring and evaluation
MENA Middle East and North Africa
MINITERE Ministry of Lands, Environment Forestry, Water and Mines (Rwanda)
MoCT Ministry of Land and Construction (Republic of Korea)
MoGAHA Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs
(Republic of Korea)
MoLIT Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Republic of Korea)
NETSVEP Electronic Service of Real Property Transactions (Lithuania)
NGIS National GIS Establishment (Republic of Korea)
NGO Nongovernmental organization
O&C Objections and corrections (Rwanda)
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OLL Organic Land Law (Rwanda)
PBLIS Parcel Based Land Information System (Republic of Korea)
PS Para-surveyors (Rwanda)
REGIA Service of Regional Geo-Informational Environment (Lithuania)
RNRA Rwanda Natural Resources Authority
RF Rwanda franc
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa

How Innovations in
1. how Doing Business Land Administration
Reform Improve
can help improve quality on Doing Business
of land administration Cases from Lithuania,
evidence, challenges, and country experience and the United Kingdom
Klaus Deininger, Frederic Meunier, 1.1 concepTual basis

and Thea Hilhorst
Land and the property on it are among
T
o situate the case studies con- households’ most important assets
tained in this brochure within virtually everywhere. Institutions to
the broader context of global document and record the legitimate
land indicators, this section discusses owner of property are thus a key part
why land governance matters for sus- of the institutional infrastructure of
tainable private sector development any economy. Clear assignment of
and how the “registering property” rights to property is required to assure
indicator under the World Bank’s Doing individuals they will be able to enjoy
Business project incorporated this con- the fruits of any improvements they
cern. Evidence on the evolution of this make to the land without fear of ex-
index and its components over time in propriation by others or the state. This
different regions is used to document is a precondition for sustainable land
that while it has been influential in management, productivity-enhancing
promoting specific reform, its effec- investment, and entrepreneurial activ-
tiveness could be enhanced by incor- ity with the associated social benefits.
porating aspects relating to the quality Documented rights to property are of
of land administration. Evidence on even greater importance for women,
indicators in this area, collected to feed especially if their ability to own or
into the 2016 round of Doing Business, receive property (e.g., via inheritance)
points towards vast differences across has been restricted in the past. In fact,
countries and suggests that including a large literature documents sizeable
these elements in the Doing Business downstream impacts of securing
ranking can indeed help make land women’s land rights on autonomy and
administration more reliable, inclusive, welfare of the next generation.
and transparent. Key aspects of the
four case studies described in more Economic development is associated
detail in subsequent sections are sum- with specialization and moving part of
marized to show that progress towards the labor force out of the agriculture
better land governance is possible sector. This can create ample scope for
irrespective of countries’ initial income efficiency-enhancing land transfers.
level and highlights the importance of But it is contingent on institutional
monitoring instruments such as Doing arrangements to document owner-
Business to encourage reforms that ship in a way that those who transfer
take a long-term view, help maintain temporary use rights do not fear the
focus during implementation, and potential loss of their land while those
share good practices among top who acquire land—temporarily or
reformers. permanently—are assured they are

2 How innovations in land administration reform improve on doing business
dealing with the rightful owner. Full Three reasons have traditionally pre- land governance, improvements cannot
realization of gains from trade requires vented many countries from harnessing come via “stroke of a pen” reforms but
that reasonably complete, current, the full benefits from better land gover- will take time and significant imple-
and authoritative information on the as- nance. First, creating and maintaining mentation effort to become effective.
signment of property rights—normally textual and spatial ownership records for Taking advantage of new opportunities
provided by public registries—is avail- land in an analog setting is technically to improve land governance and the
able at low cost to a set of agents complex, time consuming, and requires quality of service delivery in the sector
with sufficiently diverse skills to allow a large institutional infrastructure for will require a clear vision, strong political
efficiency-enhancing transactions. mapping and record maintenance. Vast will, and ways to objectively document
increases in computing power, con- progress over time to keep reforms
The immovable and virtually indestruc- nectivity, and availability of remotely on track independent of short-term
tible nature of land implies that, with sensed imagery at high resolution have political considerations. All of these are
sufficiently liquid land sales markets, it reduced this cost to a fraction of its issues that Doing Business can help with.
can provide ideal collateral for financial earlier level but can be exploited only if
markets, boosting entrepreneurial devel- there is effective change management
opment. But it can perform this function and the institutional setting is suitable. 1.2 The Doing Business
only if authoritative and comprehensive Second, most countries are character- approach and its
registry information on land ownership ized by large inter-regional variation in evolution
is available and can be routinely ac- land tenure arrangements that calls
cessed at low cost by third parties such for a flexible rather than a one-size By gathering and analyzing comprehen-
as banks and mortgage lenders. fits all approach and very fragmented sive quantitative data to compare busi-
land institutions. As a consequence, ness regulation environments across
Beyond the benefits to individual decisions on land are made by a large economies and over time, Doing Business
economic activity, having a compre- number of institutions including minis- aims to establish a global benchmark
hensive geo-referenced system of land tries of urban development, agriculture, that encourages economies to move
records can improve quality and ef- environment and forest, in addition to towards more effective regulation and
fectiveness of public service provision local governments. Failure to delineate can serve as a resource for interested
in a number of respects. It provides a responsibilities or share information parties. The annual Doing Business
basis for realistic land use plans that creates potential for overlap and dis- Indicators have become highly influ-
can be implemented swiftly, an issue cretion, makes consistent monitoring ential as an instrument to improve the
that is relevant to facilitate urban difficult, and runs a danger of certain business environment for private sector
expansion in a way that creates livable important issues not being addressed activity and to eliminate regulatory and
and “green” cities rather than gridlock at all.1 Third, land ownership and access bureaucratic red tape. The principle is
and increased emissions. It also allows have traditionally been closely linked to straightforward: for a total of 11 areas
access to land by industry in ways political power and the ability to make that are all very relevant for establishing
that respect existing rights without discretionary decisions on land use and or running a business (from registering
incurring interminable delays and red ownership can be a source of rents that a business to paying taxes),2 a typical
tape, thus facilitating provision of jobs. may be particularly large in settings transaction relevant for almost all
Finally, with the rise of the information where land prices increase rapidly. types of entrepreneurs is identified. Key
economy, having spatial information Efforts to increase transparency, elimi- informants, mostly lawyers who, based
on land ownership and properties nate overlaps, and improve coordination on the advice they provide to clients and
available in an interoperable format may be resisted by those who benefit their involvement with the relevant pro-
provides a wealth of opportunities for from the status quo. cesses, are familiar with what it takes
the private sector and local communi- to comply with official requirements in
ties to add value to such data and Thus, while technology opened up a specific area, are asked to identify the
provide location-based services. enormous new opportunities to improve time and cost requirements associated
1. Using a spatial framework to assign responsibilities can help clarify such overlaps; in fact a number of countries have introduced “one map” policies to
help bring about better inter-institutional coordination and sharing of information.
2. The areas considered are: (i) starting a business; (ii) dealing with construction permits; (iii) getting electricity; (iv) registering property; (v) getting credit;
(vi) protecting minority investors; (vii) paying taxes; (viii) trading across borders; (ix) enforcing contracts; (x) resolving insolvency; and (xi) labor market
regulation (which is no longer included in the aggregate).

1. How Doing business can help improve quality of land administration 3
with each step. After back-checking Using the figures obtained in this way Africa (5.6 percent), and South Asia
and reconciliation of data, information illustrates that, overall, registering a (7.1 percent). In Sub-Saharan Africa, it
is published in annual reports that re- property considered in Doing Business costs more than three times (8.3 per-
ceive considerable media attention and takes 48 days, requires 5.8 discrete cent) to register a property than in
that allow top performers to advertise procedures, and costs 5.7 percent of the lowest-cost region. Inspection by
their “business friendly” credentials to property value (Table 1.1). Require- country reveals that the level of costs
attract private and public investors. ments differ significantly across is inversely related to the level of de-
regions: The number of days required velopment, highlighting that in many
1.2.1 The Doing Business for registration ranges from some 22 of the poorest countries, affordability
“registering property” in the OECD to 98 in South Asia. By of the formal systems of property
indicator comparison, the number of proce- registration is an important concern
As access to land has consistently dures varies little around the mean and that efforts to reduce these costs
been identified as a key bottleneck of 6. Costs are, with 2.6 percent and will be required.3
for establishment and running of a 4.3 pecent, lowest in Eastern Europe
business, an indicator on “registering and Central Asia and the OECD. The Changes in key indicators over time
property” has been part of the stan- level obtained in Eastern Europe and suggest a reduction of cost and time
dard set of Doing Business indicators Central Asia is about half of the cost for property registration: In the 11
since 2005. Until 2015, this indicator to register a property in Latin America years covered by the data, the num-
focused exclusively on measuring the (6 percent), the Middle East and North ber of days required to complete the
time, cost, and number of procedures
required to transfer a commercial
property, defined as a warehouse in Table 1.1 Requirements for registering a property (2005–2006)
the outskirts of the main business
Region Cost (% value) No. of days No. of procedures
city that had already been registered
and surveyed. To obtain this informa- World 2005 7.0 91.4 6.2
2006–10 6.6 76.5 6.1
tion, Doing Business records the full 2011–15 6.0 52.9 5.9
sequence of procedures required for 2016 5.7 48.4 5.8
a business (the buyer) to purchase a East Asia & Pacific 2005 4.5 96.0 5.3
2006–10 4.3 103.3 5.4
property from another business (the 2011–15 4.3 78.6 5.2
seller) and to transfer the property 2016 4.5 74.5 5.3
title to the buyer’s name so that the Europe & 2005 4.1 118.5 7.1
buyer can use the property for ex- Central Asia 2006–10 3.2 72.0 6.5
2011–15 2.8 28.6 5.7
panding its business, as collateral in 2016 2.6 22.0 5.4
taking new loans, or if necessary, sell High income: 2005 4.8 59.7 5.0
it to another business. The process OECD 2006–10 4.4 53.8 4.9
2011–15 4.4 26.5 4.7
starts with obtaining necessary docu- 2016 4.3 21.5 4.6
ments, such as a copy of the seller’s
Latin America & 2005 4.8 87.5 7.1
title, and conducting due diligence as Carribbean 2006–10 6.0 74.0 7.0
per local requirements. The transac- 2011–15 5.9 64.0 7.0
2016 6.0 62.0 7.0
tion is considered complete once it
Middle East & 2005 6.6 47.7 6.1
is opposable by third parties and the North Africa 2006–10 6.0 41.1 6.1
buyer can put the property to use, 2011–15 5.5 32.2 5.9
2016 5.6 29.6 5.7
mortgage it for a bank loan, or resell it.
The ranking of economies on the ease South Asia 2005 7.9 136.9 6.6
2006–10 6.8 125.5 6.4
of registering property is determined 2011–15 7.3 100.5 6.3
by sorting their distance to frontier 2016 7.1 97.6 6.4
scores for registering property, which Sub-Saharan 2005 12.9 111.6 6.6
Africa 2006–10 11.2 89.4 6.5
are the simple average of the distance 2011–15 9.5 63.7 6.3
to frontier scores for each of the com- 2016 8.3 57.6 6.2
ponent indicators. Source: Doing Business database.
3. Although information on cost is provided for every step, it is not possible to disaggregate costs in cases where one step comprises payment for several
services (e.g., taxes and fees). For the 89 countries where costs are provided by the different elements, taxes account for 58 percent of costs.

registration process was reduced from and negative. Analysis of reforms for Moreover, even if records exist, they
91.4 to 48.4, a change of more than the “registering property” indicator may, for various reasons, fail to provide
40 days. The number of procedures in the 11 years covered by the data an unambiguous identification of either
changed much less, from 6.2 to 5.8. highlights that some 80 percent of the legitimate owner or the boundaries
Mean cost decreased by about one sample countries undertook at least of a land parcel and thus be contest-
point from 7 percent to 5.7 percent of one positive reform, in most cases a able and fail to bring about desired
property value. This hides high levels major one, although some 47 percent benefits. Second, a single-minded
of inter-regional variation and the fact of countries had at least one negative focus on reducing the private cost and
that some countries undertook far- reform, in most cases minor. To get a the number of procedures required to
reaching reforms. better understanding of the types of register property that fails to account
reform, reforms were categorized into for either the quality of services pro-
Eastern Europe and Central Asia five areas, namely: (i) changes in regis- vided or the amount of resources spent
emerges as the region where reforms tration taxes (often referred as stamp by the public sector ignores the fact
had the most impact: the mean number duties); (ii) changes in registration that transaction costs are the price
of the days required for registration was fees; (iii) improved internal registry paid for specialized institutions. In the
reduced from 118 to 22, fees fell by one processes; (iv) easier data access for extreme, this could lead to reforms that
percentage point from 4.1 percent to outsiders; and (v) improved linkages may adversely affect quality of service
2.6 percent of property value, and the to other organizations, in particular provision, equity, and sustainability.
number of procedures was cut from 7.1 the cadaster. Assigning a 0/1 score for
to 5.4. In South Asia, fees remained be- whether or not, over the entire period, a In Saudi Arabia transferring a commer-
tween 7 and 8 percent while the number country undertook a reform in a given cial property from one company to an-
of days was reduced from 137 to 98. In area suggests that positive reforms other takes less than a week and costs
Sub-Saharan Africa, despite progress are most frequently found in the areas nothing in fees. But new data collected
in reducing fees (from 12.9 percent to of reducing transfer taxes (35 percent), by Doing Business this year on the qual-
8.3 percent), the number of days re- reducing fees and simplifying pro- ity of land administration systems show
quired to register (from 112 to 58), and cesses (24 percent), improving access that the Saudi system lacks transpar-
the number of procedures (from 6.6 to to land record data, generally via com- ency and the mechanisms for resolving
6.2), registering land remains expensive puterization (16 percent), and changes land disputes are complex. Information
and lengthy. East Asia and the Pacific in the organizational structure to either is not accessible to everyone or
has lower fees (4.5 percent) but rather improve linkages (2 percent). Reforms can be obtained only in person. And re-
high time requirements (about 75 days). coded as negative are dominated by solving a land dispute over tenure rights
By comparison, Latin America and the increases in fees (53 percent), taxes between two local businesses in Riyadh
Caribbean has much higher fees (6 per- (26 percent), more complex processes takes more than three years.
cent) but slightly lower time require- (12 percent), and more difficult access
ment with 62 days, down from 88 at (10 percent). France has the opposite situation. Do-
the beginning of the period. Countries ing Business data show that the prop-
in the Middle East and North Africa re- The ability of Doing Business to prompt erty transfer process is long and costly:
duced fees by about 1 percentage point action implies that expanding the scope transferring a commercial property
to 5.6 percent and the time needed to of the indicator to capture new infor- takes 49 days on average and costs
30 days. In the OECD, fees went down mation, e.g. coverage, the reliability of 6.1 percent of the property value. But
by 0.5 point to 4.3 percent while the infrastructure, and transparency, can the new data collected by Doing Busi-
days required to register a transaction make it even more useful to promote ness show that the land administration
was cut from 60 to 22. new reforms. Doing so can also help to system has strong standards of trans-
address two concerns that have been parency and effective mechanisms
1.2.2 Nature and direction raised. First, the speed of registering for dispute resolution. Thanks to fully
of reforms a property transfer matters if, as as- digital records at the cadastre, anyone
While the above suggests that Doing sumed in the case study, the property can consult maps and verify boundar-
Business helped to stimulate and cre- is registered with unclear identification ies. Information about documents
ate momentum for reform, a closer of both owners and physical boundar- and fees for property transfers can be
look at the nature of such reforms is ies. But in many developing countries, found online and on public boards. And
instructive. The Doing Business website coverage with records is quite limited, resolving a land dispute over tenure
provides a list of reforms, categorized the formal process of property trans- rights between two local businesses in
as major and minor as well as positive action is not used by most people. Paris takes between one and two years.

1.2.3 Incorporating quality available, subject to legal confidential- collection for the 2016 Doing Business
of the land administration ity requirements, procedures are clearly report. This section reviews evidence
system defined, and information on fees and across regions regarding specific ques-
Reinforced by an independent panel re- service standards is easily accessed, tions; it then describes the formula for
view (Manuel et al. 2013), it was decided is key to keeping transaction costs aggregating these into an overall index
to broaden the scope of key Doing Busi- low and guarding against discretion, and its associated values by specific
ness indicators to incorporate quality of informal payments, and other abuses. regions as well as the four case study
regulations. The goal was to have Doing countries covered in more detail below.
Business contribute to a regulatory Coverage: The utility of even the
environment consistent with effective most reliable and transparent land 1.3.1 Indicator construction
provision of high-quality public services administration system will be limited and regional comparison
in ways that are accessible by all. For if it covers only part of a country’s An index of the quality of land admin-
the “registering property” indicator, economically relevant land. This does istration systems that ranges from
this meant greater focus on reliability, not require the same standards to be a minimum of 0 to a maximum of
transparency, coverage, and dispute applied uniformly over the entire coun- 30 points, with higher values indicat-
prevention, concepts discussed briefly try; in fact recognition of communities’ ing greater quality, is constructed
below. rights in rural areas may be sufficient if by summing up scores from sub-
boundaries of such land, right holders, components relating to: reliability of
Reliability: Property registries need to and decision-making mechanisms are infrastructure (maximum 8 points);
provide authoritative information on specified and known locally. But cover- transparency of information (maxi-
property ownership and the ability to ing only a small fraction of relevant mum 6 points); geographical coverage
identify the property on the ground. As land may mean forgoing important (maximum 8 points); and land dispute
the main difference between contrac- external effects from land registration resolution (maximum 8 points).
tual and property registries is that the and may make those not covered vul-
latter define rights in rem, a boundary nerable to loss of their rights through The sub-index on reliability of infra-
description allowing unambiguous iden- often speculative land acquisition. structure contributes up to 8 points
tification of the property is essential. by assessing six areas: (i) how land
This does not require high-precision Dispute prevention and resolution: In records are kept at the registry in the
surveys but rather an approach that is many economies, land-related cases economy’s largest business city, with
“fit for purpose” (Enemark et al. 2014) make up a large share of disputes in a score of 2 if the majority of land
and a link to ensure synchronization informal and formal systems. As they titles are fully digital, 1 if most are
between records’ spatial and textual are often due to low data quality or scanned, and 0 if most are kept in
components. To ensure reliability, it is informality, a clear legal and regula- paper format; (ii) whether there is an
essential that all transfers are registered tory framework with clear processes electronic database for checking for
and that proper checks to ascertain the to ensure accuracy of the records used encumbrances, with a score of 1 if yes
absence of competing claims be con- for land transactions, as well as the and 0 if no; (iii) how land parcel maps
ducted before an entry in the registry identity of transacting parties to make are kept at the mapping agency of the
is made. Modern technology can make sure the transaction is possible, can be economy’s largest business city, with a
it easier to achieve these objectives but the most effective way of preventing score of 2 if the majority of maps are
is a means to an end, not a silver bullet. future land disputes. At the same time, fully digital, 1 if most are scanned, and
managing existing disputes requires 0 if most are kept in paper; (iv) if there
Transparency and access: A key reason effective mechanisms of dispute is a geographic information system to
for establishing public registries was resolution that are accessible and record boundaries, check plans, and
the desire to put transactions on public implemented consistently. provide cadastral information, with a
record to make it easy for third parties score of 1 if yes and 0 if no; (v) how the
to ascertain property ownership and land ownership registry and mapping
to acquire data on the operation of 1.3 Global evidence on agency are linked, with a score of 1 if
property markets, particularly prices the quality of service information about land ownership and
and transaction numbers to feed into provision maps are kept in a single database or
economic decisions. This is impossible in linked databases and 0 if there is no
if records and maps are not easily ac- To operationalize an indicator incor- connection between the databases;
cessible. A transparent system where porating quality aspects, a series of and (vi) how immovable property is
all land-related information is publicly questions was included in the data identified, with a score of 1 if there is a

unique property identifier and 0 if there commits to delivering an updated map or a professional (such as a notary or
are multiple ones. for properties transferred within a lawyer) and 0 if no such review exists;
specific time frame, with a score of 0.5 (v) if the legal system requires verifica-
The transparency of information sub- if such a service standard exists and is tion of the identity of the parties to a
index has up to 6 points based on 10 accessible online or on a public board property transaction, with a score of
components: (i) public availability of and 0 if not; and (x) whether there is a 0.5 if there is such verification, either
information on land ownership, with a specific and separate mechanism for by the registrar or a professional and
score of 1 if such information is acces- filing complaints about problems at the 0 if there is no verification; (vi) if a na-
sible by anyone and 0 if access is re- mapping agency, with a score of 0.5 if tional database to verify the accuracy
stricted; (ii) public availability of the list yes and 0 otherwise. of identity documents exists, with a
of documents required for completing score of 1 if yes and 0 otherwise; (vii)
any type of property transaction, with The geographic coverage sub-index the time taken to obtain a decision
a score of 0.5 if this list of documents contributes up to 8 points to the total from a court of first instance (without
is accessible online or on a public board based on four components relating to appeal) in a standard land dispute
and 0 if not or if it can be obtained only the completeness of coverage with between two local businesses over
in person; (iii) whether the fee schedule textual and spatial records for the main tenure rights worth 50 times income
for completing any type of property city and the economy overall. A score per capita and located in the largest
transaction is publicly available, with a of 2 is assigned if all privately held land business city, with a score of 3 if it
score of 0.5 if it is accessible online, on plots in the largest business city or takes less than one year, a score of 2 if
a public board, or in print free of charge the entire economy, respectively, are it takes one to two years, a score of 1 if
and 0 otherwise; (iv) if the agency in formally registered at the land registry it takes two to three years, and a score
charge of immovable property regis- or mapped, with a score of 0 if this is of 0 if it takes more than three years;
tration commits to delivering a legally not the case. and (viii) whether there are publicly
binding document proving property available statistics on the number of
ownership within a specific time frame, The land dispute resolution sub-index land disputes in the first instance, with
with a score of 0 if the service standard contributes up to 8 points to the total a score of 0.5 if statistics on land dis-
is accessible online or on a public board by assessing the legal framework for putes in the economy were published in
and 0 if it is not available to the public immovable property registration and the past calendar year and 0 if not.
or can be obtained only in person; (v) if the accessibility of dispute resolution
a specific and separate mechanism for mechanisms. It has eight components: Mean values of the land administration
filing complaints about a problem that (i) whether the law requires registration quality index by region point towards
occurred at the agency in charge of im- of all property sales transactions at the large gaps between potential and ac-
movable property registration exists, immovable property registry to make tual situations, together with consider-
with a score of 1 if a specific and sepa- them opposable to third parties, with a able variation overall and for specific
rate mechanism for filing complaints score of 1.5 if yes and of 0 if no; (ii) if the categories. The land administration
exists and 0 if a general or no mecha- formal system of immovable property quality index is highest in the OECD
nism at all is available; (vi) whether registration is subject to a guarantee, (22.7), followed by Europe and Central
official statistics tracking the number with a score of 0.5 if either a state Asia (19.4). A middle field is composed
of transactions at the immovable prop- or private guarantee over immovable of East Asia and Pacific (13.0), Middle
erty registration agency are publicly property registration is required by law East and North Africa (12.5), and Latin
available, with a score of 0.5 if statis- and 0 if no such guarantee is required; America and the Caribbean (11.5),
tics on property transfers in the largest (iii) if there is a specific compensation whereas Sub-Saharan Africa (8.4),
business city were published in the mechanism to cover for losses incurred and South Asia (7.6) rank at the low
past calendar year and 0 if not; (vii) if by parties who engaged in good faith end, obtaining less than a third of the
land parcel maps are publicly available, in a property transaction based on maximum score (Table 1.2).
with a score of 0.5 if such maps are erroneous information certified by the
accessible by anyone and 0 if access immovable property registry, with a Three observations seem worth noting.
is restricted; (viii) if the fee schedule score of 0.5 if yes and of 0 if no; (iv) if First, the fact that despite very similar
for accessing maps is made publicly the legal system requires verification levels of per capita income Eastern
available, with a score of 0.5 if the fee of the legal validity of the documents Europe is well ahead of other regions
schedule is accessible online, on boards, necessary for a property transaction, with comparable income levels (such
or in print free of charge and 0 other- with a score of 0.5 if there is a review as Middle East and North Africa, Latin
wise; (ix) whether the mapping agency of legal validity, either by the registrar America and the Caribbean, and East

Table 1.2 Quality of land administration index by region and for study countries
Europe Latin Middle
East and America East and High Sub-
Asia and Central and the North Income: South Saharan Korea, United
Max. Pacific Asia Caribbean Africa OECD Asia Africa Rwanda Lithuania Rep. Kingdom
Reliability 8 2.9 5.9 3.2 3.7 6.8 1.3 1.6 8 8 8 8
Transparency 6 2.2 3.6 2.5 1.9 3.6 1.5 1.8 1.5 4.5 4.5 5
Coverage 8 3.2 3.8 1.1 2.6 6.3 1.5 0.7 8 8 8 4
Disputes 8 4.6 6.2 4.6 4.4 6.0 3.4 4.3 7.5 8 7 7
Total index 30 13.0 19.4 11.5 12.5 22.7 7.6 8.4 25 28.5 27.5 24
Asia and Pacific) suggests that income land administration quality index rank- from contemporaneous evaluation; (iii)
alone is not a good predictor of the ings in Rwanda, Lithuania, the Republic rigorous and careful piloting on a very
quality of land administration. This is in of Korea, and the United Kingdom, four limited scale to fine-tune processes,
line with qualitative accounts attribut- examples of high-performing economies adapt them to local conditions, and
ing higher relevance to political will and in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, East establish targets for a national roll-out
pursuit of a long-term vision. Second, Asia, and the OECD, respectively, sug- over a three-year period that was fol-
while the gap between the most ad- gests a strongly affirmative answer lowed by a rigorous evaluation; and (iv)
vanced and the most backward regions to the second question (see Table 1.3: effective community participation and
is wide for reliability and coverage, it Key Dimensions of Land Administra- regular consultation. While this implies
is narrower for the sub-indicator on tion Quality in Sample Countries, cols. that the first step has been completed
disputes, which includes issues per- 9–12). Despite wide variation in levels of successfully, the country’s active land
taining to the legal framework. To the economic development, these countries markets—with 3–5 percent of parcels
extent that the underlying information all achieve a land administration quality sold every year—create significant
is accurate, this suggests that most index value well above the OECD aver- challenges for sustainability that need
countries are characterized by a large age. While these cases are discussed to be urgently addressed. Doing so
“implementation gap” that can be in more detail in subsequent chapters, will require: (i) adjusting fees to make
bridged only if coverage is expanded they are briefly summarized here and registering transactions affordable
and measures (which may include some general lessons drawn below. for rural people; (ii) identifying institu-
clear regulations for implementation) tional options for the Rwanda Natural
are taken to ensure provision of au- Resources Authority to become self-
thoritative, accurate, and up-to-date 1.4 How to improve financing and help local governments
information. The number of cases land administration effectively deliver land services in a
where legal provisions are the binding quality? decentralized setting; and (iii) increas-
constraint seems extremely limited. ing access to land data by public and
Finally, the low level of coverage in Latin Following passage of the 2005 Organic private players to ensure the full social
America and the Caribbean stands out: Land Law, Rwanda embarked on an value from such data is realized.
the region’s mean score (1.1) is below ambitious process to adjudicate and
that of South Asia.4 subsequently register rights to 10.5 Since independence in 1990, Lithuania
million urban and rural land parcels has established global good practices
While Europe and Central Asia’s ability in a participatory and cost-effective in e-governance and in integrating land
to exceed the performance of its peers (US$6 per parcel) process over a information, including management of
suggests that non-income factors play period of three years. Success was cadastral information via a web-based
an important role, it does not answer contingent on: (i) strong political will, cadastral map. The main institution, the
the question whether very poor econo- a clear vision, and strong leadership; State Enterprise Centre of Registers, is
mies, in particular in South Asia and (ii) a carefully crafted policy and legal completely self-funding, with fees set
Sub-Saharan Africa, may be able to framework that was constantly ad- to cover costs and allow for system de-
catch up with top performers. A look at justed in light of new evidence including velopment such that the institution can
4. Efforts to obtain a more differentiated picture are currently underway. To proxy coverage, the number of registered real property units relative to
population and the extent of mapped to total economically used area would be more appropriate, whereas the number of registered sales transactions—
possibly differentiated by different groups—is a good proxy for sustainability of the system.

Table 1.3 Key dimensions of land administration quality in sample countries

United
Reliability of infrastructure Rwanda Lithuania Korea, Rep. Kingdom
In what format are most title or deed records kept in the largest business city? Fully digital Fully digital Fully digital Fully digital
Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances? Yes Yes Yes Yes
In what format are most maps of land plots kept in the largest business city? Fully digital Fully digital Fully digital Fully digital
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information Yes Yes Yes Yes
(geographic information system)?
Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral or mapping agency Linked Single Linked Linked
kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases? databases database databases databases
Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the same identification Yes Yes Yes Yes
number for properties?
Transparency of information
Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable property registration in Interested Anyone who Anyone Anyone who
the largest business city? parties pays the fee pays the fee
Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made publicly available– Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online
and if so, how?
Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of immovable property Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online
registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how?
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally binding document No Yes, online Yes, online No
proving property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how does it communicate the service
standard?
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints on problems that occurred at the agency in No No No Yes
charge of immovable property registration?
Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property No Yes Yes Yes
registration agency?
Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2014: N/A 35,571 273,493 1,320,813
Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Interested Anyone who Anyone Anyone who
parties pays the fee pays the fee
Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available—and if so, how? Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online Yes, online
Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a specific time frame & if yes, No Yes, online Yes, online No
how it service standard communicated?
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the cadastral No No No Yes
or mapping agency?
Geographic coverage
Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property registry? Yes Yes Yes No
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the immovable property registry? Yes Yes Yes No
Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Land dispute resolution
Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable property registry to make Yes Yes Yes Yes
them opposable to third parties?
Is immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes Yes No Yes
Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who engaged in good faith in a Yes Yes Yes Yes
property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry?
Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property transaction (e.g., Yes Yes Yes Yes
checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)?
Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property transaction? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? Yes Yes Yes No
For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property worth 50 times gross Intermediate Vilnius Seoul Distr. Land Reg.
national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business city, what court would be in charge of the Court District Court Division
case in the first instance? court
How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a case (without Less than a Less than a Less than a Less than a
appeal)? year year year year
Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? No Yes No Yes
Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2014: N/A 71 N/A 863

continuously drive innovation, including a planning. It greatly reduced corruption business models developed to ensure
cost-saving move to give legal superior- and increased transparency of pro- sustainability. Finally, and probably
ity to electronic documents. Its registry cesses. For the 2007–11 period alone, an most importantly, they all provided
and cadaster are fully integrated with annual cost savings of about US$200 large benefits not only in terms of
each other and with population, address, million was realized. The Republic of cost-savings and greater transparency
mortgage, and business registries; any Korea is now expanding service delivery, in delivery of public services but also in
changes are reflected in real time so while adapting to the growing use of enhanced economic activity. While only
as to prevent fraud. This, together with mobile devices by clients, and integrat- the Rwandan case quantifies the latter,
maintaining the highest quality stan- ing land administration in the overall benefits from a national system were
dards for information to be registered, e-governance program to better serve particularly high for female-headed
is key to preventing disputes: with 95 the business community and promote households who had previously suffered
percent of disputes settled using extra- economic development. from high levels of insecurity.
judicial procedures, out of some 6 million
parcels, less than 400 disputes end up in A long evolution from recording deeds This note lays out the rationale for
the courts every year. Public reporting of to a voluntary and then a compulsory including land administration quality
aggregate statistics and private sector title registration system supported by index in the standard “registering prop-
access to all data (except a few fields a state guarantee characterizes the erty” indicator by Doing Business and
protected by privacy legislation) help to United Kingdom’s H.M. Land Registry, discusses initial evidence from the global
increase transparency in the property which covers some 24 million titles with sample, showing that many countries,
market and to reap the social benefits a total land value of some GBP 4 trillion, including some that have performed
from the land information system not about a third of which is mortgaged. The well on Doing Business’s traditional rank-
only by facilitating land taxation but complexity of the legal process and the ing, have a long way to go to establish
also by increasing citizens’ voices and fact that land information is not held a system of land administration that is
allowing utilities and private companies centrally imply that transferring property reliable and transparent, achieves suffi-
to integrate land information into their takes rather long. The cost of service cient coverage, and minimizes disputes.
business processes and planning. delivery is reduced by the use of general The cases in this brochure document
boundaries rather than fixed boundaries, that by smartly deploying new technol-
In the Republic of Korea, lack of accurate unless requested. All of Land Registry’s ogy, countries can make progress in
spatial information on land undermined innovations are carefully tested before this direction irrespective of their initial
the ability to implement urban plans roll-out for value added, feasibility, cost- income level. Continued monitoring
and to capture for public benefit some effectiveness, and robustness. Special and learning from experience at all
of the gains from enormous land value products were developed for firms that levels had an important role in facilitat-
increases associated with rapid urban- use land registry data most intensively. ing such progress. Doing Business will
ization and industrialization. This led to Land Registry strives for sustainability contribute to this agenda by elevating
formulation of a national master plan and its innovations helped to reduce the profile of land governance, tracking
for GIS development, followed by open costs and strengthen the revenue base countries’ performance with respect to
and interoperable standards to govern without jeopardizing its public service land administration quality index, and
production and sharing of information, delivery mandate. fostering global exchange and learning
simplification of land use regulations from good performers.
that were too complex to be imple- These four cases include a number of
mented transparently, and institutional common elements. First, none of the
change to eliminate duplication and in- reforms was simple to implement and Chapter 1 References
clude other players such as the Ministry all required persistence to follow the
of Justice. In view of high costs (about agreed path even in the face of tempo- Enemark, S., K. C. Bell, C. Lemmen, and
R. McLaren. 2014. “Fit for Purpose Land
USD 415 million), implementation was rary setbacks. None of the settings was Administration.” A joint publication of the
sequenced to start in large and medium ideal and strategies had to build on the International Federation of Surveyors and
cities where demand was strong and the historical context. This implied a need the World Bank, Frederiksberg, DK.
Manuel, T., et al. 2013. “Independent Panel
potential benefits highest. While me- for constant piloting to test different Review of the Doing Business Report.” World
ticulous checking of all the country’s 37 approaches and a willingness to learn Bank, Washington, DC.
million land plots required a huge com- and adjust based on new evidence. We are most grateful to Rita Ramalho, manager
of the Doing Business report, for her review
mitment of human capital, the resulting Second, their legal, technical, and of this chapter and Laura Diniz, Haya
system now provides the basis for all institutional aspects were closely inter- Mortada, Parvina Rakhimova, Joonas
urban planning, land administration, twined. Laws and regulations had to be Taras for their work on data collection
and analysis for the Registering Property
public land management, valuation and adjusted in light of emerging evidence indicator in Doing Business 2016.
taxation, and zoning in development and institutional arrangements and

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve 2. implementing and
on Doing Business
Cases from Lithuania, sustaining land Tenure
and the United Kingdom regularization in rwanda
Emmanuel Nkurunziza World Bank’s Doing Business index, and

is one of the better prepared nations in
R
wanda is the only country in Africa to meet future challenges in land
Africa that has succeeded in administration (Figure 2.1).
documenting all rights to land.
In 2015, all 10.67 million land parcels The LTR achievement is attributable to
were demarcated and entered through 15 years of dedicated reform efforts,
the Land Tenure Regularization (LTR) which started with a comprehensive
and entered in the land administration review of Rwanda’s policy legal and
information system (LAIS) database. institutional framework, now regularly
Of these, 87 percent (9.1 million parcels) updated. Preparations for implementa-
have full information on claimants. tion immediately followed, starting
Four percent are registered in the name first with piloting to identify scalable
of government organizations, cover- approaches for achieving the govern-
ing 8.5 percent of land area. These ment’s ambitious targets, with concur-
outcomes were achieved at a cost of rent monitoring and impact evaluation
US$65 per registered lease. As a result, helping to identify problems that could
Rwanda is ranked 12th globally on the then be discussed by policy makers. By
“registering property” indicator of the describing the path Rwanda traversed
Figure 2.1 rwanda’s ranking on the global laQi (actual vs. potential)
Rwanda
8
Score on each component of the land
7
administration quality index
measured by Doing Business
0
Reliability of Transparency of Geographic Land dispute
infrastructure information coverage resolution
Rwanda Maximum score
5. LTRSP (2013).

and pointing out the benefits from do- approach to registration, which did not issues were mainstreamed in the LTR
ing so, this chapter draws out lessons serve the needs of rural areas. Land roll-out; a large number of staff—
that may be relevant for other African was state owned unless titled, but including those in the field—were
countries aiming to improve their covered a very limited, mostly urban women, and joint titling was actively
ranking with respect to “registering area. Land-related responsibilities encouraged under the LTR. The LAIS
property.” It highlights remaining chal- were scattered in different ministries data show that 24 percent of registered
lenges for Rwanda to ensure that these and government institutions could parcels (and 24 percent of the area
achievements are sustained and that not cope with the growing demand under individual land) are in the name
the country can reap the associated for land-related services. However, of women only, 62 percent are jointly
benefits in terms of sustainable social Rwanda had no regulatory frame- owned (by men and women and other
and economic development. works that would have allowed it to combinations, covering 59 percent of
develop a new land policy, improve land area), and 14 percent are in the
the legislation, quickly overhaul the name of men (covering 17 percent of
2.1 The Importance outdated land administration system, land area) (Rwanda Natural Resources
of land in Rwanda and provide the effective means for Authority 2015).
its implementation (Sagashya and
Rwanda, the country of a thousand hills, English 2010). 2.2.3 Land policy and the
has a population of 11 million people, Organic Land Law
30 percent of whom live in cities. It has The Rwandan government made Over the last 20 years, the government
a predominantly agrarian economy, land policy reform a policy priority to has consistently supported land policy
with an average population density of clarify and secure land rights for all development and nationwide land
479 people/km2, one of the highest in Rwandans and thus create conditions tenure regularization (LTR). Given the
Africa. Rwanda’s land scarcity has pro- to spur economic development (GoR high sensitivity of land issues and the
duced incessant land-related conflicts 2000 and 2004). Getting land reform sociopolitical and economic upheavals
and its failure to meet land governance right is critical to both poverty reduc- the country had gone through, the pro-
challenges has been identified as con- tion and the peace and prosperity of a cess started with a broad consultation
tributing to the 1994 genocide. After the country. It required far-reaching legal in 1999 that provided crucial input for
war ended, many were displaced and and institutional changes, starting land policy and legislation. To achieve
about 800,000 refugees returned to from scratch, to overcome a history of long-term tenure security and effec-
Rwanda after decades in exile. Multiple land-related conflict and inequity, end tive land use, a National Land Policy
claims were made over agriculture and discrimination in land access, ensure (NLP) was established first to guide
housing land, property, and buildings, equity in inheritance, and provide a the process of land reform and imple-
and about 250,000 families ended up framework for optimal use of available mentation (GoR 2004). After extensive
homeless and landless. Emergency land resources. consultation and adoption of a new
responses included land sharing and constitution in 2003, the NLP was ap-
degazetting some protected areas for 2.2.2 Prioritizing women’s proved in 2004, followed by enactment
settlement. Pressure increased on the rights to land of the Organic Land Law (OLL) in 2005,
government to develop policy to ad- The first output was enactment in made possible by the strong support
dress tenure insecurity and land-related 1999 of the Law of Matrimonial Re- of the government and Parliament.
conflict, for stability and as a precondi- gimes, Liberalities and Successions. The OLL was abrogated in 2013 and
tion for sustained growth. The genocide and war led to a large replaced by a new law governing land
number of female-headed households in Rwanda.
and there was an urgent need to pro-
2.2 Putting the policy tect women’s rights to remain on and The OLL was a broad, overarching law
and legal framework manage the land of their husbands or that governed everything to do with
in place fathers. The Law’s aim was to bring in- land in Rwanda. Its main purpose is to
heritance within the scope of the state increase security of tenure and to en-
2.2.1 The choice for land justice system and to break with dis- sure proper land management and land
reform criminatory aspects of customary law. administration. The OLL stated that
The then-prevailing land laws and land This implementation was supported land is the “public domain for all Rwan-
administration system were deemed by continuous awareness-raising sup- dans” and will be held on a long-term
insufficient to meet these urgent chal- ported during the LTR, producing real lease with the state as the guarantor
lenges. The previous laws were rooted changes in society, as more women of the right to own and use land. Most
in colonial laws with a dual system got their share of inheritances. Gender former customary land in rural areas

is under an emphyteutic lease for 99 and to work with para-surveyors (PSs). Ensuring that the process was
years. The length of the lease is shorter Rwanda also decided to digitalize all transparent, legitimate, and did not
for other types of land use, such as for data and develop a central land infor- lead to people (especially the more
forest, marsh, vacant, or residential mation system. vulnerable) being dispossessed of
land. The OLL explicitly recognized cus- their land; and
tomarily acquired land, but also makes The decision to pilot the procedures Ensuring that the process could
compulsory first-time registration and first was critical for the LTR’s success adequately deal with any resultant
recording of follow-up transfers. Land and helped minimize operational risks. disputes.
registration thus became mandatory, Piloting was judged essential to test
which required setting up a nationwide the feasibility of the technical approach Field trials lasted six months, between
land registration system to enable the given the lack of successful precedents March and December 2007. Upon com-
formalization of customary rights, the in 2005 of low-cost and massive, first- pletion of the field trials, the project
legal foundation for the LTR program. time registration approaches; it would team conducted in-depth analyses of
The OLL introduced wide-ranging and also evaluate the sociopolitical aspects both the process and results. They also
radical reforms in land administration given the sensitivity of land issues and calculated work rates, costs, and other
and planning and established a unified the country’s historical legacy. The trial resource requirements for designing
legal and administrative tenure sys- program would identify any unforeseen the Strategic Road Map (see 2.4.1). In
tem and a national cadastral system, issues related to implementation and 2008, a high-resolution aerial survey
linked to a registry that records and establish the metrics required for was carried out for the entire country6
guarantees the integrity of subsequent project planning at scale, determining Throughout this period, a considerable
transactions. the resources needed for national roll- amount of work was directed toward
out of a time-bound, cost-effective the legal and policy studies necessary
strategy for implementation of the for completing the secondary legisla-
2.3 Testing the OLL with a land administration system tion for the LTR, as well as developing
procedures before and procedures. The results of the trial, strategies for communications, moni-
roll-out supported by primary data gather- toring and evaluation, and capacity
ing, would then inform the drafting of building.
2.3.1 Testing LTR procedures secondary legislation to reflect specific
and implementation process implementation issues on the ground. 2.3.2 Impact evaluation
(2006–2009) of the pilot
Following the enactment of the OLL, the In 2005, MINITERE embarked upon the A socioeconomic impact evaluation
government immediately started with process of developing and fine-tuning was undertaken in 2010, 2.5 years af-
the design and testing of the imple- a methodology for the LTR. First, ex- ter completion of the trial, in collabora-
mentation program. The new Ministry tensive field consultation took place tion with the World Bank. To rigorously
of Lands, Environment Forestry, Water over a nine-month period in 2006. The compare outcomes between treatment
and Mines (MINITERE) was in charge of results were used to design a pilot in and control, a household survey cov-
implementation and decided that given four cells covering 14,908 parcels with ering those in close proximity to the
the urgency of clarifying tenure, a fast an area of 3,448 hectares, owned boundary of pilot cells was conducted.
roll-out and nationwide coverage were by 3,513 households. The four cells
needed, requiring systematic registra- reflected some of Rwanda’s social, The impact on investment was found
tion of rights. The government’s meager economic, and geographic diversity, to be very positive, particularly for
financial and human resources led to the which might have implications for the female-headed households. Individu-
selection of low-cost options that al- LTR’s implementation. The pilot had to als whose parcels had been registered
lowed working at scale. The government test acceptability, levels of buy-in, and almost doubled their investments in
moved away from the conventional the appropriateness of the systems, soil conservation and female-headed
cadaster survey approach and opted and had to satisfy a number of other households almost tripled them. These
to use general boundary principles and imperatives, such as overall positive findings of the LTR pilot
high-resolution aerial orthophotos to Developing a methodology that were in marked contrast to a large
identify and mark parcels. Other inno- would permit the process to go body of literature that documents
vations were to involve the community ahead more or less simultaneously either failure or irrelevance of efforts
in adjudication and dispute mediation across the entire country; in Africa to secure land rights through
6. Up to 11 centimeters in urban areas and up to 25 centimeters in rural areas.

documentation of rights. These results process, as the initial drafts of the SRM in the “notified area.” As seen from
are even more remarkable because the proposed a phased introduction of the the steps below, an elaborate quality
LTR trials involved significant learning LTR, starting with “hotspots” first and assurance system was developed to
and focused on demarcation rather gradually extending to nationwide prevent errors as much as possible, as
than issuance of title; and little time coverage over a period of 15–20 years. these could produce future disputes
had elapsed between the completion of The SRM was adjusted to a “fast-track and undermine trust in the system. De-
the trial and the impact survey. scenario,” including cost implications, marcated maps were printed out and
management requirements, and an displayed in villages to give all a chance
The evaluation results suggested that incremental approach to deal with to review and object. Errors could be
the LTR addressed key constraints to capacity constraints. captured and corrected in the system
environmental protection, agricultural and complaints could be lodged. Reg-
development, and female empower- The SRM was subsequently discussed istration information was printed out
ment in Rwanda. It concluded that the and approved by the Cabinet in 2008. and manually cross-checked with pa-
program’s positive impacts could be It clarified key strategic issues (legal, per records. Care was taken in the step
enhanced or potentially negative ones institutional, and technical); presented of certificate issuance, whereby critical
avoided by addressing areas where pol- an M&E framework for programs, information on the draft certificates
icy was unclear, ambiguous, or at vari- timelines, and costs; and developed was circled in red for officials to double
ance with practice on the ground and by structures for donor, public, and civil check printed certificates before seal-
carefully and continuously monitoring society organization consultation. ing and packing for dispatch.
performance in high-risk areas. Promi- Development partners supported the
nent among these areas were: rights SRM and the LTR Support Program. 2.4.3 Managing big
of women who are not legally married; They established a so-called basket operations: work at scale,
unaffordable fees to register subsequent fund with a value of about US$50 monitor details, and adjust
transactions; and subdivision restric- million to facilitate an aligned and where needed
tions that the majority of landholders harmonized approach and reduce the Rwanda did not wait for everything
are unable to comply with. The govern- administrative burden for government. to be ready to start—the LTR reform.
ment immediately addressed the issue The UK’s Department for International When the LTR started, the scale of its
of informal marriage in the context of Development (DfID) in particular played operation was not fully understood.
the LTR and successfully adjusted the an important role from 2002 onwards, The approach used was both careful
LTR procedure (Ali et al. 2011). becoming an anchor in Rwanda’s land and ambitious. Field LTR implemented
reform process. The consistent support too quickly risked outpacing develop-
and flexibility of donors and their open- ments in policy and legal procedures
2.4 Preparing, ness towards innovation was impor- and institutional capacity, resulting
managing, and tant for achieving the LTR’s systematic in compromises in registration proce-
monitoring the registration. Financial sustainability dures and legal outcomes that would
LTR roll-out of the established system, however, is adversely affect the outcome for
based on an internal strategy, combin- individuals. Changes in procedures and
2.4.1 Strategic road map ing cost recovery through fees and documentation thus needed to keep
for the LTR central government transfers, requir- pace with developments on the ground.
The Strategic Road Map (SRM) for ing the Ministry of Finance to recognize Moving too quickly would also run the
the LTR was another landmark in the the importance of land administration risk that the full consequences and
LTR preparation phase and was the services for business and economic outcomes were not fully assessed nor
product of more than 200 meetings development. errors identified on time, which could
held in 2007 across the country. During create land conflicts and disputes. On
the SRM preparation, the government 2.4.2 LTR procedure for the other hand, hesitating too long
insisted on accelerating the roll-out systematic, first-time would not produce results. Maintain-
and proposed to register 50 percent registration of rights ing momentum of the nationwide LTR
of plots in each district by the end The Rwandan LTR procedure for the implementation while also creating
of Year 1. The reason was that the recognition and registration of all space to test and make changes where
ever-growing urgency of land tenure existing rights to land parcels and needed was important too.
challenges made fast-tracking and a their conversion into legally recognized
nationwide approach a necessity. This leases was implemented in 14 steps The LTR evolved as it progressed
target required a major review of the (Box 2.1). It involves all landholders but with careful and continuous

Box 2.1 Steps for Rwanda’s LTR procedure

1. Notification of areas for the LTR program
District, sector, and cell authorities are notified about the LTR commencing within the next three months.
2. Cell index map and field sheet production

The cell7 boundary dataset is taken from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) and overlaid onto the
orthophoto image. The Field Manager (FM) then walks the cell boundary with the Cell Executive Secretary. If neces-
sary, the boundary is corrected. Next, numbered rectangular polygons are arranged to cover the entire cell area with
an overlap of 5 percent. Open-source software packages are used for batch printing of hard-copy maps from the
orthophotos to make it easier for people to identify houses and pertinent features.
3. Information, and mobilization

On a cell level, general meetings led by the FM are held to ensure that the public are well-informed and aware of their
rights under the new laws, of the LTR and its implementation, and how they will be involved in the process and what
was expected from them. These meetings started at the district level involving all leaders at district, sector and cell
level to ensure that they were familiar with the process and well equipped to mobilize the population for cell meetings.
Flyers and booklets are distributed. Special sessions are organized for women only.
4. Training of para-surveyors (PS) and Adjudication Committee

10 PSs are recruited in each cell during cell level meetings from amongst the population in attendance, with tests and
final selection done in presence of everyone in the meeting for transparency. The selected were trained on how to read
a map and trace a physical boundary on a field sheet. The composition of the Adjudication Committee was spelt out
in the law and self-constituting. It consisted of all cell land committee members (5 people) together with an elected
village council or committee (5 people). In total there number was 10 members who were then trained in legal matters
around the LTR by the FM.
5. Demarcation and identification of disputed parcels

The PS traces the parcel boundary on the field sheet, walking around the parcel with the claimant, neighbors, and the
village leader. No boundary markers are placed. A unique parcel number (UPI) is given and annotated. The claimant
then gets a Demarcation Receipt and is instructed to take it immediately to the Adjudication Committee to register
a claim. This is the first occasion to pay the registration fee of RF 1,000 (RF 5,000 in Kigali).
The boundary of the disputed parcel is demarcated and marked on the field sheet and referred to the Adjudication
Committee, the village leader, or a special mediator for resolution. Disputes that are unresolved are entered into the
dispute register and the parties are referred to a mediator or a court.
6. Adjudication
The Adjudication Committee signs off the adjudication records in the claims and dispute register before they are
handed over for data entry.
7. Data entry and checking

Data from the claims register, dispute register, field sheets, claim receipt books, and dispute receipt books are en-
tered sector by sector into the Land Tenure Regularisation Support System (LTRSS) database at the Zonal Office and
checked for plausibility.
8. Parcel digitization (parallel to step 7)

Field sheets are scanned and then georeferenced (in QGIS, another open-source software). Heads-up digitization of all
parcel boundaries follows under their UPI and calculation of the area in m². Finally, a cell map is printed, with villages
color-coded and parcels denoted by their UPI.
9. Objections and corrections (O&C)

O&C starts in all cells of a sector at the same time under the responsibility of the FM and lasts two weeks. All claim-
ants can inspect the cell maps and their data for errors and omissions or dispute claims made by others. If necessary,
changes can be made of every data point collected. The adjudication committee oversees this process.
10. Data corrections after O&C (parallel to step 11)

The LTRSS database is corrected with the information obtained during the O&C period.
7. Rwanda has five levels of local administration: four provinces (North, South, East, and West) and the city of Kigali; 30 districts (of which three are within
Kigali); 416 sectors; 2,146 cells; and 14,876 villages (umudugudu).

Box 2.1 Continued

11. Post-O&C parcel correction in the GIS, cadastral extract generation
With all geometric data now corrected and confirmed, an extract is generated for each parcel, showing the parcel and
its adjacent neighbors, with the UPI.
12. Lease preparation

A (collated) lease document contains four pieces: original and duplicate lease contract, certificate of emphyteutic
lease, and parcel cadastral extract. The certificate is sealed, whilst the contract and extract are stamped.
13. Lease issuance

After another intensive public awareness campaign, the inhabitants of a cell are informed that the lease issuance shall
begin and will last for four weeks. The claimant who has not yet paid the fee will be required to pay on lease collec-
tion, unless exempted. Duplicate contracts have to be signed by the claimant, now new registered lease holder, before
scanning and archiving.
14. Migrating LTRSS data to the Land Administration Information System (LAIS)
All data are migrated sector by sector from the LTRSS to the LAIS Maintenance Database. While this happens (a few
days), the LTRSS is blocked for ongoing transactions, after which the LAIS takes over this task.
monitoring. Having clear targets as any issues with the support team. They was 1,000 pages, and had become an
set out in the SRM was important to made quick decisions based on lessons exceptionally rich repository to guide
focus program efforts and guide imple- learned in each previous week’s field day-to day implementation of a mas-
mentation. The aim was to maintain and back office operations, integrated sive, systematic registration process.
the quality of the process used in the those decisions in the operations
pilot, while working at scale with tight manual, and made sure that all staff The Land Administration System
deadlines, performance targets, and were informed of the updates. (LAS) manual was developed later
resource constraints. and describes: (i) Procedures for land
The LTR process’s key steps were docu- transactions and registration; (ii) Forms
A second approach used to manage mented in the “Operations Manual for for all envisaged transactions; (iii) Re-
risks and enhance operational capac- the Systematic Regularisation of Land quirements for each transaction; and
ity was to break the project workflow Tenure in Rwanda” under the responsi- (iv) Responsible parties.
down into manageable steps. The bility of the Office of the Registrar of
same approach was applied to building Land Titles. The manual provides guid- 2.4.5 Building capacity while
capacity. This pragmatic approach ance to different practitioners on all rolling out the LTR
helped to build capacity quickly and steps of the LTR process. The manual Faced with a shortage of professional
ensured that the reform program stuck describes in detail the procedures for surveyors, the government recruited
to its implementation timeline. implementation of the LTR by mobile thousands of PSs from local villages
teams in campaign-style, which fol- and trained them on map- and photo-
2.4.4 Hands-on management lowed directly from the provisions reading skills. They carried out detailed
and a “living” operations of Ministerial Order N° 002/2008 of demarcation on the map sheets in the
manual 01/04/2008 (Determining Modalities presence of all relevant stakeholders
The project team was very hands- of Land Registration) and were further such as landowners, their neighbors,
on, with active engagement of the enriched by extensive consultation, and village leaders. Training for locally
Rwanda Natural Resources Authority discussion, and debate with key stake- recruited PSs was practical and hands-
(RNRA) leadership, which took full holders. These ministerial orders were on, using the most competent PSs
ownership for the LTR project. RNRA developed at the end of the pilot, and from one cell to train those in another,
management made frequent visits to further developed, refined, and then and so on. This approach worked as an
communities, which gave them the op- officially adopted by subsequent min- efficient mechanism for training a large
portunity to discuss any issues. They isterial orders. The operations manual number of people over a large area.
attended biweekly LTR management started out in 2009 as a 100-page
meetings and actively monitored the document, and was amended continu- Communities also took on a significant
LTR support team’s performance. ously throughout the LTR process to part of the LTR work. Village Adjudica-
These regular biweekly meetings gave address gaps and new issues. By the tion Committees comprise members
the RNRA the opportunity to discuss end of the LTR process, the manual from the land committee and from the

village committee. Training for Adjudi- efforts. Effective and fast M&E of the reforms. Thus a comprehensive mass
cation Committee members was also LTR was needed to take “calculated information strategy was established;
practical and hands-on. Adjudication risks.” An independent consulting firm communication and mobilization cam-
Committee members were introduced was contracted to undertake process paigns were organized to ensure that
to the claims register, the disputes monitoring. Their reports were used people understood the LTR process and
register, the claims receipt, the objec- by management to make necessary the procedures used to ensure the
tions receipt, and the fee receipt. They process adjustments. fairness and accuracy of the informa-
received a small compensation for the tion recorded. The OLL and the LTR
time they spent during the systematic Although monitoring was a central ac- have significant implications, par-
registration in their area. Most dis- tivity to assess the program’s progress ticularly for inheritance issues and
putes can be settled by Adjudication and the support team’s performance, it future disposals of land. Moreover,
Committees. was less effective in informing imple- the LTR procedures are complex and
mentation. One issue was that the require time to understand, even by ed-
The government also needed people indicators used did not always track ucated land administrators. Commu-
with ArcGIS or data-entry skills; once priority issues for the LTR’s success nication and information campaigns
annotated maps came back from and they were adjusted several times are thus a continuous requirement and
the field, the government digitized throughout the LTR project without a are still ongoing, now addressing, for
the maps using ArcGIS and entered robust assessment of the implications example, the importance of formal-
detailed data on land parcel ownership of these changes on what was actually izing transactions.
and use. Aware of the skills gap in the tracked, or wrongly analyzed. For ex-
country, the government carefully de- ample, it was initially missed that rela- Awareness creation under the LTR
signed project workflow and the train- tively few people were collecting their was a large and complex task as it
ing sessions so that everyone engaged lease documents and gender aspects had to communicate the details of a
in the technology-intensive steps had were not well tracked or interpreted. completely new concept to a popula-
only a small piece to add and only tion that is mostly illiterate. The LTR
needed to be trained for that specific While the LTR project set up separate used traditional methods of mass
task. In the map digitization step, the data collection systems, it was actu- media, as well as posters, flyers, and
government initially had only one staff ally sitting on an increasingly valuable booklets, but to reach the most mar-
member with GIS skills. It recruited “gold mine” of process information ginalized groups, greater innovation
students from national universities and and land data produced by the LTR was needed. Songs, plays, and dances
taught them GIS; they in turn trained process itself, such as numbers of par- were thus created to illustrate the LTR
new people. In a short span of time, cels digitized, entered, approved, and process. The program established a
hundreds of people could do the GIS printed in the LTR system, while data “helpline” to assist with claimants’
work. on numbers of objections and correc- queries. Based on this experience, a
tions and of leases issued and collected poster of “Frequently Asked Ques-
Over the lifetime of the program, could be derived from Zonal Operations tions” (FAQs) was produced in the
110,000 people were employed, of Manager Reports. Such information Kinyarwanda language to be displayed
which 99 percent were drawn from generated throughout the LTR process at every Cell Office. The program had
the communities in which the work would have provided easily accessible a specific gender strategy to ensure
was carried out. This equates to ap- opportunities for the RNRA to assess that men’s and women’s equal rights
proximately 1 percent of the Rwandan progress, reassess priorities, and con- were recognized and put into practice,
population. Employment of women duct strategic planning for necessary including for inheritance.
was high: 70 percent of staff field changes at the district level, but was
managers and 40 percent of PS posi- hardly used. 2.4.8 System design of the
tions were filled by women, possibly LAIS—use of open-source
encouraging women’s participation in 2.4.7 Communication, solutions
the LTR process (Baldwin 2012). information and awareness Creation of digital land records tra-
raising ditionally required significant invest-
2.4.6 Monitoring of the LTR The success of land reform and land ment in licensed commercial software
roll-out administration requires that citizens packages. The LTR adopted a mix of
Learning by doing was the approach are fully informed and understand commercial software and open-source
chosen and the design was very much a the implications of the new laws solutions. While the GIS unit predomi-
trial-and-error process but required in- and procedures for their rights; this nantly used commercially licensed
vestment in monitoring data collection also enhances public buy-in for the software, the LTRSS and LAIS were

developed solely using open-source 2.5.1 Impact and remaining RNRA. Between January 2014 and
solutions. The LTR was the first large- challenges March 2015, 26,000 sales transactions
scale land registration program to Landholders initially did not fully un- were formally registered, but this figure
demonstrate the use of open-source derstand why completing the process appeared too low. Preliminary results
software for data processing, and the for recording rights was important nor of a World Bank study on LTR impacts
first of its kind to use the technology that lease pick-up was needed to do found that only 32 percent of trans-
for systematic registration. The use so. Halfway through the LTR process, actions in rural areas were officially
of open-source software provided the monitoring data revealed that registered, with another 52 percent
a cost-effective option for the data lease pick-up was lagging behind. By remaining informal, and 16 percent
processing required for such a large- June 2012, only 42 percent of leases registered with the village leader.
scale program. The decision to use a had been collected. This collection
mix of open-source and commercial rate of printed certificates was well Having a considerable number of land
software on the LTRSS was based below the expected target; improving transactions not formally registered
on breaking down data-processing it became a priority because left unad- undermines the quality of the registry
activities into small component tasks dressed it would undermine the LTR’s and can unravel the achievements of
and choosing the most appropriate sustainability. the LTR process. As unregistered trans-
software or combinations thereof to actions are not legally recognized, they
complete each task. However, this Research was commissioned to under- can become a source of dispute.
approach also had a downside as the stand the issues. The main concern that
lack of an overall data infrastructure emerged was landholders’ alternative Addressing this issue requires a mul-
created space for inconsistencies. perceptions of tenure security. Despite tifaceted approach. The first step is a
Later on it was sometimes difficult the legal obligation to register, many continuous information and communi-
to link the various pieces effectively, felt sufficiently secure after identify- cation strategy on why registration is
ensure interoperability, and use the ing their land on the map with their important for tenure security and how
LAIS data for policy analysis. It took identity noted and receiving a claim the process of registering transactions
much longer than planned to have a receipt (which they started using in works. As a second step, the RNRA
fully operational LAIS. other transactions that also remained introduced a “land week campaign”
informal). They did not see the utility where staff from RNRA head offices
of having a lease certificate. Another and zonal offices, district land officers,
2.5 From LTR to reason given for not collecting the lease and sector land managers hold meet-
sustainable land was the requirement to pay a fee8 and ings in all districts to: inform landown-
administration the fear of tax obligations. ers about land-related services and
systems used by encourage them to register land trans-
stakeholders The government subsequently intro- actions; answer questions; provide no-
duced exemptions for the poorest and tary services for those who transacted
After completion of the LTR, the RNRA organized information campaigns their land; etc. This annual land week
through the Department of Lands and on land and property tax obligations campaign lasts for one month. A third
Mapping embarked on the establish- (most rural landholders were already step is to improve access to land ad-
ment of a financially sustainable land exempt). This policy change improved ministration services by accelerating
administration system, with the key the collection rate: up to 99 percent decentralization and bringing services
component the quality of land infor- of those on waiver lists collected their closer to landholders; doing so requires
mation and how it is updated, stored, lease. By 2015, most of the approved complete staffing levels at the sector
shared with different key stakeholders leases had been collected. land offices with sector land managers
and used to inform policy. The LAIS can and LAIS availability at the district
contribute to enhancing accountability 2.5.2 Keeping the LAIS level.
and transparency in the land sector, up-to-date: registering all
supporting the country’s planning transactions Another barrier to formalizing all
process (especially in sectors such as A key priority for the RNRA is ensuring transactions is the flat transaction fee,
agriculture, housing, and urban plan- that land data are updated continu- which is affordable for most landhold-
ning), and analyzing the land sector’s ously, requiring that all transactions ers in urban areas, but is very high com-
contribution to the country’s economic are registered; thus preventing infor- pared to the land value in rural areas.
development. mality was another concern for the An ongoing policy review is identifying
8. RF1,000 (approximately US$1.5).

possibilities for introducing progressive data. A manual on the new integrated by local entities; (v) area expropriated
land transaction fees related to land system was developed and distributed and amounts of compensation paid;
value, and introducing exemptions across the country so that land users, and (vi) the number of land-related
for registration of land inheritance banks, and other businesses can take conflicts in the courts.
below a certain size and for umunani. advantage of its convenient features.
Surveying costs, required in the case of The RNRA also made an inventory of These indicators highlight again
subdivision, should also be reduced. An land information data requirements in that linking different administration
alternative option to formal surveys is other agencies, organizations, and the systems and data sources offers tre-
the use of sufficiently trained PSs. private sector. mendous benefits for improving service
delivery and provides the government
2.5.3 Financial sustainability This work is combined with explor- with an instrument for monitoring the
of land administration services ing the use of protected internet development of the land administra-
Different approaches and resources routes to ease information sharing, tion system.
are required for the registration improve service delivery, and develop
phase compared to the maintenance/ a geoportal. The RNRA is working on 2.5.6 Impact evaluation
expansion phase. Ending the LTR and further expanding these linkages and for policy guidance
entering the phase of sustaining the strengthening interoperability for other Ever since this first impact evaluation,
system and building out service de- entities (courts, city planning authori- Rwanda’s program has been charac-
livery also require a restructuring of ties, tax authorities, ombudsmen, and terized by its emphasis on research
the RNRA organization. The need to the Ministry of Agriculture). Linking on impacts and rigorously tested
supervise a big management operation land data with tax maps is one of the methodologies. The LTR commissioned
and “LTR brigades” working all over priority actions. studies on important issues that arose,
the country is over, with the RNRA now such as the slow collection of leases by
becoming a more “normal” government 2.5.5 Tracking progress: landholders, to identify potential im-
agency in the delivery of land adminis- Land Governance Monitoring provements in adopted methodologies,
tration services. A different staff set up System as well as unexpected field issues that
and budget structure are thus required. The LAIS will become the basis for seemed significant.
a Land Governance Monitoring Sys-
Sustainability requires a self-financing tem. The priority indicators are the Using research for evidence-based
land administration system, which in documentation of rights and land, and policy interventions became even more
turn requires an analysis of possible gender-disaggregated data. The aims important after the first wave of regis-
revenue streams for the system, but of the Land Governance Monitoring tration because the issues involved are
without jeopardizing access to services System are to: help set targets and more complex and require research to
and risking more informality. Reviews guide the design and location of spe- aid appropriate intervention. Continu-
of the land registry mandate to enable cific activities; improve the quality of ous impact evaluation studies are used
income-generating activities and of the service delivery; improve transparency; for in-depth policy review and prepara-
law on land-based revenues are also assess and reward improvements in tion of policy briefs for a wider audience
essential. land governance at local level; and on the status of land administration
identify and help prioritize gaps in legal and its impact on the country’s so-
2.5.4 Promoting use of the and institutional environments that cioeconomic development. Of course,
LAIS for policy design and need to be addressed for better land evaluating the full consequences for
economic development governance. Policy interest in and use the national economy, and individuals
The interoperability of land data is an of monitoring results will provide sup- and households in particular, requires
important aspect of promoting the use port for improving land data availabil- further research and monitoring
of land data. After completing the first ity and investing in analytical capacity. to ensure inter alia adequate social
registration, the RNRA migrated the protection.
IT infrastructure to a new platform, The key land governance indicators
the LAIS, which combines a register selected are: (i) the share of different Impact evaluation was essential to ad-
with a cadaster and incorporates such types of land mapped with rights docu- just the program during implementa-
functions as transfers, transactions, mented; (ii) the share of rights to land tion, document its impact, and identify
and mortgage registrations. The LAIS registered in women’s names; (iii) the the needs for sustaining the system, as
was upgraded to enable the integra- number and prices of registered land land issues are complex, very context-
tion of parcel spatial data with legal transactions; (iv) land tax collected specific, and continuously evolving.

Urbanization, urban land management, systematic monitoring. RNRA man- institutional structure and fee schedule
and affordable housing, for example, agement visited communities regularly to remove impediments to system
are now becoming a key policy field. and used biweekly meetings to review maintenance and regular update of
There is an absolute need to invest in the approach, identify issues on time, land records and to provide guidance
an improved understanding of these is- and develop solutions that were added to local government on land adminis-
sues and to avoid making assumptions immediately to the operations manual tration and management. In taking the
when developing policies. Rwanda’s and widely shared. next steps, Rwanda can benefit from
land reform agenda has consistently exchange of experience with other top
used monitoring and research to ques- Rwanda receives many requests to Doing Business performers while at the
tion and inform all key interventions. share its experience and intends to same time helping countries interested
The Rwandan experience showed that develop a more systematic approach in first-time land regularization build
it is worthwhile to invest in generating to serve other countries. The RNRA on the lessons it has learned in this
scientific information to give everyone is developing a repository that will context.
a chance of success as well as to en- serve as a Resource Centre as well as
sure accountability. a Knowledge & Information Manage-
ment System. Such a system will be Chapter 2 References
hosted under the existing RNRA web-
2.6 Conclusions site, with the ability to share informa- Ali, D. A., K. Deininger, and M. Goldstein. 2011.
tion, data, and knowledge. The system “Environmental and Gender Impacts of
Land Tenure Regularization in Africa:
Rwanda’s LTR program is a major is expected to interoperate with land Pilot Evidence from Rwanda.” Policy
achievement that started with approval repository models in other countries Research Working Paper 5765. World Bank
of a legal and institutional framework or universities in the region. Rwanda Development Research Group Agriculture
and Rural Development Team and Africa
in 2004 and was completed in 2013 also learns from other countries and Region Gender Team. World Bank,
when all land was registered. Rwanda various adaptations were inspired by Washington, DC.
succeeded in completing this work due south-south exchanges. Baldwin, R. 2012. “Annual Review of the Land
Tenure Regularisation Programme—Final
to a combination of: strong and consis- Report.” UK: Orgut.
tent political support; demonstration With the development and roll-out a LTRSP. 2013. “Final Report of the Service
of the urgency and importance for the nationwide LTR program to record and Provider Contract.” Kigali/Hemel
Hempstead.
country’s socioeconomic development map all primary interest in land com- Republic of Rwanda. 2009. “Strategic Road
and stability; broad public engagement pleted, Rwanda now has to ensure the Map for Land Tenure Reform, Summary
and support, the result of an approach system’s sustainability. In many ways Presentation.” Kigali.
Republic of Rwanda. 2002. “Poverty Reduction
that fully involved communities in this poses challenges no less daunting Strategy Paper, National Poverty Reduction
the process; clear targets and a core than those confronted in establishing Programme.” Kigali: Ministry of Finance and
team constantly on the look-out for the system. To do so, two areas will Economic Planning.
Republic of Rwanda. 2004. “National
“fit-for-purpose” technological and be critical. The first is to streamline Land Policy.” Kigali: Ministry of Lands,
organizational innovations, enabling the LAIS, establish data-sharing Environment, Forests, Water and Mines.
the achievement of ambitious targets; protocols between public and private Sagashya, D., and C. English. 2010. “Designing
and establishing a land administration
and a careful process of testing and sector agencies, and make aggregate system for Rwanda: Technical and economic
evaluating before scaling up. The statistics available to the public at analysis.” In Innovations in Land Rights
hands-on management approach was regular intervals. A stakeholder needs Recognition, Administration, and Governance,
ed. Deininger, K., C. Augustinus, P. Munro-
a pragmatic and incremental imple- assessment has already been carried Faure, and S. Enemark. Washington, DC:
mentation guided by clear targets and out to provide input for this. The sec- World Bank.
characterized by learning by doing and ond area is to develop an appropriate

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve 3. land and property
on Doing Business
Cases from Lithuania, administration reform
and the United Kingdom in lithuania
Kęstutis Sabaliauskas country’s public sector performance

and Aidas Petrošius and efficiency and are striving to fur-
ther improve its rankings, including on
L
ithuania’s current property the indicator for property registration.
administration system is one of
the most modern in the world, re-
flected by the country’s 2nd place rank 3.1 land reform
on the “ease of registering property” in-
dicator in the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Lithuania is a dynamic northeastern
Business survey (Figure 3.1). Although European country with a population of
the system was established from 3.5 million people, two-thirds of whom
scratch when Lithuania regained in- live in urban areas. When Lithuania
dependence in 1990, this Baltic state’s gained independence in 1990, it ad-
political will was sufficient to develop opted a transition strategy towards a
a modern real property administra- market economy. Land reform started
tion system. Lithuania’s Parliament immediately, following a half century
(Seimas), the State President, and the of Soviet occupation that renounced
government view the Doing Business private property of land and other
survey results as universal, objectively real estate. Its registration system
measurable goals for assessing the separated land registration from that
Figure 3.1 lithuania’s ranking on the global laQi (actual vs. potential)
Lithuania
8
7
0
Lithuania Maximum score

of buildings and premises that were considered vested with the rights in and (iii) outlined the procedure for ap-
recorded in so-called Bureaus of Inven- question. plying for restitution and recourse to
tory. The system’s functioning was the courts. Compensation was in kind
also hampered by bureaucracy and A first version of the Law on Land was (land) or in money when the former was
corruption. adopted in 1994; this is the primary no longer possible.
general law on the regulation of owner-
One priority was thus the restitution ship, management, and use of land. It The deadline for application for restitu-
of land and property and the decol- was amended in 2004 to avoid dupli- tion was December 2001, with docu-
lectivization of state-owned land as cation with provisions in the Civil Code ments to be submitted by December
part of a more comprehensive land and other laws. Additional laws were 2003 (proof of citizenship, heritage
reform. Furthermore, Lithuania strived enacted to guide land governance, rights, or parental relation to the owner
to be a member of the European Union such as the: Law on State Registers; [e.g., birth certificate], and documents
(EU), which required it to adjust some Law on the Real Property Register; Law proving the former owner’s property
laws and build institutions, including on on the Real Property Cadastre; Law on rights or secondary proof like extracts
property rights. Lithuania joined the EU Cartography and Geodesy; Law on the from taxation or mortgage documents
in 2004. Notoriety; Law on Electronic Signature and neighbors’ testimonies). Decisions
(which complies fully with the EU Direc- were rendered within six months.
3.1.1 Legal framework tive on Electronic Signature); Law on About 9,500 claims for private houses
After independence, Lithuania adopted Tax Administration; Law on the Tax on were submitted; in rural areas, around
all basic laws necessary to establish the Immovable Property of Enterprises 749,900 applications for the restora-
a framework of real property admin- and Organizations; Law on Land Tax; tion of ownership rights were made,
istration that would create favorable Law on Property and Business Valua- representing a surface area of 4.2 mil-
conditions for the economy, market, tion; and Law on Inheritance Tax. lion hectares (ha).
and business development and made
significant efforts to harmonize its 3.1.2 Land restitution Surveying and measurement was a
national laws with EU legislation before The 1997 Law on Land Reform and the condition for restitution in order to
accession. The country now has a co- Law on the Procedure and Conditions achieve a certain standard of data
herent set of laws on land administra- for the Restitution of Citizens’ Rights quality to develop a modern cadastre
tion and a robust institutional system to Real Property replaced a 1991 law system, to guarantee legal certainty,
to implement its policies. on restitution that had severe restric- and to have a basis for further eco-
tions on land use and purchase and nomic development. Most available
The 1992 Constitution enshrined other limits to full property rights. The maps (some even dating from the
the legal protection for the rights of 1997 law was amended several times, 1920s) were out of date as the parcel
ownership of property and specified though not always consistently (which structure changed completely during
to whom the rights of ownership may caused disputes later on). This law: the Soviet era; further, many heritages
apply. All civil legal relations, including (i) established a framework for land of properties had to be divided between
those relating to real property, are now reform and the restoration to Lithu- several heirs. The land restitution pro-
governed by the 2001 Civil Code, which anian citizens of rights of ownership to cess included land valuation, calculated
introduced real rights, and specifically: land; and (ii) introduced a new system on the basis of soil maps, restrictions
rights of possession, ownership, trust, of land management and ownership on land use, infrastructure, and so on,
servitude, usufruct, development, long- based on free-market principles. It according to fixed methods prescribed
term lease, mortgage, pledge, and governed the implementation of land by law since the land market was still
administration of another person’s reform and included general provi- poorly developed in the 1990s.
property. It established that ownership sions on land restitution, criteria for
of a land parcel can include buildings entitlement to private landownership, Surveys were imprecise, however. To
and other constructions on it. The new and the procedure for privatization of speed up the survey process, the gov-
Civil Code repealed the compulsory land. The law: (i) set out the conditions ernment decided that non-geodetical
registration of real property and rights, applicable to the restitution process; measurement would be sufficient for
but unregistered transactions may not (ii) specified the types of land that restitution, with geodetical measure-
be enforced against third parties. In would not be restituted and were ment required for further land trans-
the event of competing claims to real subject to purchase by the state (such actions, such that improving survey
rights in the same property, the first as roads, land for state defense, state quality was a gradual process. The
person to register the transaction is forests, and national water bodies); survey process was initially guided by

the State Land Survey Institute (SLSI), The restitution process was subject existing real property as well as cadas-
which had existed during Soviet times to constantly changing political influ- tral data into a single multi-purpose
and was gradually liberalized from ences; the law was amended many system and to take over cadastre
1994 onwards, with private surveyors times, motivated by short-term mapping. The technical and adminis-
taking over an increasingly large share political interests. This affected both trative means used for the process of
of the work. the legal and institutional frameworks, restitution led to awe-inspiring mod-
creating confusion and complicating ernization in several domains, noted
The work was done very quickly. By the reform. Some of the remaining internationally. By the mid-2000s,
January 2004, 89.5 percent of the land unsettled claims are the result of dif- Lithuania’s registry and cadastral
area indicated in the applications, or 3.8 ferent interpretations of the law due to administration was one of the most
million ha, was restored and compen- these changes. Also, some measure- advanced systems in the world.
sated. Thus about half of Lithuania’s ments were of lower quality due to the
total area (6.5 million ha) was in private decisions to: (i) speed up the reform to Building on the guidance of the just-
hands. Much of the remaining state- meet the deadline by dropping geo- published UNECE Land Administration
owned land was leased by agricultural detical measurement; and (ii) recruit Guidelines (1996), and taking into ac-
companies, private farmers, or house- additional surveyors who were trained count the best practices of countries
hold farmers. The remaining state- very quickly (“two-week-surveyors”). leading the field of property registra-
owned land, neither claimed by former Subsequently, problems and disputes tion at the time, Lithuania’s modern,
owners nor leased or retained from arose during transactions (e.g., about real property management system
privatization for special reasons (pro- borders when the property of more than was set into motion within a year.
tected area, infrastructures, public use) one owner was concerned). Correction Over time Lithuania’s land registry
was only 0.1 percent of total area. The of these errors requires additional time has experienced an exponential rise
government institutions responsible for and costs, and restitution-related land in data volume and scale of operation
restitution implemented the reform in disputes will continue to be an issue for and services, but the basic principles
collaboration with citizens and NGOs at the next decade in Lithuania.9 hardcoded into its registry system in
different levels, with civil society play- 1997 remain valid today, ensuring its
ing an active role in the process. The 3.1.3 Building on global best quality and integrity.
general consensus was that historical practice to establish a single
justice was achieved without detriment land information system International cooperation and twinning
to any parts of society, minorities, or Lithuania’s first attempts to comput- with sister agencies played an impor-
other specific groups. The outstanding erize land registration were made as tant role. Especially close links were
smaller group of claims took a longer early as 1992, with varying degrees made with property administration
time to resolve, however, and resulted of success. Although the Law on Land agencies in Denmark, Sweden, Finland,
in high burdens of compensation to was adopted in 1994 to regulate land the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the
pay to individuals and to religious bod- management, ownership, and use, United States. In the context of Lithua-
ies. For example, the manner, size, and more radical institutional and techno- nia’s EU accession, the most important
recipients of compensation for property logical reforms were needed to estab- multilateral actor was Brussels, which
expropriated from the pre-WWII Lithu- lish a modern and efficient system of provided funds and assistance for the
anian Jewish community (91 percent of property registry. Lithuania decided to transition period towards membership
whom were killed during the war) took reorganize and combine the State Land and made it possible for Lithuania to
almost two decades to determine, as Cadastre and Register and registra- cooperate with experts and institu-
the political and financial price of those tion of land, buildings, and facilities tions from various EU countries and
decisions accumulated. within a single registry handled by one international organizations.
institution.
The rush to complete the property In 2006, the Centre of Registers signed
restitution reform resulted in a wide Known today as the State Enterprise Agreements for the Provision of Infor-
array of problems: applicants’ unmet Centre of Registers, this institution mation from the Real Property Regis-
expectations; cadastral survey errors; was established in 1997. Led by a team ter and Cadastre through the European
unanticipated roads, easements, and of young technocrats and progressive Land Information System Program
special conditions of land use; and theorists, the Centre of Registers was (EULIS) with Kadaster (the Nether-
abuse of power and corruption. assigned to combine all information on lands), H.M. Land Registry (England
9. Kasperavičius (2015).

and Wales), Lantmäteriet (Sweden), Mortgage Register, Register of and Register and other main registers
and Norsk Eiendomsinformasjon AS Property Seizure Acts, Register of of the state; registering property; pro-
(Norway). In 2007, similar agreements Marriage Contracts, and Register viding public e-government services;
were signed with Property Registration of Wills. and gathering and distributing data
Authority (Ireland) and Land Registry of Established in 2001, the National and information on land and other real
Iceland. Customers in these countries, Land Service under the Ministry property.
including Lithuanian ones, are now able of Agriculture is responsible for
to access real property cadastre and possession, management, and ad- The Centre of Registers’ registration of-
register information in other countries ministration of state-owned land; fices are located throughout the coun-
via the internet. it governs land reforms, cadastre, try, making it easy to register property
geodesy, and mapping. or its transactions. After introducing
The Centre of Registers is currently The Territorial Planning and Construc- an electronic real property transaction
actively involved in cooperation with tion Inspectorate under the Ministry service (NETSVEP) in 2008, registering
Swedesurvey AB (Sweden), Kadaster of Environment supervises territo- property became even easier as it was
(the Netherlands), the National Land rial planning and construction. no longer necessary to visit a notary
Survey of Finland, the Estonian Land Municipalities perform territorial office to attest the transaction, a pro-
Service, the State Land Service of Lat- planning, issue construction per- cess that involved up to two visits to a
via, and others. Over the past 10 years, mits, and allocate addresses. notary and three days of procedures.
delegations from Estonia, Latvia, As a central tax administrator, the
Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Finland, Ta- State Tax Inspectorate under the Organizationally, the Centre of Reg-
jikistan, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Romania, Ministry of Finance keeps a Regis- isters operates within a central office
Kosovo, and multiple African countries ter of Taxpayers, collects property (Central Registrar) and has an extended
have visited the Centre of Registers to taxes, and recovers unpaid ones. network of 46 branches and smaller
get familiar with Lithuania’s real prop- The State Enterprise Centre of Registers registration offices (Regional Regis-
erty administration, cadastre, and regis a public entity of limited civil liabil- trars) distributed evenly throughout the
ister system and its organization and ity incorporated by the government country. The Enterprise’s central office
management principles. The Centre on the basis of state-owned property. hosts management, registry-specific
receives up to 15 delegations annually. The Ministry of Justice exercises the departments, the Central Registrar’s
rights of ownership of the Enterprise. Commission for Dispute Resolution,
The Centre of Registers serves as a and an IT center. The latter: handles
3.2 Institutions center of excellence, is a main source the central registry’s database and
engaged in real of reliable data, and is the connecting information systems as well as the ex-
property governance link in Lithuania’s present system of change of data with external systems
land administration. and services; carries out provision,
3.2.1 Main institutions development, and testing of software;
Before analyzing the State Enterprise 3.2.2 State Enterprise Centre maintains IT infrastructure; ensures
Centre of Registers in more detail, this of Registers cybersecurity; and monitors the activi-
section presents Lithuania’s current The Centre of Registers acts under a ties of registries and other systems.
system of land administration and set of laws, primarily the Civil Code, the
the main institutions involved in real Law on State and Municipal Enterprises, 3.2.3 Financial sustainability
property governance: the Law on Public Administration, and The Centre of Registers was set up to
The Ministry of Justice supervises the Enterprise’s own articles, approved be self-funding, meaning no budgetary
lawmaking and manages activities by the Minister of Justice. Registry- funding, except for payments for works
of the State’s main registers and specific regulations include the: Law on and services commissioned by govern-
legal institutions. Under the Min- Land, Law on Real Property Cadaster, ment agencies acting as a client (e.g.,
istry’s supervision, private notaries Law on Real Property Register, Law mass valuation of property for taxation
attest property transactions and on Geodesy and Cartography, Law on purposes). Those payments represent
mortgages, issue succession cer- Construction, Law on the Management up to 2 percent of the Centre’s annual
tificates, and at the new owner’s of State Information Resources, and revenue.
request, apply for property registra- Law on Electronic Signature.
tion on his/her behalf. To sustain itself and to raise funds for
The Central Mortgage Office under The Centre of Registers is responsible further development of registries and
the Ministry of Justice keeps the for: keeping the Real Property Cadastre its services, the Centre of Registers

is permitted to provide paid public about property registration fees and go to court are resolved within a few
services as well as number of commer- the price of data distributed. months, depending on the difficulty
cial ones. By default, pricing of public of the case. Lithuania exercises one of
services is cost-based, with a minimal 3.2.4 Land dispute resolution the shortest administrative litigation
margin of profit permitted to fund ser- In Lithuania, up to 400 land disputes processes in Europe, although some
vice development. Commercial services end up in court every year. In land cases of restitution and privatization
include registry data distribution, real dispute resolution, extrajudicial proce- experience extremely lengthy litigation,
property market analysis, cadastral dures are mandatory in most cases to lasting many years.
surveys, and property valuation. be heard in court. In court, administra-
tive litigation solves disputes arising Three main groups of procedures can
The price list for land registry and other from land lot formation, registration, provoke or reveal land disputes in
Centre of Registers services is ap- or other administration procedures. Lithuania: (i) formation of land lots;
proved by the government or the Min- And civil litigation solves the civil dis- (ii) registration of land in the public
ister of Justice, depending on whether putes of landowners and other parties register; and (iii) procedures of further
the service is public or commercial. The involved or determines damages and land administration.
complete price list is publicly available, the magnitude of compensation.
and can be obtained from various inde- Formation of land lots is a residual is-
pendent sources, including the Centre As for extrajudicial procedure, disputed sue of Lithuania’s land reform, which
of Registers’ website, regional registra- decisions of land formation or further started almost 25 years ago. Most
tion offices, and the online Register of administration may be appealed within land administration procedures must
Legal Acts. 20 days after adoption to a regional end with a legal registration of changes
branch of the National Land Service applied to the land lot. The requirement
To prevent any abuse or competition under the Ministry of Agriculture. Bu- to register changes provides an oppor-
breaches, the Centre of Registers’ pub- reaucrats’ questionable actions or in- tunity to question decisions that were
lic and commercial services are closely action may be appealed to the head of not disputed during previous adminis-
monitored by the Competition Council the National Land Service. Complaints tration procedures.
and the supreme audit institution—the must be resolved within one month and
National Audit Service of Lithuania— overdue terms of extrajudicial appeal Complete restitution of ownership was
not to mention the permanent over- may be renewed by separate decision. (and still is) an ambitious plan. Other
sight of the Ministry of Justice. If overdue, the cause must be solid; in land reform activities such as priva-
some cases, a court decision may be tization, consolidation, and spatial
Under these conditions, the Centre of needed to restore the terms of appeal. planning are relatively easier to deal
Registers is self-sufficient, earning up Notably, all of this is standard proce- with when disputes occur. In many
to 4 percent annual profit to fund its dure in Lithuania; similar rules and cases, the conflict is between private
development. The main source of the terms are applied to all administrative interests and those of the state. By
Enterprise’s funding to date is prop- disputes. imposing stricter regulations on land
erty registration fees, which account use, establishing easement, or reducing
for more than 60 percent of overall As for disputes occurring during property size, municipal and govern-
revenue. In the future, the Enterprise’s property registration, the extrajudicial ment bodies often end up in a dispute
main strategy is to stimulate further dispute resolution procedure is very with the affected owners. On the other
demand for registry-driven-data— similar to the one just described. A hand, owners may instigate a dispute
an ever-growing area of modern disputed decision of the Regional while seeking to enhance the utiliza-
economies. Registrar (regional branches and local tion and thus the value of their land
registration offices of the Centre of by means that reduce a neighboring
The self-funding model of manage- Registers) may be appealed to the Cen- property’s utilization and value.
ment of the state’s main registers by tral Registrar within 30 days after its
the State Enterprise constantly falls adoption. Complaints must be resolved
under scrutiny. Some of Lithuania’s within one month and overdue terms 3.3 Land information
public sector institutions seek to get may be renewed. structure
more gratuitous data, increasing the
operational costs of the Real Property Approximately 95 percent of all land The backbone of Lithuania’s land
Cadaster and Register. At the same disputes in Lithuania are solved during administration system is the central-
time, private businesses complain extrajudicial procedures. Those that ized registry system managed by the

Centre of Registers; it is defined by the not change throughout the object’s (emphyteusis). Holder of real rights is
Real Property Cadaster and Register, entire existence. described regardless of whether it is
which operates within a unified elec- a legal entity, a natural person, or the
tronic database deeply integrated with Cadastral data of a land parcel cover state. Description of the rights holder
the state’s other main registers. the main purpose, type, and nature of includes name, family name, unique
land use, and the area of the plot and personal code, and place of residence
Lithuania’s Real Property Cadaster and its composition according to type of of the natural person, or name, unique
Register covers the entire country and land (arable land, meadow, pasture, code, and office address of the legal
contains more than 6 million registry forest, road, built-up territory, land oc- entity.
objects. All land is recorded via cadas- cupied by water bodies, swamp, etc.).
tral and spatial data, including use of For land located within protected ter- The registry records all legal acts re-
orthophotography, and every privately ritories, data on special use conditions lated to real rights and their origin, end,
owned land lot is registered. and protection regulations are provided or amendments. That includes trans-
(including protection of cultural monu- actions, agreements of co-owners,
The Centre of Registers’ commitment ments and cultural heritage). The coor- inheritance, seizure, court rulings, and
to the versatility of the land registry’s dinates of the parcel are provided in a decisions of any institution that affect
application determines the volume and national coordinates system (including the physical properties of the land or
particularity of data and information it coordinates of boundary vertex points). structure itself, real rights related to it,
provides. In short, Lithuania’s land reg- and the legal status or features of the
istry contains detailed cadastral and As for buildings, premises, or engi- rights holder.
geospatial data on land itself, the build- neering structures occupying a land
ings and infrastructure located on it, lot, cadastral data include location Additional data recorded in the registry
and any premises and appurtenances. of the structure on the land parcel, as notes of the Registrar list details on
Information on use of real property is number of floors and premises within contracts concluded (e.g., purchase,
found here as well as ownership and the building, main purpose of use and exchange, gift, property trust agree-
other real rights and restrictions; ad- type of the structure, its dimensions, ments), common joint and common
dress information banded with precise and building materials used as well partial ownership, and legal status
geographic coordinates makes tenures as characteristics of interior utilities; of the family property. Information is
easy to identify; and average market year of construction (reconstruction) included on agreements of co-owners
value, based on actual transactions of start and finish, percentage of building on use of property, division of family
similar properties, provides a relevant completion and physical deteriora- estate, court rulings in force, litigation
base for property taxation. tion calculated, and so on. The latest in process, mortgage, seizure, life an-
addition to the cadastral dataset is nuity for annuity beneficiary, transac-
3.3.1 Type of land data information on buildings’ certified class tion in progress, and any other legal
in the registry of energy efficiency, including average encumbrances on real rights.
As mentioned, the amount and con- heat energy consumption.
tents of the land registry data are Any data and information listed above
determined by the versatility of its Graphical cadastral data provide de- are linked to the specific legal docu-
application. In Lithuania, the Real Prop- tailed layouts of land lots, plant arrays, ment providing the source of origin of
erty Cadaster and Register covers all water bodies and buildings located on any given entry of registry. All related
aspects of a property concerning phys- it, interior layouts of buildings, and any documents are stored in the registry’s
ical features, value, location, rights, le- separate apartment or premise located archive, available on demand, with a list
gal facts, and the basis of registration within; roads and railroads are repre- included in the excerpt of the registry.
of any particular aspect listed above. sented as well as urban infrastructure.
Land registry records contain textual An important feature of Lithuania’s
data as well as graphical data on real The Real Property Cadaster and Reg- land registry is that its data are in-
property objects. Objects registered in ister data store all information on real tegrated with the state’s other main
the Real Property Cadaster and Regis- rights to the property described. The registries, such as the Register of Legal
ter are defined as land parcels, struc- rights recorded in the registry may Entities, Register of Addresses, and
tures, apartments in multi-apartment include ownership, right of trust, right Register of Population. If the data in
houses, premises, and fixtures to those of possession as a separate real right, one registry change, say, the owner’s
objects. Every registered object is pro- servitude, usufruct, right of develop- surname or place of residence, that
vided with a unique number that does ment (superficies), and long-term lease change is automatically reflected in

the Real Property Cadaster and Reg- very modest technical parameters of server clustering and virtualiza-
ister. When such change occurs, the while maintaining speed of operations. tion. Implementation of the former
registry automatically provides the JSP-based applications of the Centre principle enables high availability and
historic list of changes to help data of Registers range from land data reliability of services, while the latter
users understand the context. processing, to registering property, provides space for a growing number
to generating registry excerpts online of applications to run while maintain-
3.3.2 Technology for registry (HTML), to serving and auditing data ing a relatively compact hardware
database management users’ activity. The XML format makes infrastructure.
In its operations, the Centre of Reg- data exchange with other informa-
isters relies on lean yet pragmatic tional systems and registries possible The hardware infrastructure itself is
technological solutions, determined regardless of their database model. adequately secured, with indepen-
by the principles of self-funding and dent power supplies, power backup-
efficiency. The Oracle database man- Managing a central database via ap- generating capabilities, microclimate
agement system provides just enough plication servers ensures easy system support, gaseous fire suppression,
muscle to consolidate within itself administration and a high level of and a flood water drainage system.
the central database of the Centre of security while maintaining low costs. The data backup and recovery system
Registers, containing the state’s main All registry management operations provides data copies that are stored at
registers, databases for tracking and are executed on a remote database an undisclosed location.
accounting for services provided, data under strict authentication and close
and document exchange, archive of monitoring. Malpractice and abuse 3.3.3 Introducing Electronic
electronic documents, and so on. Soft- have been reduced to negligible prob- Service of Real Property
ware applications to run services and ability, since any error can be traced Transactions (2008)
data management are based on Java to the precise workstation, specific In 2008, the Centre of Registers intro-
Server Page (JSP) technology. person, and exact second it was made. duced the Electronic Service of Real
Persistent and recurrent assessments Property Transactions (NETSVEP),
The vast majority of the Centre’s of registrar personnel help maintain bringing its transactions into the
internal and external services are high qualifications and keep mistakes digital age. Lithuania executes a Latin
JSP-based web interfaces, so users to a minimum. Notary system, which requires manda-
only need standard software to access tory notarization of all real property
and use them. This also means that all The Centre of Registers’ server infra- transactions. Historically, a notary
services can run on computers with structure is built upon the principles directed the collection of documents
Figure 3.2 Evolution of cadastral data in Lithuania

necessary to conduct a transaction, registry about the conclusion of the property with others. It is also possible
decided whether a transaction would deal and the change of real rights and to monitor any review of one’s property
happen at all, and prepared the trans- provides information on the transac- made by another person or official.
action agreement. The burden to col- tion value and the new owner’s per- Any private or public user of registry
lect necessary documents usually fell sonal details. Thus NETSVEP reduces information is obliged by law to explain
on the counterparts of a transaction. the time requirements and improves his/her motives if approached by the
the overall simplicity of property trans- owner.
Nowadays NETSVEP provides a notary actions while considerably enhancing
with all information and most of the their security. The Centre of Registers’ online self-
data necessary to conduct a transac- service provides owners with a detailed
tion. It maximizes the number of auto- 3.3.4 Public access history of their property reviews as well
matic procedures and minimizes human to land data as the option to subscribe to alerts on
involvement to prevent errors and pos- As already stated, the Real Property feature reviews. The service automati-
sible misconduct. The electronic service Cadaster and Register data are made cally sends subscribers an email alert
automatically compiles an electronic public by law. It is very easy to get of any review of the property data
transaction agreement or refuses to detailed information on any land parcel detected. Exceptions are made only
do so if any legal impediments are indi- or structure, with a few limitations for national security and law enforce-
cated that would make the deal illegal concerning protection of personal ment agencies, since disclosure of their
or invalid. Data for transaction agree- data. Data and information (including activities may obstruct justice. Even
ments are compiled automatically from cadastral and spatial data, current those agencies’ registry data use is
the state’s registries. When it starts owner, or legal status of property) may monitored internally.
preparation for a transaction, NETSVEP be acquired at the Centre of Registers
indicates if a deal is ongoing in the Real or via the internet. 3.3.5 Building registration
Property Cadaster and Register to pre- procedures to prevent land
vent parallel transaction of the property. To make things absolutely transpar- disputes and fraud
Those restrictions are lifted only after a ent, all of the registry’s operations The Centre of Registers asserts that
deal is concluded or reversed. are monitored. Since 2007, owners property disputes are better prevented
have been able to track any activity by technological means (such as
When a notary approves a property related to their property. That includes preventing registration of overlapping
transaction by electronically signing reports on all operations of the regis- claims and ensuring overall quality of
an agreement, NETSVEP informs the trar, especially handy when sharing land governance data) than by the more
Figure 3.3 Data integration in Lithuania’s Centre of Registers

traditional approach of administrative For instance, Lithuania’s web-based excerpt of the Real Property Cadaster
procedures. That notion is reflected electronic cadastral map is one of the and Register over the printed one to
in the way electronic services for land Centre’s earliest creations. Its graphi- prevent fraud and document forgery.
governance are being developed. cal interface reflects the real-time Public institutions as well as busi-
status of land parcels and structures nesses are encouraged to check infor-
As the keeper of the registry, the Centre from the perspective of the Real Prop- mation about property online, directly
of Registers is liable for compensating erty Cadaster and Register. When used at the central database of the registry,
for damages that occur due to faulty to register new cadastral objects, the instead of relying on paper. This policy
decisions of the registrar. The repara- electronic map prevents the recording serves a few goals: it saves clients time,
tion fund accumulates constantly and of overlapping plots and buildings, thus reduces paperwork, and increases the
procedures to apply for damage repa- preventing damage to the real rights of overall reliability of operations, making
ration are prescribed by law. If damage registered property owners. it forgery-proof.
is found to be done, reparation must
be dispensed within one month. Yet To push the boundaries of dispute Regarding the legal superiority of
instances of damage inflicted to real prevention even further, the web-based digital land registry data, Lithuania
rights during registration of property GIS application “Geo-Surveyor” was went so far as to refuse the concept of
are extremely rare in Lithuania (fewer introduced. Based on the electronic the printed property deed altogether.
than 10 cases in the last decade). cadastral map, Geo-Surveyor provides Owners still have the option to receive
surveyors with a private layer of map a printed excerpt of the registry from
As for registration of property, the and tools to plot new land parcels in an the Centre of Registers or to print it
Real Property Cadaster and Regis- up-to-date, real-life context. The appli- directly from the registry database via
ter usually serves as a firewall that cation indicates any potential conflict the online self-service. Since the ex-
filters out most mistakes of previous with boundaries of existing property cerpt of the registry is now equivalent
procedures and prevents violation of or infrastructure. It even lets users to a property deed, a printed excerpt
ownership and corresponding rights. observe preliminary projections of new may be provided as proper proof of
Upon registration, all digital cadastral parcels plotted by other surveyors to ownership in some less binding pro-
data are compared to a web-based keep context in mind. cedures. It has a limited validity of 30
cadastral map. Registration is denied days, though, to prevent damage in
if any conflict of data occurs, such as Lithuanian law provides for “prima the event that ownership or other real
overlapping borders. facie” (legal superiority) of an electronic rights change.
Figure 3.4 Timeline of historical developments in Lithuania’s Land Data Registry
2005–2015
1997–2004
Registers and cadastral
data merged with
1990–1996 municipal data to create
Integrated digital data of context for new services
Cadastre, GIS, register and solutions
Paper files (BTI) Data of Cadastre and Digital notarized property

register from CDB have transaction
Topographical map legal power.
Drones about to be
Separate formation and Digital survey equipment deployed for greater
registration of Land and surveying speed and
Construction Public access to data accuracy
and services
Analog survey New land lots are formed
equipment online on live cadastral
map (Geo-surveyor
Limited public data application of CoR)
Open data

Last but not least, since providing an sales comparison approach, and on for purposes other than taxation.
electronic excerpt of the registry rather a high level of automatization. The It took almost 10 years to find the
than a printed one involves fewer method is quick, precise, transparent, political will to use mass valuation for
personnel operations, it costs less. For and cost-efficient. The cost of evalua- taxation purposes and set land tax on
example, a printed excerpt of the land tion of a land lot or other object using average market value.
registry costs €3.2 (US$3.5) while mass valuation is €1 (US$1.1) while an
an electronic one costs only €0.58 individual assessment would cost at Presently all property taxes in Lithu-
(US$0.64). least €100 (US$110.6). ania are based on the average market
value determined by mass valuation.
As a result of the policy described Based on real-life transaction data, When combined with taxpayers’ infor-
above, the rate of crimes involving mass valuation was used to calculate mation, mass valuation data provide
forged ownership documents dropped the average market value of every an accurate forecast of tax revenue.
to virtually zero over the past 10–15 registered land parcel and to provide
years. When such crime does happen, the means to determine the value of 3.4.2 Land data for public
it is more likely to involve forgery of unregistered property (e.g., state land information on real property
identity documents than manipulation held for sale). Since valuation data markets
of ownership documents. cover all of Lithuania, accurate value Mass valuation data as well as trans-
projections were possible even in areas action data and statistics gathered
within vague land markets and those from the land registry are used to in-
3.4 Expanding the use that otherwise lacked comparative crease public awareness of Lithuania’s
of land data objects for individual assessment. To real property market. Since 2004, the
prevent mistakes and to make mass public has received monthly updates
Accurate and relevant data on real valuation as transparent as possible, on real property market activity, ex-
property are available for the general public hearings on value maps were pressed by the number of land parcels
public and even more so for businesses. held. And a mechanism of appeal exists and other properties purchased/sold;
In the most recent decade, Lithuania to adjust the mass valuation-based quarterly reports list the current prices
observed a substantial rise in the use of taxed property value by providing an of dwellings and farmlands throughout
registry data and underlying services, individual evaluation report from a the country; and annual overviews pro-
such as geospatial information, data licensed private assessor. vide detailed information on the results
on transactions, market values, etc. of mass valuation (overall value of all
An open software development plat- Lithuania performed its first land mass property of the country in comparison
form was provided for businesses and valuation in 2003. It provided maps of with previous years) and about the land
entrepreneurs to stimulate creation of values, defining value zones in which fund (accounts of all registered land, its
an informational ecosystem in which objects of similar properties were type, use, ownership type, and other
new registry data-driven services are worth similar prices. Four years later, in features).
created for popular use as well as for October 2007, the Institute of Revenue
the specific needs of the real estate Rating and Valuation presented the The Centre of Registers’ reports on real
development, assessment, insurance, Centre of Registers with an award for property statistics are perceived as
and banking sectors. Excellence in Valuation for creation of an the objective insights of an impartial
innovative property valuation system. market observer. Its reports commonly
3.4.1 Market value-based make the headlines in mass media,
property mass valuation Land values determined by mass valu- and the banking sector and real estate
Since all cadastral and spatial data are ation were used to determine the lease developers use the figures to provide
located within a single informational rate of state land and to calculate additional comments on the status quo
system in the registry, which also compensation for land expropriated of the state’s property market and the
contains information on every property for public needs (e.g., to build roads and economy in general.
transaction concluded, it was relatively bypasses). The average market value
easy to implement a system of market of all citizens’ property is also used to 3.4.3 Land data use
value-based property mass valuation identify whether a person is eligible to by the private sector
for taxation purposes in Lithuania. receive social assistance. Over the last decade it became
common for businesses to run their
Mass valuation relies on cadastral Until 2013, land values determined by operations based on information
data, on valuation models based on a mass valuation were used exclusively and data provided by the Centre of

Registers. Private surveyors use either defining type and other physical appropriately to real property market
Geo-Surveyor or privately developed features of the property as well as fluctuations, and to minimize opera-
land-plotting software that uses the location (up to the district and name tion risks by assessing loan portfolios
land registry’s cadastral map. Property of the street) and date interval, users covered by mortgages.
and business assessors are most likely are provided with a list of all relevant
to use real property transaction data transactions that have taken place. 3.4.4 Service of Regional
and other market analysis produced by Search results are stripped of sensitive Geo-Informational
the Centre of Registers. And architects, information that could violate privacy Environment
real estate developers, construction and the location of each transaction is In 2013, the Centre of Registers strongly
companies, banks, and telecommuni- simplified to an address interval (e.g., pushed the development of web-
cation companies need direct access King Street 50 to 100). Users may oriented GIS services by introducing
to the Real Property Cadaster and choose any transaction from the list for the REGIA service (www.regia.lt), or the
Register’s central database to function further examination—10 transactions Service of Regional Geo-Informational
efficiently in an information-saturated, are considered the standard service Environment. At its core, REGIA contains
competitive market. package for household users. the official map of the Address Register
laid over an interactive cadastral map of
To meet the ever-growing demand for After paying for the data, users are Lithuania. Layer after layer, it contains
land registry data and real property provided with transaction details data and information of all registries
market analysis products, the Centre including basic cadastral data and the managed by the Centre of Registers
of Registers must rely on private purchase price of the land lot or struc- and those of other governmental
partners, especially when it comes to ture. Thereby, for less than €6 (US$6.7) institutions. Free to use, it provides mu-
narrow, sector-specific needs. A num- household users can ascertain the nicipalities and other institutions with a
ber of pilot projects were implemented real-time context to determine the simple yet effective tool for information
over the past few years in joint effort most likely sell/purchase price of any management and spatial data-based
with private software developers to property. Real estate brokers and as- decision making. Each institution is
determine the best models of coop- sessors utilize ntsandoriai.lt in a similar provided with its own layer(s) to put
eration and set the rules of the game, manner, differing only in the size of together data and information, ranging
two of which are discussed in the next data package purchased. from utility and transport infrastructure
sections. to pointing out licenses issued and tour-
3.4.3.2 Financial sector tools ist attractions. REGIA depicts boundar-
A number of new registry data-driven Another pilot application introduced ies of land parcels, buildings, and zoning
applications, including mobile ones, in 2014 was developed by Lithu- information, providing comprehensive
designed and developed by private ania’s largest credit bureau, Creditinfo context for publishing documents of
partners will be introduced in the next Lithuania. It was designed especially to spatial planning and other areas of
few years. The Centre of Registers is provide the banking sector with a tool development. Detailed plans and infor-
pushing to create a software develop- for real estate market monitoring or mation on issued construction permits
ment platform to enable more private assessing any property based on “live” make it easy to organize public hearings
initiatives to add even more value to transaction data. The application puts of those plans, ensuring transparency
land registry data. to best use the options provided by of urban development. Publication of
NETSVEP; i.e., since information of any objects privatized and integration with
3.4.3.1 Property transactions property transaction is available within the service of e-auctions also serve the
monitoring a few hours after the deal is concluded, public interest.
In 2013, a local start-up funded by it is possible to monitor the market
one of the biggest local IT companies or assess property in near real-time. The user-friendly interface and vast
launched the project “ntsandoriai.lt” The service has direct access to the yet easily manageable amount of
(literally, RealPropertyTransactions.lt) Real Property Cadaster and Registers’ public information encourage the
to provide household users and real central database, and the system itself population’s active involvement in local
estate brokers with relevant, accurate runs on dedicated virtual resources in- governance. At the same time, publicity
transaction data trimmed to the side the data warehouse of the Centre of REGIA promotes efficient utilization
specific case of selling or assessing of Registers. of property. The taxation value of any
property. property is publicly available on REGIA
The Creditinfo application is used by as well as information on abandoned
At its core, the service represents banks on a daily basis to determine land whose owners are to receive pen-
a search for past transactions. By loan policy, to anticipate and respond alties of maximum taxation tariffs.

Besides being informative, REGIA was countries and international organiza- E-governance is an ongoing challenge.
created to be interactive on many tions. In 2014, the EU twinning project In 1998, the Government of Lithuania
levels. REGIA is preprogrammed to “Modernization of the Real Estate Tax disbanded the Ministry of Communica-
serve as an event management service, Administration in Egypt—Developing tions and Informatics, charged with
providing functionality for reporting Capacities of the Real Estate Taxation directing the development of e-govern-
municipal-level issues and tracking Authority” was implemented by the ment services. A number of institutions
their solutions. For instance, people can Centre of Registers in conjunction with have since tried to take the lead, but
report location-based problems (such the Association of Dutch Municipalities Lithuania still struggles to navigate
as damaged roads, windfall and so on) (VNG) and the Dutch agency Kadaster. its way toward a more developed
to municipalities, adding either textual Centre of Registers specialists take informational society. Global demand
or graphical information or both. While part in various international organiza- for IT specialists led their wages to sky-
managing reported issues, municipal tions’ activities, such as the Interna- rocket, with better-skilled personnel
servants indicate the progress of the tional Association of Surveyors (FIG), gravitating to the private sector. Most
work and interact with applicants via the European Land Registry Associa- of Lithuania’s public sector is unable
REGIA. Adding to this, REGIA’s com- tion (ELRA), EuroGeographics, the Eu- to compete in salaries and thus lost
patibility with mobile devices presents ropean Group of Valuers’ Associations IT staff. Self-funded state enterprises
a whole new concept of strategic local (TEGoVA), and others. In 2013, during are becoming the few oases of compe-
governance. REGIA would be impos- the Lithuanian Presidency of the Coun- tence, able to provide relevant quality
sible without the deeply integrated, cil of Europe, the Centre of Registers control of e-government services.
high-quality land registry data. In turn, took over presidency of the European
this web-oriented GIS service itself im- Union Permanent Committee on Ca- In spring 2015, the Government of
proves and enriches the registry data. dastre (PCC). In June 2015, the Centre Lithuania recognized the need to better
of Registers hosted the Conference on coordinate and consolidate the state’s
It is assumed that the high local Property Valuation and Taxation for informational resources. It decided to
government use combined with the Fiscal Sustainability and Improved Lo- gather existing registries, informa-
population’s willing involvement in cal Governance in Europe and Central tional systems, and services of govern-
REGIA will eventually attract business. Asia, organized by the World Bank and ment institutions within four centers of
On that account, REGIA will provide a the Food and Agriculture Organization excellence. Those hubs of excellence, of
new dimension for business interac- of the United Nations. which the Centre of Registers is one,
tions. The first examples are already will: provide adequate infrastructure
available: utility companies such as But Lithuania has yet to overcome the and technical support; guide and imple-
the electricity distribution company ghosts of its past as well as modern- ment further development of registry
LESTO and the natural gas supplier day challenges. The incomplete pro- systems and e-government services
Lietuvos Dujos put their distribution in- cess of restitution of ownership rights while maintaining a rational approach;
frastructure on REGIA’s map to attract to property expropriated during the and further integrate public sector
new clients by indicating potential con- Soviet occupation (1940–1990) is an data and services, ensuring data and
nections to their networks. issue, as a number of long-standing information exchange as well as qual-
land disputes caused by restitution ity of services and self-sustainability
reform remain unsolved. This has cre- of the centers of excellence. With the
3.5 Issues and new ated a pool of fragmented land lots reform just starting, it is too early
initiatives too small to be economically efficient to predict the outcome. But if imple-
or with owners that have several small mented reasonably, this may take the
For Lithuania to proceed to the next dispersed plots. Reform towards land state’s registries and e-government
level of quality and accessibility of land consolidation is still in the early stages services to a whole new level of qual-
registry data, the Centre of Registers and has yet to prove itself. ity and usability, while simultaneously
in particular must address a number of significantly improving Lithuania’s
issues, as follows. Institutional overlap also exists. Politi- business environment.
cization and officialdom of the central
The strategies to improve the Centre government and municipal agencies The main vectors of further develop-
of Registers’ land registry and other has hampered cooperation and coor- ment of Lithuania’s land administra-
registries and informational systems dination between bodies responsible tion system outlined by the Centre of
are based on best practices as well as for land governance. In some cases, it Registers are directed toward expand-
visionary ideas brought in and refined has led to duplication of land data or ing and enriching cadastral data,
under close cooperation with other governance functions. promoting private initiatives to create

new registry data-driven experiences based on registry data. The Centre experience in innovating, and cogni-
for customers, expanding web-oriented of Registers seeks to create an entire zance of its strengths and weaknesses,
GIS services, and acting as an interna- ecosystem of such services by sharing Lithuania may provide a fertile test
tional pilot for innovations. open data and registry-driven web field for piloting more advanced ini-
services, acting as software building tiatives that would bring better land
The Real Property Cadaster and Reg- blocks, providing its own infrastructure administration not only for local needs,
ister already provides still images and for development, testing, and distrib- but also for international benefit.
digital design drawings of property uting products and services created
along with other data and informa- within. Web and mobile applications If successful, Lithuania may very well
tion. Yet another landmark is about to created to meet sector-specific de- proceed with further optimization of
be reached to enable more 3D and 4D mand, as described previously, have so property registration. That would mean
cadastre features. Testing of surveying far proved to be beneficial for all parties fewer procedures and less time and/or
drones is ongoing, aiming to engage in involved, encouraging further moves. money spent to register property. In a
3D modelling of terrain and buildings’ technologically developed country such
exteriors/interiors. Use of unmanned The case of REGIA and other land as Lithuania, this advance would also
aerial vehicles operating calibrated registry-based innovations presented affect other areas of doing business,
high-definition optics is being consid- here may be too costly to implement in including starting a business, dealing
ered to provide ad hoc mapping of the many countries. Lithuania has the ad- with construction permits, getting
rapidly changing environment. The vantage of being a small country. The electricity, getting credit, and resolving
high level of data integration within ca- short history of this independent state insolvency.
dasters and registers under the Centre (i.e., the absence of longstanding, rigid
of Registers provides a fair chance of traditions of governance) and its fairly
prompt results in this area. small land area and other properties Chapter 3 References
made creation of an advanced registry
As mentioned, the software building system possible. Dynamic political will Kasperavičius, R. 2015. “Real Property
platform is under development to en- made possible the existence of the Administration System in Lithuania:
History, Development, International
able businesses and entrepreneurs to Centre of Registers. Given its openness Experience and Perspectives.” State
provide customers with new products to extensive international cooperation, Enterprise Centre of Registers, Vilnius.

How Innovations in
Land Administration
4. development of a unified Reform Improve
on Doing Business
land information system in Cases from Lithuania,
the republic of korea and the United Kingdom
Beckhee Cho and Jaeyong Yoo the Republic of Korea’s e-government,

recognized globally as one of the
O
ver the last decades, the Re- top land information systems. It
public of Korea has digitalized has brought about transparency, ef-
and unified its land information ficiency, reliability, and better service
systems, which contain a wide range for the Republic of Korea’s citizens in
of data such as records on rights, a cost-effective way. It’s ranked 40th
cadastral information on parcels, and globally on the “registering property”
land use development information, an indicator of the World Bank’s “Ease of
important government responsibil- Doing Business” index (Figure 4.1).
ity in this rapidly industrializing and
urbanizing country. The integration
of the Parcel Based Land Informa- 4.1 economic
tion System (PBLIS) and its Land TransformaTion and
Management Information System chanGinG demands for
(LMIS), completed in 2006, was suc- land adminisTraTion
cessful, with the resultant Korea Land
Information System (KLIS) producing The Republic of Korea’s dynamic
much more efficient service provision economy was built from scratch
and easier access to land information. after its economic advancement
The KLIS has evolved into a pillar of began in the 1960s, guided by robust
Figure 4.1 republic of Korea’s ranking on the global laQi (actual vs. potential)
Republic of Korea
8
7
0
Korea, Rep. Maximum score

government-driven economic plans Land-related administration includes market control and management;
that established the basis for rapid a wide range of areas such as policy, mortgage control; property taxation;
industrialization and modernization. ownership, transaction, use control, a development impact fees system;
The economic transformation required development, and management. The and development permission systems.
investment in numerous land develop- central government had entrusted local All of these land policies were strongly
ment projects, such as for housing, governments with most land-related related to the performance of land
construction of industrial complexes, matters, including the provision of sta- administration systems. Moreover, the
and infrastructure (e.g., development of tistics, except for the establishment of need to modernize and further advance
social overhead capital from express- land policies and supervision. But local the cadastral system was clear, given
ways, railways, and harbors). Since governments also struggled with heavy its central role in land use. Improving
the 1960s, urban developments have workloads, handling hundreds of thou- management of the cadaster and
been implemented by the designation sands of land-related civil complaints registry would also strengthen the
of zoning, greenbelts, and districts ac- every year. Land-related issues were protection of property rights. And
cording to the urban planning law for overly time-consuming and their socio- strengthening land data management
growth-oriented urban policies. Zoning economic costs were excessive. Thus it would provide the government with
has implications for land rights, as do was evident that the current land poli- policy statistics on, for example, trans-
land development projects, which may cies had their authoritative limitations. actions and land values to deal with the
require expropriation, in turn leading to overheated real estate market.
issues of compensation and valuation. The division of responsibilities between
the central and local governments
Rapid urbanization followed the migra- required a system to integrate and 4.2 Digitalizing
tion of the rural population to cities. The manage a broad range of projects, but and linking land
Republic of Korea now has a population coordination between central agen- administration
of over 50 million people, 82 percent cies and local governments was not systems and services
of whom live in urban areas. Land systematic. The central government
markets changed and the price of real had difficulty accurately and promptly 4.2.1 Origin of cadaster
estate and housing rose. In large cities collecting information for land policies, and registry
and development districts where the and as a result frequently failed to deal The first land survey project was per-
population started to concentrate, land with land-related problems in a timely formed between 1910 and 1918 (during
and housing prices skyrocketed. The manner. the Japanese colonial period) to record
overheated real estate market affected boundaries and ownership to facilitate
its economic growth from the 1980s Due to the excessive amount of land tax collection. Most land was held by
onwards. Between 1974 and 2004, legislation and the complexity of land- landlords, a trend reversed at the end
land prices increased nationwide an related administrative work in local of the 1950s, when most tenants had
average of 1,900 percent (inflation was governments, policies to control real become owners, facilitated by land
1,000 percent or 10 times). In urban ar- estate speculation were ineffective. reform. Responsibility for cadasters
eas, this increase was 30 times, and for The government realized that a new was transferred to local governments
Seoul itself, 37 times (a 3,700 percent land policy was needed, with a land us- in 1962 when agricultural land tax be-
increase). Speculation for land lots and age plan and a strategic plan for land came a local tax, but was returned to
apartments became common around administration to protect property the national government in 1977.
development districts. Due to a lack of rights and improve land use efficiency
accurate and comprehensive data on as well as to control speculation. The title registration system started in
land properties, the government was 1912 based on Japanese real estate law,
not able to control the situation, leading A “National GIS Establishment Master but was systematically reorganized
to serious problems such as illegal trans- Plan” was developed in 1995 (see sec- after the enactment of the Real Estate
actions, corruption, unearned revenues, tion 4.2.3 for more detail). Policies Registration Law in 1960. Maintain-
and inequity in land use opportunities. were introduced to address: land use ing paper-based registry books was
planning and management (including labor-intensive, and problems arose
Decentralization of many land admin- government-oriented land use plan- with standardization and accuracy
istration functions and weak oversight ning); land subdivisions and land sup- because of disconnects between the
at the central level also limited the ply (with a public agency leading one various organizations engaged in title
government’s ability to act effectively. land development project); real estate registration.

4. Development of a Unified Land Information System in the Republic of Korea 35
4.2.2 Digitalizing the land policy. In 1995, the government en- areas of work with 430 related sub-
books acted the “Master Plan for National GIS sections based on single or individual
Information was lost due to the poor Establishment” (NGIS), composed of parcel-based cadastral maps. The
storage and neglect of land books, four plans that have been implemented goals were to protect people’s property
which stimulated the start in 1975 of consecutively every five years since rights and to improve the country’s
a cadastral computerization project of 1995. The government also started land administration capacity.
land and forestland books. All property setting up the infrastructure for both
information noted in land books was the public and private sector to share The PBLIS was a project to effectively
entered into a database. Completed in geospatial information. The first and store, manage, and process various
1985, the database included about 32 second Master Plans for NGIS mainly types of attribute information con-
million parcels nationwide. focused on computerizing and organiz- nected to drawings of buildings and
ing land administration data and con- urban planning, especially individual
In addition, a national online network— structing the database, as paper-based lots of land. It constructed a database
connecting 15 metropolitan cities/ administration required considerable of numerical files of cadastral maps to
provinces and 260 municipalities—was time and labor, and the public wanted be integrated with land registers and
established for instant processing of faster and more accurate service. other systems. It also aimed to com-
land information data and new trans- puterize and automate the procedures
actions. This improved public services The first NGIS Master Plan included of information search and manage-
by making access to and issuance of digitalization of cadastral maps and ment, and to promptly and compre-
cadastral books’ information faster. the “informatization” of land manage- hensively provide the government and
The land book computerization project ment and related works, which was public with land-related information.
also improved public confidence in planned as part of a public system The project allowed both the central
cadastral books by preventing their development project for the utilization and local governments to integrate
falsification and established a system- of geospatial information. The NGIS and utilize data on land registers and
atic data management system. Land- Master Plan specified that projects cadastral maps and forestland regis-
related information necessary for for the establishment and utilization ters and their maps.
evaluation, taxation, transaction, us- of major GIS databases were to be
age planning, and so on was henceforth implemented under the initiative of the The completed PBLIS held, managed,
provided promptly and accurately. government and that the established and processed parcel map informa-
GIS databases were to be open to the tion and various data on attributes.
4.2.3 Master Plan for National public to foster related industries in the The system increased the productivity
Geospatial Information System private sector. of tasks like filing records and maps
The digital revolution in the 1990s and ended the need for movement
enabled modernization of the Republic Accordingly, the Ministry of Govern- and arrangement of cadastral maps,
of Korea’s land information system. ment Administration and Home Affairs contributing to improved effectiveness,
Technology related to geospatial infor- (MoGAHA) undertook the task of digi- consistency, and precision in the man-
mation was introduced to a number of talizing individual or single cadastral agement and processing of cadastral
local governments and public corpora- maps under the Parcel Based Land information.
tions, making possible the digitalization Information System (PBLIS). At the
of geospatial information including same time, the development of seam- A paper-based registry book conver-
cadastral maps and forestland maps less cadastral maps and land policy sion system was developed to store
available on paper form. Accordingly, in systems was led by the then Ministry the information in the electronic forms
the mid-1990s the government began of Land and Construction (MoCT, or the recorded by various registry offices
to pursue digitalization of cadastral Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and around the country. Land register
maps and forestland maps as part of Transport today) under the Land Man- data for 34 million lots of land were
its effort to modernize administrative agement Information System (LMIS). computerized nationwide, followed by
works. computerization of the resident regis-
4.2.4 Development of the tration data of 43 million individuals at
With the awareness of the importance Parcel Based Land Information the MoGAHA. Officially appraised land
of geospatial information, the govern- System (1996–2002) prices of 26 million lots were computer-
ment established fundamental plans The PBLIS was developed from 1996– ized at the MoCT. These datasets were
for a national geospatial information 2002 by the MoGAHA. It handled three integrated into the newly established

and operated “National Land Informa- attribute data like public records, topo- cadastral maps (discussed in subse-
tion Center.” graphic maps, cadastral maps, and quent sections).
urban plans. Most land-related data
Next, Automated Registry Office were handled manually, which caused 4.2.6 Addressing growing
Systems (AROS) were developed to problems with data duplication, data inefficiencies due to two
digitalize processes of registration, entry errors, and lack of consistency. systems
access to and issuance of certified Checking or viewing land records and By 2000, it was apparent that with the
copies, statistics, and so on, improv- issuing them was a very long process. LMIS and the PBLIS, dual administra-
ing the productivity and convenience tive processes had emerged, which
of the registry. An internet-based To address this, the MoCT in coordina- gave rise to operational problems,
registry office service was added in tion with pertinent sections of local as procedures and working practices
the 2000s, enabling online issuance of governments developed the Land Man- were very complicated. The public had
land ownership certifications and other agement Information System (LMIS) to duplicate effort in conducting land
land-related documents and improving to streamline land policy making, administrative business, which led to
public access to the system. systematically integrate and manage unnecessary expense and was time-
geospatial, attribute, and legal data, consuming. Moreover, the lack of com-
Digitalization of land registers was the and link land-related affairs specified patibility and synchronized updates
first step in the creation of the land in laws. The scope of work included between the systems brought about
information system that was to: es- the real estate transaction reporting duplicate investments, inconsistency,
tablish the foundation for systems to system and management of develop- and uncertainty. It was increasingly
prevent falsified names in real estate ment impact fees, real estate agencies, realized that having dual systems was
transaction (known as real name real assessed land prices, land use zoning, leading to duplication of data man-
estate transaction system); stabilize and foreigners’ land acquisition. The agement and tasks and equipment
land prices; and root out real estate system aimed to support land-related purchase, thus creating inefficient use
speculation. In turn, it would provide works and policies so that users could of the government’s budget and other
the foundation to deliver accurate see in real time changes taking place in resources.
information on land properties in a different regions of the country, includ-
timely manner for policy making and ing land use, the volume of transactions In addition, data compatibility was
help create a sound and efficient taxa- taking place on a property, and land a problem. Cadastral data were not
tion system that was both consistent prices. Key to realizing such objectives, consistent between the two systems’
and fair for citizens and generated edge-matched or seamless cadastral databases. The LMIS was not con-
revenue for the government. maps were created to be used as the nected to the land register that con-
main database. tained information on land attributes,
4.2.5 Development of the and had to link to the administrative
Land Management Information Started in 1998, the LMIS was management systems of cities, coun-
System (1998–2005) completed in 2005, overseen by the ties, and districts through a middle
While the PBLIS was being developed MoCT (now the Ministry of Land, In- ware connection.
by MoGAHA, sections in the central frastructure, and Transport, or MoLIT)
and local governments in charge of as a supporting system for national The need for a unified system became
planning and land resource manage- land use and administration. Unlike increasingly clear to improve public
ment recognized the need to build the PBLIS, the LMIS was constructed officials’ productivity and to prevent
edge-matched cadastral maps (named based on seamless cadastral maps. budgetary waste. A comprehensive in-
“seamless cadastral maps”) at district Also referred to as serial cadastral formation system was needed to secure
levels for efficient land use and man- maps, seamless cadastral maps are a information to establish adequate land
agement. The Republic of Korea had 80 series of cadastral maps conjoined se- policies, to systematically integrate
laws in place concerning land use and quentially with adjustments to correct and manage geospatial, attribute, and
more than 170 land use zoning maps. inaccuracies that may have occurred law data on land use, and to organically
Land regulations were so complicated (and thus, “seamless”). They are also link land-related works specified in
that even local government officers referred as district-level cadastral individual laws. The deterioration of the
did not understand all the details and maps because a series of maps covers land administration situation made the
restrictions on land use. The types and an entire district. The LMIS carried need even more urgent; a solution was
content of geospatial data regarding out work in six areas subdivided into needed to provide correct information
land management also varied, including 90 subsections based on district-level in a timely manner to the government

Figure 4.2 Republic of Korea’s Dual Land Information System and Integration to KLIS
and citizens, who were filing a growing information. The second objective was like the G4C (Government for Citizen)
number of civil complaints. to efficiently carry out various land- or internet public service system were
related works in local governments utilized in a similar manner.
To address this matter, the Office for and to comprehensively manage land
Government Policy Coordination held projects. In streamlining land policies At the same time, to enhance public
a meeting in December 2001 on the and works, the KLIS aimed to: secure services for citizens, a system was
integration of the LMIS and the PBLIS, fundamental data to be used for the developed to access documents either
the direction of integration, and the formulation of land policies; establish online or through vending machine-like
new system’s basic structure. In at- and implement accurate land policies kiosks. The system and database were
tendance were representatives from and improve their quality; and handle simultaneously used by the central
the MoCT and MoGAHA, the Board of land-related administrative affairs government and 16 metropolitan cities
Audit and Inspection, ETRI (Electron- more efficiently. A third objective was and provinces and 230 local offices
ics and Telecommunications Research to expand the 1995 NGIS towards the at the city, county, and borough level.
Institute), the Korea Cadastral Survey “seamless cadastral maps” started These also were linked to 93 other
Corporation (LX, Land and Geospa- under the LMIS as the basic geospatial systems outside the main government
tial Informatix Corp today), and the foundation for the country. system.
Korea Research Institute for Human
Settlements (KRIHS). The result was The KLIS was designed as a 3-tier The KLIS is now a pillar of the Republic
an agreement to construct the Korea system, handling civil services in real- of Korea’s e-government, recognized
Land Information System (KLIS), which time. Moreover, its design ensured that globally as one of the top land infor-
would perform all functions of the LMIS the work scope of the two ministries mation systems. Today’s KLIS has
and the PBLIS. would not overlap in any way and the 35 million parcels, 750,000 digitalized
ministries would equally split the cost maps, and over 10 different versions
The first main objective behind the of the system’s development. The and formats of land-related maps in-
establishment and operation of the electronic resources owned by local tegrated into one map. The application
unified KLIS was to streamline land governments were to be integrated was developed to be able to carry out
policies and land administration works into the KLIS through a middle-ware 530 different tasks in nine areas re-
and to efficiently manage geospatial connection. Other land related systems lated to land. With a cost-benefit ratio

surpassing 3.0, it has brought about The Act on Planning and Utilization was specified as reference. In addition,
transparency, efficiency, reliability, of the National Territory covers after the LMIS and the PBLIS were
and better service for the Republic of various types of land use zoning and integrated, separate regulations for
Korea’s citizens. urban planning. the KLIS were stipulated, while those
The Restitution of Development for land use zoning and operation were
Gains Act defines the restitution of newly released to comply with KLIS
4.3 Key elements in the development gains. operations.
development of the KLIS The Act on Special Cases concern-
ing the Acquisition of Lands for 4.3.3 Financing the KLIS
4.3.1 Review of legal Public Use and the Compensation The task to create the KLIS was com-
framework for their Loss regulates individual prehensive: digitalization of cadastral
When the development of digitalized land prices while the Real Estate maps; creation of seamless cadastral
land information systems started in the Brokerage Act is pertinent to fos- maps; construction of various data-
Republic of Korea, three different laws tering sound real estate agencies bases, including thematic maps; devel-
were in place concerning its three main and their responsibilities. opment of an application system for
components—the Cadastral Act, the The Aliens Landownership Law cov- land-related affairs; and adaptation of
Act on the Utilization and Manage- ers foreigners’ land acquisition. hardware equipment for system opera-
ment of the National Territory, and the tions. The costs were massive and the
Real Estate Registration Act—under 4.3.2 Review of existing need for human resources was also
the jurisdiction of three different institutional framework very high. To develop and operate the
ministries—MoGAHA, MoCT, and the for land modernization and KLIS, large-scale financial resources
National Court Administration. The standard setting were needed.
two ministries had been working on The government worked on institu-
the development of their respective tional adjustments and standardiza- The central government bore the cost of
systems (PBLIS and LMIS), but much tion to transform the analog settings one part of the project but the rest was
overlap and duplication of work existed. that ruled the production, utilization, borne by local governments, at times
Thus, not only did the laws need to be management, and dissemination of an overwhelming financial burden. This
revised but the ministries’ mandates land information toward a digitized lack of funding initially prevented the
also needed to be rearranged to reas- environment. Specific standards were nationwide distribution of the KLIS.
sign the different tasks. As a result, set up for various aspects including The project was instead undertaken
the MoGAHA’s cadastral division was production of seamless cadastral maps on a step-by-step basis, beginning
transferred to the MoCT in 2008. The and land use zoning maps not defined with larger local governments first, and
National Court Administration’s Regis- by existing laws as well as the drawing eventually covering the entire nation.
tration Data Computerization System production method. Also regulated was Under the circumstances, the govern-
was also linked to the new KLIS. The the standardization of documentation ment decided to first distribute the
overall result was that the Republic of such as for confirmation of land use KLIS only to major large and medium-
Korea was able to successfully con- plans or publicly assessed land value in size cities (about 250), where demand
struct a national spatial information addition to procedural matters. was strong, and to later expand into
infrastructure within 10 years. small cities and counties.
Specific guidelines were created to:
New laws were created or revised for correct and renew existing maps The cost of digitalizing cadastral maps
the KLIS in accordance with legislations produced in analog methods; convert and geospatial data, promoted as part
concerning geospatial information and numerical geographic map files to of a larger project for the informatiza-
land use. These laws still apply today: GIS data; extend individual cadastral tion of all government agencies under
The National Spatial Data Infra- maps; and moderate zoning map data MoGAHA administration, was covered
structure Act stipulates the produc- input. More specifically, guidelines by a national fund with an outlay of
tion, utilization, and distribution of for LMIS, regulations concerning US$415 million. The MoGAHA secured
geospatial information as well as establishment and operation of land- 100 percent of the central govern-
national geospatial information related comprehensive information ment’s budget for the PBLIS project.
infrastructure. networks, and guidelines for drawing It invested 120 billion Republic of
The Land Survey and Waterway district and zone topographic maps Korean won (around US$120 million)
Service and Cadastral Act defines were newly stipulated to comply with in the PBLIS until 2005. Since 2006,
cadastral survey and cadastral the LMIS. For the PBLIS, the guideline the Ministry has spent around 40 bil-
administration and management. for computerization of cadastral maps lion Republic of Korean won (around

US$40 million) for KLIS operation and project. The central government acted price maps. Before the KLIS, much of
management. In total, it has invested as the general project coordinator, these data were produced manually.
about 380 billion Republic of Korean planning and budgeting the KLIS and In addition, existing land-related at-
won (around US$380 million) for the adjusting related institutional systems tribute data were in different forms
KLIS. such as laws, rules, and regulations. depending on the source; duplication
Local governments secured the budget and discrepancies existed in the re-
The cost of establishing the LMIS and to establish the KLIS in their respec- cords. Land-related geospatial data
its database including the geospatial tive regions, inspected the digitalized included topographic maps, cadastral
data, seamless cadastral maps, and geospatial and attribute databases, maps (forestry), land use zoning maps,
land use zoning maps, was co-funded maintained the KLIS database, and and cadastral maps matched with the
by the central and local governments. operated and maintained KLIS infor- topographic maps.
The investment for this project was mation systems.
initially funded by the central gov- With this in mind, prior to the full-blown
ernment, but was later split evenly In particular, the MoCT and the development of the land information
between the central and local govern- MoGAHA played leading roles in system, a pilot study (2003–2004)
ments. This scheme allowed earlier promoting the development project, was conducted to understand the
local government involvement in the respectively carrying out the develop- current conditions, situation, and pos-
distribution of the LMIS nationwide. ment and integration works of the sible problems of the LMIS project, and
The MoCT procured the funds to PBLIS and the LMIS. These two min- to come up with the methodologies,
establish the geospatial informa- istries established an operation and content, and institutional measures
tion database including seamless management system that improved to solve existing problems. The system
cadastral maps and land use zoning the functions of the LMIS and the architecture, application architectures,
while local governments purchased PBLIS. KRIHS participated as an and data model of the LMIS had been
the computer equipment and GIS entrusted research center in the early designed on the basis of the pilot
software for the LMIS operation. From stages, but the MoCT and the Land project in the early stages of the LMIS.
1998 to 2005, the MoCT invested and Housing Corporation (LH) took These architecture and data models
120 billion Republic of Korean won responsibility after the KLIS was were applied to the KLIS without any
(around US$120 million) for the LMIS fully operational. As for the PBLIS, changes. The KLIS was designed with
while local governments contributed tasks were conducted mainly by the an open architecture to support the
about 100 billion Republic of Korean MoGAHA and the Korea Cadastral distributed computing environments
won (around US$100 million). Survey Corporation (LX today) until of local governments, consisting of a
the Ministry’s cadastral division was hierarchical 3-tier system: the clients,
4.3.4 Organizations involved transferred to the MoCT in 2008 (when the application server, and the data-
and capacity building it was assigned jurisdiction over the base server. The application server
The allocation of funding proved to KLIS and renamed the MoLIT). It should was operated on the basis of CORBA
be challenging, but more difficult was be noted that a considerable portion of (Common Object Request Broker Ar-
sourcing the human capital to develop the work that was to be carried out by chitecture), which mainly consisted of
the KLIS in both the public and private the MoCT and local governments was the data provider, the edit agent, and
sectors. The modernization of land- outsourced to expert groups and the the map agent.
related administration and work was private sector. System Integration (SI)
a national project that involved many companies developed technologies for 4.3.6 Setting standards for
government agencies as well as local database construction, application, the KLIS database
governments. Education and training hardware, and network building. The KLIS database consists of cadas-
programs were conducted in universi- tral data, geospatial data, attribute
ties in major regional area especially for 4.3.5 Piloting the system data, various types of legal data,
public servants involved in the project design and development and meta-data; one unified network
but also for those in the cadastral divi- A number of datasets related to land was created based on these. Object-
sions in the local governments to raise administration were produced, utilized, oriented database technology was
their awareness about the KLIS. and managed by the central and local adopted for data sharing because
governments, including various docu- of the outstanding data modelling
In addition to the central government, ments, records, public reports, and capacity, work analysis, and database
local governments, research institutes, notices, as well as attribute data and design. To share geospatial data, such
and private geospatial information drawings such as national land use international standards as ISO/TC211
agencies participated in the KLIS plans, urban plans, and current land standards for geospatial information,

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) the standards for data models and the transfer of the MoGAHA’s cadastral
standards for open geospatial informa- content. division to the MoCT.
tion, and standards for geospatial data
transmission (SDTS) were followed. 4.4.2 Ensuring high-quality
4.4 Challenges building land use zoning maps and
For cadastral maps, existing types of the KLIS parcel accuracy in the
map sheets were produced as series attribution database
datasets combining land register infor- 4.4.1 Bringing two Existing land use zoning maps based
mation and geospatial data. Land use government agencies together on the topographical foundation had
zoning maps were produced on the ba- The new KLIS brought together sys- cadastral discrepancies when com-
sis of topographic maps and seamless tems managed by two different min- pared to seamless cadastral maps.
cadastral maps, and renewal became istries. Although the integration was Thus ensuring the quality of thematic
possible. For cadastral maps matched mandated by the Audit and Inspection maps, such as the accuracy of land use
with topographic maps, seamless Board and coordinated by the Policy zoning maps, presented a challenge. A
cadastral maps were combined with Coordination Office, the MoCT and the related problem in land management
digital topographic maps as part of MoGAHA clashed on issues regarding was that cadastral discrepancies of
the NGIS project, and the standards for the structure, function, and scope of land use zoning often caused public
production were released separately. the integrated system. One flashpoint complaints.
was the location of the geospatial
After the standardization was worked information system architecture given Public officials in charge of parcel man-
out, the KLIS database was established that this decision would determine agement thus meticulously examined
with a combination of register and which organization would be in the and confirmed the attribute informa-
spatial datasets. To rearrange records lead to build the integrated system. tion of about 35 million parcels around
datasets, regulations concerning land This conflict between the two KLIS the country before issuing public docu-
records preparation, utilization, and project operators substantially delayed ments. An extensive amount of time
management were modified accord- the project, though both ministries and effort was spent on securing the
ingly. Duplicate or similar items in the ultimately found common ground on quality of land use zoning maps and the
records such as public documents were the effectiveness of the integrated attribute database in the development
also revised and combined. Geospa- system and were able to put aside the of the KLIS. To this end, a large number
tial data were standardized for data tension over which system was more of public officials, system operators,
sharing. important. and database architects were assigned
to this job.
As for the database design, OMT (Ob- Both the PBLIS and the LMIS were
ject Modeling Technique), adopted at national information systems with 4.4.3 Establishing the
ISO/ TC211, was used as the data model legitimate justification for their devel- seamless cadastral map
to share geospatial, attribute, and legal opment. The PBLIS’s major users were database
data. The main geospatial datasets local government officials, for whom its One of the biggest obstacles in the es-
contained cadastral control points, system architecture and model were tablishment of the KLIS database was
cadastral information, edited cadastral designed. In contrast, the LMIS archi- the quality of the paper cadastral maps,
maps, administrative area boundaries, tecture was designed in consideration which dated back to the 1910s and had
true elevation, and digital topographic of land-related experts, private com- to be digitalized and transformed first
maps of roads, railroads, major build- panies, and the public as well as public into digital cadastral maps and then to
ings, and hydrosphere, which were all officials in charge of land use services. seamless cadastral maps. This proved
set and extracted as the framework With this in mind, the two systems to be challenging as the measurement
data. Thematic maps such as land use were integrated by redesigning the skills and tools used to produce these
zoning maps were established based PBLIS as a 2-tier system and the LMIS maps in the early 1990s produced
on seamless cadastral maps. An attri- as a 3-tier system (client server appli- serious distortion. Moreover, many
bute database including land registers cation versus web-based application). of the more than 100-year-old maps
was established in the utilization of In addition, adjustments were made had been damaged over time, creating
Relational Database Management to create the institutional framework significant errors. Mismatches existed
System (RDBMS) in compliance with for the operation of the KLIS including between past and present cadastral

control points, leading to inaccuracies, they did not match and discrepancies To receive this service in the past, one
while the loss of cadastral control arose. Often the boundary of a parcel had to visit a local government agency
points caused cadastral discrepancies. in a cadastral map did not match the and request to view the information at
boundary of the same parcel in the the desk.
Cadastral and forestland maps’ scales subsequent map, making it impossible
were significantly different, which to provide an integrated public service. The PBLIS’s client/server (C/S) struc-
made it difficult to combine related ture connected the server directly to
maps. Since individual cadastral maps It was concluded that adjustments clients, so it depended on a GIS engine
placed sequentially did not necessarily had to be made on the seamless ca- with a polygon management tool.
create a correct version of the entire dastral maps. It was agreed that just This environment was not conducive
district, adjustments had to be made for administrative purposes and not to inquiries or remote issuance of
deliberately to correct the inaccura- for land transactions, seamless ca- documents, necessitating inconvenient
cies. Map production was delayed as dastral maps would be produced using procedures. Since the LMIS server did
the methods to use to reflect cadastral the cadaster of each individual parcel not include this service, real-time con-
information in the serial drawings without the obligation to guarantee nection with individual cadasters and
remained undetermined for a long time. accuracy but only to serve as district- seamless cadastral maps was not pos-
level cadastral maps. Moreover, it was sible. As a result, it took an extended
To solve this problem, the central agreed that seamless cadastral maps time to issue a public document with
government collected cases of cadas- would not have the legal authority the land transfer result reflected on it.
tral discrepancies from among local to be used in land transactions. The The integrated KLIS greatly improved
governments and created standard- government is currently carrying out this situation: documents are now
ized instruction on how to combine a nationwide cadaster reinvestigation issued not only at local government
seamless cadastral maps, an initiative project that will eventually correct this offices but also online, and applicants
that put production of the seamless situation. may view the information on such
cadastral map database back on track. websites. As individual cadasters and
The boundaries of land use zoning in seamless cadastral maps are pro-
various types of urban planning maps 4.5 The impact of cessed in one system, land transfers
were determined in reference to the the KLIS are reflected in real-time, speeding up
seamless cadastral maps produced. the public documentation process.
As a result, different stakeholders 4.5.1 Economic benefits
were able to share the land use zoning One quantifiable effect of the KLIS is For instance, the process of submit-
map database and settle cadastral the significant time savings for both ting opinions/objections on a publicly
discrepancies. users and service providers. The cost of appraised land value was shortened
issuing civil documents as well as the from 10 days to 3 minutes. The process
4.4.4 Matching district maps processing times were reduced in civil of land transaction permission was
During KLIS development, the land service. The establishment of the KLIS shortened from 10 days to 1 day. While
value appraisal system was intro- contributed to increased efficiency of the work of real estate agencies took
duced and local governments began to cadastral administration, modernized 5 days in the past, it was shortened to
implement it. The government of each the process, and improved accuracy. It 1 day after the KLIS was established.
local region produced its own seam- made it possible to computerize works Judgment of development impact
less cadastral maps for land value on land use in various areas based fees took 3 days in the past but with
appraisal, each ending up with its own on standardized seamless cadastral the new system can be carried out on
maps and systems. Consequently, the maps, and greatly enhanced the qual- site. Issuing confirmations of land use
map of official land prices for each ity of public service on land use by local planning and estimates of publicly ap-
local office was different from that of governments. praised land value took 15 minutes and
the others. 10 minutes in the past, respectively,
With establishment of the KLIS, people but are now issued immediately.
Under such circumstances, the can view online or at kiosks in public
district-level cadastral map of one service areas documents now open to According to figures by the Republic
locality could not be linked to that of the public, like land use planning con- of Korea Bank in 2011, estimates of
another because when placed together, firmations and individual land prices. the value of time savings associated

Figure 4.3 Estimated cost savings associated with the KLIS
with the new system were noteworthy. or issue documents online reduced were viewed online. The time saved
The construction of database with costs by US$44.5 million in the case of from actually travelling, requesting,
accurate information on land and land parcel survey services. From 2007 to and waiting in a public office to receive
use led to a cost reduction of over 2011, an annual average of 23.4 million this information reduced costs by
US$4 billion. The ability to either view cases of individual public land prices US$961 million (Figure 4.3).

Since the KLIS is linked to the urban process of carrying out such tasks was In addition, information on buildings and
plan information system, government not transparent, which created the risk structures are registered and managed
and publicly owned land information of irregular intervention by the public on the KLIS’s seamless cadastral maps,
systems, electronic payment sys- official in charge in either deciding land while roads, rivers, and urban plans
tems, cadastral survey management use zones or regions or for development registered on its topographic maps can
systems, national defense facility plans of a certain area of land. At times, be managed simultaneously, contribut-
integration systems, urban informa- processes for land registration or other ing to an efficient work process among
tion systems, and other cadastral/ public services were expedited by such those in charge of cadastral manage-
land information systems, duplicated officials. The use of geospatial infor- ment and urban planning.
investment for the same work is pre- mation, facilitated by construction of
vented and data renewal expenses are the KLIS, made administration work Lastly, the KLIS created a sound taxa-
saved. more clear and transparent, reducing tion system that is fair and transparent.
the risk of corruption in public service. Now that the price of land, its features,
4.5.2 Increased efficiency and and the latest land transactions are
reliability of land information The KLIS broadened the public’s under- open public information, a standard
on transactions and land standing of development restrictions revenue system that is consistent and
values such that both citizens and admin- fair is applied nationwide. Everyone
In the past, it was difficult for a citizen istrators can determine in advance partaking in a land transaction shares
to learn about land information outside landholders affected by land use zon- a common expectation of what kind
his/her region of residence. With the ing, enabling development projects to of taxation will take place once land is
establishment of the KLIS, the public take into full account all stakeholders’ bought or sold.
can access information on land trans- factors. This allows for better develop-
actions and prices at the zone, region, ment and urban planning in the pursuit
or parcel level. Moreover, the public can of sustainable development. In this 4.6 Conclusion
now follow real-time information about regard, the KLIS is evaluated as having
land transactions at the city, county, contributed to the Republic of Korea’s The creation of the KLIS, and the reg-
and borough level, even in zones and social and economic development. istration of all land areas and rights to
regions with speculation tendencies. land, revolutionized the way that land
4.5.4 More efficient land and land use are managed in the Re-
Public service at the local level has been policy and land use planning public of Korea. The KLIS is evaluated as
greatly enhanced as land-related docu- The KLIS has contributed to more having successfully created a geospatial
ments can be issued even at the offices evidence-based land policy making. information infrastructure that is uti-
of the smallest local government unit With a systematic land administration lized in all sectors of society, and the
or through automated kiosks. Not only system among the central government Republic of Korea’s globally renowned
is precise information on land available, and different levels of local govern- e-government was built on this founda-
including the current condition of land ments, it is possible to collect data tion. The KLIS is recognized globally as
use zoning, restrictions, and publicly promptly and accurately and to com- one of the top land management infor-
announced land prices, but it is easier prehensively analyze even the most mation systems. With a cost-benefit
for users to understand the content of recent changes across the country. ratio that surpasses 3.0, it has brought
civil documents because they contain Land policies today are formulated in about transparency, efficiency, reliabil-
drawings and descriptions. a timely and streamlined manner, with ity, and better service for its citizens.
national land developed and managed
4.5.3 Enhanced transparency more efficiently. Construction of the KLIS was not an
The transfer of work from analog form easy task. The Republic of Korea had
to a digitalized system eliminated the Accordingly, the central government its share of errors and U-turns when
danger of irregularities and corruption has punctual access to precise infor- well-intended initiatives at times
in the process of handling land-related mation on where and when land trans- turned out to be misguided or inad-
works. Land-related regulations, not actions take place and on the swift equate. For example, the initial pursuit
to mention the content of designating changes in land transaction prices. of a land information system led to the
land use areas or zones, were so com- With this information, the government development of two different systems,
plex and intricate that with the excep- can develop and execute land-related which produced inefficiencies, unreli-
tion of the public officials in charge, it policies in a more timely and appro- able data, and even conflicts between
was difficult to have an accurate grasp priate manner, greatly improving the government agencies. And the high
of the content. The administrative quality of land governance. costs of integrating the two systems

to create the KLIS required an incre- reinvestigation is complete, seamless Chapter 4 References
mental roll-out rather than the planned cadastral maps will not be needed as
nationwide coverage. they can be replaced by the new series Korea Cadastre Survey Corporation: Spatial
Information Research Institute. 2014.
of accurate cadastral maps that will
“Study on promoting national-level land
The KLIS is not a static system. It is serve as the basis for all land-related information industry.” ISBN No. 978-89-
constantly under development, its data works and administration. Finally, the 98590-18-5 93320.
Korea Research Institute for Human
updated regularly to reflect the con- KLIS is moving forward to include
Settlements (KRIHS). 2007. “Establishment
stant changes and transformations in mobile technology for easy access to of National GIS of Korea.” Special Report
land transactions and land use. For ex- the latest information on land and land Vol. 8: 56–60.
Korea Research Institutes for Human
ample, the KLIS was recently extended use. The KLIS continues to innovate
Settlements (KRIHS). 2014. “The
to include real estate and buildings. to improve its contribution to the Establishment of Korea Land Information
economy and service delivery, while System (KLIS).” KSP Publication. Seoul.
Ministry of Construction & Transportation.
As such, the system itself has to be integrating new developments such as
2006. “Final report of Korea Land
updated and upgraded to fit and ac- e-governance, the spread of mobile de- Management System Spread Project.”
commodate changes in data. One such vices, and other advancements around Government Publications Registration
No. 11-1500000-001668-01.
current effort is the reinvestigation of ICT that are changing the ways people
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime
cadastral maps nationwide. Once this connect to government. Affairs. “Seamless Cadastral Map (yeon-
sok-ji-jeok-do),” definition page, “Land Use
Regulations Information System.” Available
at http://www.luris.mltm.go.kr

How Innovations in
5. building business Land Administration
resilience—the experience Reform Improve
on Doing Business
of h.m. land registry for Cases from Lithuania,
england and wales and the United Kingdom
Julie Barry internal records evolved into a service

delivery organization on a scale un-
H
.M. Land Registry for England imaginable when the process started.
and Wales was overhauled in It should be noted that Land Registry’s
the last decades to improve data are of great importance to the
its performance and adapt service UK economy and underpin one of the
delivery to new demands, improve reli- most active property markets in the
ability and reduce the risk of fraud, and world. The value of land registered in
strengthen its contribution to business England and Wales is estimated to be
performance. This chapter presents approximately £4 trillion, £1.3 trillion of
H.M. Land Registry’s change process, which is mortgaged.
its achievements, and lessons learned
in implementation. Land Registry’s
achievements over the past 20 years 5.1 hisTory of land
are the result of a corporate effort, reGisTraTion in
with each part of the organization enGland and wales
making an active contribution to land
registry business stability against a The first attempt at land registra-
growing demand for innovative new tion in the British Isles can be traced
services in the economy. What started back to Roman times. In the parts
as an internal exercise to computerize of Britain occupied by the Romans,
Figure 5.1 uK’s ranking on the global laQi (actual vs. potential)
United Kingdom
8
7
0
United Kingdom Maximum score

regular censuses were held where the passing of the Land Registration Act valuation authority for the province of
ownership and productivity of land was 1875 but even with another significant Northern Ireland.
recorded. The information gathered by piece of enabling legislation in 1925,
these censuses formed the basis of a only one million titles had been regis-
land tax called “tributum soli.” After the tered at Land Registry by 1950. Com- 5.2 Doing Business
Roman’s departure, their measurement pulsory registration was introduced rankings
systems for parcels of land continued and extended gradually across England
but the recording system itself fell into and Wales, the final phase being intro- Given the United Kingdom’s devolved
disuse (Pemberton and Mayer 2000). duced in 1998. approach to land registration and
thanks to the way in which the capital
The next serious attempt at record- Today, more than 24 million titles are city of a country is used to benchmark
ing land ownership was the famous registered at Land Registry, which a property transaction by the World
Domesday Book prepared for King equates to 86 percent of geographical Bank for its Doing Business report,
William (William the Conqueror) in coverage. It is believed that the reg- England and Wales’ performance
1086. This true feat of administration istered extent of the country now in- counts for the whole of the United
accomplished a comprehensive record cludes almost all economically active Kingdom, as London is its capital city.
of tenure and land use in his kingdom, land, with the remaining unregistered
enabling tax revenues to be assessed land comprising mostly uninhabited In 2015, the United Kingdom ranked
and collected. The Domesday Book is areas or land used for infrastructure 45th for registering property as
now commonly accepted as the last such as railways and roads. In sum- defined by the World Bank report
land register in England and Wales cre- mary, the land registration system (Figure 5.1). On the face of it, this is
ated for taxation purposes. in England and Wales has evolved not a comfortable position for an
into a compulsory title registration advanced nation such as United King-
After the Middle Ages, the need for ac- system (deeds registration no longer dom, and is a focus of great interest
curate land records once again became exists) supported by state guarantee. for the government and Land Registry
a focus of attention. Epidemics of the Land Registry’s statutory role is to as they seek improvements. A study
plague had decimated the population provide information and protection of of the contributory factors makes it
of England by a third and labor scarcity interests during the property buying evident that three key elements cur-
pushed up wages. As people became process (also known as conveyancing) rently adversely influence the UK’s
wealthier, the need to protect their and to provide registration of title performance:
landholdings became more important. services to individuals or organiza-
Agitation for reform led to the introduc- tions who become landowners or who (i) The complexity of the legal process.
tion of deeds registries in three areas own interests in land. Title to land The legal process in England and Wales
of the country and some registration has legal effect only upon the act of has its origins in feudal times and the
of title was introduced in the 1700s, registration. system has grown over centuries into
by which time serious defects in the one that is both complex and time-
deeds registration system had become A point to mention here relates to the consuming. The two key actions in the
evident. disparate nature of land registration legal process are exchange of contracts
across the United Kingdom. No single and registration of title. Equitable title
After much debate and resistance authority exists for the whole of the passes from seller to buyer on exchange
to any proposal for modernizing land United Kingdom. Although the United of contracts, whereas legal title passes
recording, the first Land Registration Kingdom is one sovereign nation, its only when the purchaser lodges his
Act was passed in 1862, enabling a vol- devolved nature means that adminis- transfer deed for registration at Land
untary system of title registration for trative functions, such as land registra- Registry. As much as one month can
London only. This Act is still considered tion, are managed by individual parts pass between these two events and
the basis of the modern day system within the Kingdom. Scotland and many legal experts believe that this is
in England and Wales. Its requirement Northern Ireland both have separate an area for future reform.
for fixed boundaries and its voluntary devolved responsibilities for land regis-
nature were flaws, however, which took tration. Registers of Scotland is the reg- (ii) Land information is not held cen-
time and further statutes to overcome. istration authority based in Edinburgh. trally. One area of great difficulty
The requirement for boundaries to be Land and Property Services Northern and frustration for solicitors dealing
fixed by survey was abolished with the Ireland is the mapping, registration, and with purchases of land relates to the

5. Building Business Resilience—the Experience of H.M. Land Registry for England and Wales 47
decentralization of information they Registry is complacent. Knowledge of in digital, intelligent format), which
need to satisfy themselves that the its customers and their needs is an on- equates to 86 percent of geographi-
purchase is a good investment for going investment to which Land Regis- cal coverage of England and Wales. It
their clients. Land information is held try has committed for many years. keeps 110 million scanned deeds and
by Land Registry, local authorities, documents to support the information
coal and water authorities, and in the in the land register. Land Registry has
case of leasehold titles, management 5.3 Structure and had an open register since 1990. For
companies. These organizations have functioning of Land a small fee of a few pounds, anyone
varying speeds of service over which Registry can view any information held by Land
the solicitor has no control. Over and Registry, and discounts apply for online
above this, whilst most information Land Registry is one of the largest applications.
is “official” information held by statu- stand-alone title registries in the world.
tory authorities, this is by no means It has no statutory remit for mapping, Land Registry has 12,000 account
the case for all information providers. land valuation, or land taxation al- holders (140,000 individual users),
Statutory bodies almost always have though strong relationships and some most of whom are solicitors. In recent
published quality and service stan- linked ICT systems exist with some of years, its customer base has diversified
dards and possibly even standard pric- the UK government bodies responsible as a growing range of other business
ing, but it is much more difficult to hold for these functions. customers in the public and private
private organizations accountable for sectors have started to use its data for
poor performance. The consequence of Land Registry is a non-ministerial their own purposes.
this situation is a delay in gathering all government department, executive
the information needed, as the solicitor agency, and trading fund and is re- Land Registry was founded in 1862 to
can only go at the speed of the slowest sponsible for land registration in En- handle the registration of titles in Lon-
information provider. gland and Wales only. Its official title is don. It began with a staff of six people.
H.M. Land Registry but it is commonly After reaching a peak of 12,000 in the
(iii) Lengthy conveyancing timescales. referred to as simply “Land Registry.” early 1990s, its workforce now stands
Largely as a consequence of the Its status as an executive agency and at just over 4,300, 60 percent of
complexity of the legal process and trading fund gives Land Registry cer- whom are women. The average age of
given that land information is not held tain freedoms that enable it to run in employees is 47 and the average length
centrally, current estimates for con- similar ways to a company, rather than of service is 23 years. Staff turnover is
veyancing (as opposed to registration as a traditional government depart- low, at 5.3 percent. The workforce is
of title) state that it takes between ment allocated funds by Parliament. It employed as UK civil servants.
10–12 weeks for a property to be sold is a self-financing organization that re-
in England or Wales. By contrast, lies entirely on its income from services Land Registry has 14 locations in
registration of title at the end of the provided and makes no call on money England and Wales. Land Registry’s
conveyancing process is typically much from taxpayers. Its income in 2014/15 Head Office is in Croydon, in the
quicker. Land Registry completion sta- was £297,080 million. Its operating Greater London area. It has an in-
tistics currently show that 79 percent surplus before dividends in the same house IT capability based elsewhere
of applications received are processed financial year was £36,600 million. in the United Kingdom. Most of the
in less than 12 days. workforce processes applications for
As well as being the statutory keeper of registration, which is presently not
As a relatively small, self-contained the land register, Land Registry keeps automated. Caseworkers process their
institution, it is perhaps easier for Land two other registers: the Land Charges work in accordance with strict operat-
Registry to make improvements to its register (which relates to interests or ing procedures.
own systems and processes than it is encumbrances on unregistered land)
for the entire conveyancing industry and the Agricultural Credits register. Strict protocols mean that casework-
to do the same. Hence it becomes a In 2014/15, Land Registry processed ers need only to refer the casework fall-
statement of fact rather than a criti- 28,569,636 applications, 87.5 percent ing outside the operating procedures to
cism that improvements in Land Reg- of which were received through online a small cadre of Land Registry lawyers,
istry’s performance are not currently channels. This is a 10 percent increase who make up a small percentage of
matched in the wider conveyancing over the 2013/14 figures. Over 24 mil- the workforce. In addition to making
process. That is not to say that Land lion titles are in the land register (all decisions on complex casework, the

lawyers’ role is largely one of handling departments. The NAO has statutory 2014/15, six out of seven KPI targets
litigation cases and providing corpo- authority to examine and report to Par- were achieved. A staff bonus scheme is
rate legal advice to the executive team. liament on whether departments and aligned to this process to reward suc-
the bodies they fund have used their cessful performance. If only some of
The innovation undertaken in the last resources efficiently, effectively, and the KPIs are met, the amount paid to
years has had dramatic benefits for with economy. The NAO is independent staff is reduced.
Land Registry, which handled 16 per- of government and its staff are not
cent more applications and saw a civil servants. This autonomy ensures
24 percent increase in productivity, impartiality from the civil service and 5.5 Information held
with 39 percent fewer staff than it had Parliament. by Land Registry
in 2011. This contributed to an operat-
ing surplus of £36.6 million in 2015. Internal controls and governance: Land By definition, the key dataset held by
Registry has both a Land Registry Land Registry is the land register. The
Board (LRB) and an Executive Board. term “land register” can be used to de-
5.4 Land Registry The remit of the LRB is to support, scribe the sum total of all separate land
business governance constructively challenge, and provide titles as a collective description. It can
guidance to the Executive Board, to su- also be used to refer to each individual
Strong governance underpins Land pervise the development and delivery land title. Each individual land title
Registry to ensure that its operation is of the agreed business strategy, and comprises a written register (the land
undertaken at a cost that is affordable to ensure appropriate governance of register) and illustrative map (the Title
and demonstrable. the activities of Land Registry. The Ex- Plan), which show the physical extent
ecutive Board handles the day-to-day and appurtenances attached to that
Audit and governance: Land Registry is running of Land Registry, including: piece of land. Each title is allocated
part of the Department for Business, Monitoring Key Performance Indi- a unique property identifier, the Title
Innovation and Skills (BIS) and a mem- cators (KPIs) and overall budget; Number. The land register itself com-
ber of the Public Data Group within BIS. Managing risks to the organization; prises three parts:
There is a Secretary of State of BIS, a Taking financial decisions; 1. The A Register (the Property Regis-
Land Registry’s Minister, a Land Regis- Managing and controlling the trad- ter) gives a physical description of
try’s Chief Executive, and a Chief Land ing fund; a property, its address, and details
Registrar, who is also the Accounting Dealing with customer issues; of any beneficial rights attached to
Officer for Land Registry and has Working with the Public Data Group the land. It also sets out details of
reporting responsibility for Land Reg- to develop strategies to work to- any exclusions from the property
istry’s overall performance to BIS, to gether and to support the property such as subsoil strata or mines and
other government departments such market; and minerals under the land.
as H.M. Treasury, and to Parliament. Escalating important issues and 2. The B Register (the Proprietorship
To help the Chief Executive undertake decisions to the LRB for review. Register) sets out the names of up
his duties effectively as Accounting to four registered proprietors of a
Officer, he is supported by an in-house Key Performance Indicators: In April each property, their address for service,
audit team whose role is to ensure year, Land Registry publishes an annual and any restrictions on their power
compliance with government rules and set of business targets that it negoti- to sell the land in future.
regulations regarding the management ates with its minister, H.M. Treasury, 3. The C Register (the Charges Reg-
of public finances and effective use of and other government stakeholders. ister) sets out the details of any
resources. The targets cover key aspects of Land encumbrances on the land, such as
Registry’s performance against its four mortgages, reserved rights, and any
External audit controls: Independent strategic objectives—efficiency, data, restrictions on how the land can be
audit of Land Registry’s accounts is assurance, and capability—and are set used.
undertaken by the National Audit Of- to be challenging but not unachievable.
fice (NAO), which scrutinizes all public Processes to measure progress to- The Title Plan: To accompany the in-
spending for Parliament. Its public wards the targets are inherent in Land formation set out on the land register,
audit perspective helps Parliament Registry operations, and the evidence Land Registry prepares an individual
hold government to account and im- gathered during the year is assessed by title plan for each registered title show-
prove public services. It certifies the official auditors to determine whether ing the extent of the land included in
financial accounts of all government or not the targets have been met. In the title. Most title plans are prepared

Figure 5.2 Example of the Proprietorship (B) Register in H.M. Land Register
B: PROPRIETORSHIP REGISTER
THIS REGISTER SPECIFIES THE CLASS OF TITLE AND IDENTIFIES THE OWNER. IT CONTAINS ANY ENTRIES
THAT AFFECT THE RIGHT OF DISPOSAL
TITLE ABSOLUTE
1. (10.11.1993) PROPRIETOR: %COLIN RICHARD SMITH% AND %GLENYS MARY SMITH% OF 6 WALNUT CLOSE,
PLYMPTON, *PLYMOUTH* PL7 2FX.
2. (10.11.1993) The Transfer to the proprietor contains a covenant to observe and perform the covenants referred
to in the Charges Register and of indemnity in respect thereof.
3. (02.01.2004) RESTRICTION: No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust
corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an Order of the Court.
END OF B REGISTER.
Figure 5.3 Example of a Title Plan in H.M. Land Registry

at 1/1250 scale, although 1/2500 or the movement of natural features (such instruments received upon registra-
1/10560 scale maps are also used for as hedges) over time without compro- tion. Land Registry has collected this
more remote areas. mising the extent of ownership, which information since January 1995 and
would naturally align accordingly. now publishes current house prices
Land Registry does not use fixed and historical house price datasets.
boundaries unless requested, and only a The Index Map: The extent of all 24 mil- The HPI uses Land Registry’s dataset
very small percentage of titles are now lion registered titles is shown on the of completed sales. It is the only index
mapped with fixed boundaries. Since Index Map. It is based on the Ordnance based on repeat sales. The index com-
the Land Registration Act 1875 was Survey 1/1250 scale topographical map pares the average house price today to
passed, England and Wales have used and is a searchable online database of prices in January 1995, with the index
the “general boundaries” rule, which titles. It is the route to all registers and set then at 100. Figures are provided
leaves undefined the precise position title information. at national, regional, county, and
of the legal boundary. In an agricultural London borough level. The HPI achieved
economy, which England was at that House Price Index (HPI): Land Registry accreditation from the government’s
time, the flexibility of general boundar- holds historical information on house Chief Statistician in 2013 after com-
ies was an advantage as it allowed for prices gathered from the transfer plying with UK statistics guidelines.
Figure 5.4 Extract of the Index Map in H.M. Land Registry

Transaction Data: Land Registry now goes to great lengths to make sure it 12 account managers, all of whom are
publishes monthly Transaction Data, does not abuse this position. As alluded trained in-house.
which provide information on the to earlier, the scale of Land Registry’s
number and type of applications it has operation and the sophistication of the Customer Relationship Management: Land
completed in the preceding month. property market in which it operates Registry purchased an Oracle Customer
Property commentators and other mean that mistakes can be extremely Relationship Management (CRM) soft-
analysts use this information for fore- costly and have a dramatic adverse ef- ware system in 2012. Every touch point
casting purposes. fect on reputation and efficiency. Land with a customer is entered into CRM by
Registry’s solution to this potential Land Registry staff, a process that has
Online availability of services: All land issue was to adopt a cautious delivery accumulated an extremely powerful da-
registers, any deeds or documents timescale and a customer-centric ap- taset on what matters to its customers.
referred to on the register, and title proach that puts the customer at the It is guided by evidence from CRM to
plans are available online through Land heart of everything it does. identify how to improve efficiency and
Registry’s website (www.gov.uk). Land improve customer experience. All case-
Registry is developing an application Customer centricity underpins its ser- workers have access to a CRM system,
for a “citizen-friendly view” of regis- vice proposition development but this which they are required to use to log all
tered titles. customer-centric approach also goes touch points with customers, including
to the core of other Land Registry op- customer feedback, complaints, or
Future data: Land Registry will become erations. Encouraging as many touch praise received by phone, letter, or visi-
the statutory holder of new land datas- points with the customer as possible, tors to an office.
ets currently held by 420 local authori- recording and analyzing their feedback,
ties in England and Wales. It currently and ensuring strong governance are 5.6.2 Digitization of Land
costs local authorities in England and also a critical part of ensuring that Register and the Index Map
Wales £70 million to process requests Land Registry gets it right the first as the basis for innovation
for land-related information. Land Reg- time. Digitization of Land Register and the
istry believes it can provide the same Index Map was a catalyst for two
service for less. New laws have been Customer teams: Land Registry cur- decades of innovation and new service
passed that permit Land Registry to be rently achieves operational efficiency development for Land Registry and its
the provider of these new land-related by allocating work to dedicated cus- customers. It should be noted that these
datasets. In addition, it will introduce tomer teams, all staffed by in-house Land Registry innovations started ini-
digital charges (mortgages) and release trained lawyers and caseworkers. Its tially for purely internal reasons, as the
all open or licensable data by 2018. This 145 customer teams are centered in register was still private. Later on, it
implies that Land Registry will become 14 Land Registry locations throughout quickly became evident that to improve
the “de facto” custodian of UK land and England and Wales. They are encour- Land Registry service delivery, greater
property data, while also encouraging aged to develop relationships with understanding of customer needs and
the re-use and exploitation of that the customers they interact with so their change readiness was required.
data by others in the market. Clearly that there is a direct feedback chan- Figure 5.5 illustrates the points in the
there are issues of privacy to consider nel into Land Registry. This works for service development process at which
so all information released is compliant the benefit of Land Registry too; the Land Registry engages its customers.
with the Data Protection Act. direct relationship enables Land Reg-
istry to work directly with customers Conversion of paper land registers into
to improve their understanding of its computerized format: This process
5.6 Process for systems and processes to achieve a started with the conversion of paper
innovating and reduction in the numbers of defective records held by the comparatively small
expanding Land applications received. Land Charges Department in the mid-
Registry services 1970s. The conversion of paper land reg-
Account managers: Large customers isters into computerized format in Land
5.6.1 Land Registry’s have a dedicated account manager Registry started in 1986. Development
approach to innovation and to manage the relationship, identify of internal computerized casework sys-
engaging with stakeholders new innovations, and help resolve any tems also began in the early 1980s and
Land Registry is conscious of its status issues. Managed as part of a New Busi- rolled out to offices on a piecemeal basis
as a monopoly service provider and ness function area, Land Registry has between 1986 and 1992.

Figure 5.5 H.M. Land Registry’s Service Proposition Lifecycle
Insight and Requirements

IT development
market gathering
Post-launch User
Marketing
evaluation acceptance
Upgrading computerized map records: were also clear that radical change was Having their practical support and ac-
Computerized map records were up- not a strategy they would favor. As a tive take-up of new services is vital to
graded to their current status in 2001 consequence, Land Registry developed Land Registry’s effective working and
when Ordnance Survey introduced its a cautious timeline for delivery of new its desire to move to a more digital way
digital map “OS MasterMap.” Thanks services based on a modular, incremen- of working. With such a high number of
to Ordnance Survey’s program of con- tal change approach. Each module of customers, it is important that Land
tinuous revision, the map is never more electronic releases would make sense Registry does not adversely affect
than six months out of date, and Land on its own. Each increment of new ser- their business operation or distort their
Registry receives daily digital feeds of vices would build upon ones that had section of the market, and it goes to
revised survey information. From time gone before (see Figure 5.6). great lengths to ensure that new ser-
to time, Land Registry undertakes vices are not overly advantageous to
positional accuracy exercises to make Differentiated data access channels one customer segment.
sure that registered extents are recon- (mixed channel economy): In addition
ciled with new map data. to determining its strategy for online To protect against this outcome, Land
services, Land Registry decided to Registry developed an extremely robust
5.6.3 Building online services introduce a “mixed channel” economy and sophisticated customer interac-
delivery that would enable customers to choose tion procedure that ensures customers’
Incremental introduction of e-convey- the channel access most suited to their active involvement at every stage of
ancing: Land Registry introduced an needs. A brief description of each chan- the process. Requirements gathering
ambitious e-conveyancing program nel is given in Figure 5.7. and IT software development are done
in 2001 that encompassed business using the incremental “Agile method.”
transformation, stakeholder manage- 5.6.4 Protocol for service Prototypes are prepared at an early
ment, and IT development within a development with private stage and refined iteratively based on
PRINCE2 project managed environ- sector (solicitors) user feedback. Figure 5.8 provides an
ment. A range of service propositions Around 130,000 solicitors in England illustrative example of the nature of
were developed and discussed with and Wales use Land Registry’s ser- the activities typically involved at each
stakeholders, mostly from the convey- vices. They work in firms ranging in stage.
ancing and lending professions, who size from 2 to more than 100 solicitors.
Figure 5.6 Online release schedule for H.M. Land Registry Services
Service type Introduced Service description
Information services Upgrades from 1999 onwards “Direct Access,” “Connect Direct,” and “LR PORTAL” for basic online information services
Electronic discharges 2004 A service for lenders to remove paid off mortgages from the register; synchronous and
asynchronous options available
Applications to change the 2008 A range of basic application types such as change of address, etc.
register (not on sale)
e-DRS 2014 Electronic transmission of documents between customers and Land Registry

Figure 5.7 H.M. Land Registry’s channel access release schedule

Channel type Customer description Year introduced
Private VPN channels Lenders 2002
Web channel (Portal) Low-volume users 2008
XML channel (Business Gateway) High-volume users 2009
B2B channel (Veyo) Solicitors Not yet introduced (first non-Land Registry developed channel)
Figure 5.8 H.M. Land Registry’s service proposition development with stakeholders
Activity area Activity description
Insight and market research 1:1 discussion with key decision makers in firms likely to be interested in a new or enhanced service
Discussion with industry representatives and/or statutory regulators
Full consultation
Independent market research
Requirements gathering Small workshops with targeted stakeholders to gather high-level and low-level requirements, agree on the costs and benefits
for a Business Case, and prepare an assessment of risks attached to the proposed service (using the Agile methodology)
IT development 1:1 discussion with firms on the technical aspects of connection to a channel
1:1 discussion with firms regarding proposals on the technical aspects of a new service
Industry consultation on technical capability or inhibitors preventing take-up of a new service
Iterative development using prototypes under Agile methodology
User acceptance testing Active testing environment at a Land Registry office to test the customer experience of using a new service and its usability
Marketing “Go to Market” strategy developed and validated by customers
Post-launch evaluation Benefits validation—Feedback sought from customers to enhance the first release, which feeds back into the Insight and
market research activity
5.6.5 Evaluating performance applications have reduced by 50 per- business benefits and so set stringent
of new instruments cent, to approximately 1,000 per day, success indicators, as follows: (i) take-
Introduction of “MapSearch”: Anyone while the new service has around 8,500 up of 75 percent of target audience;
who wishes to know details of land applications per day. (ii) demonstrable protection against
ownership can apply to Land Registry registration fraud through reduced
for a “Search of the Index Map” by giv- Introduction of new B2B channel, Busi- indemnity costs and numbers of cases;
ing an address or physical description ness Gateway: During market research and (iii) reduction in handling costs of
of the land in which s/he is interested. preceding the introduction of the Land £17 per application. Business Gate-
Staff at Land Registry will pull the rel- Registry Portal, high-volume convey- way success indicators as defined for
evant map section and provide details ancing firms expressed a wish for direct customers were: (i) total integration =
of any title number under which the XML connection from their case man- reduction in manual processes, errors,
land being searched is registered, as agement systems into Land Registry and postage; (ii) speed and ease of
well as details of the class(es) of title systems. To meet this demand, Land registration increased; (iii) more secure
(e.g., freehold, leasehold). By contrast, Registry developed a new channel, now than paper; (iv) audit trail; and (v) fa-
“MapSearch,” introduced in late 2013, named Business Gateway. This was not cilitates payment of land purchase tax.
is a self-serve, web-based service of- a new demand but one that fell within
fering an online map of England and the agreed approach to develop a Monitoring showed that the Business
Wales. It was developed under Agile mixed channel economy. Seventy-five Gateway channel was successful in the
methodology. Figure 5.9 Take-up of customers now use Business Gateway, case of large customers:
MapSearch versus “Search of the Index through which Land Registry handles 75 percent of the target market
Map” Applications—April 2013–May 1,679,495 applications per year. integrated their case manage-
2015 shows how customers have ment software systems with Land
migrated from the traditional service As this new channel would potentially Registry, and submitted 1,679,495
offering to MapSearch’s self-service only appeal to a small audience, Land completely automated applications
option. “Search of the Index Map” Registry had to be convinced of the in 2014.

Figure 5.9 Take-up of MapSearch versus “Search of the Index Map” Applications—April 2013–May 2015
10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
May-15
May-13
May-14
Nov-13
Mar-15
Aug-13
Mar-14
Nov-14
Aug-14
Sep-13
Dec-13
Sep-14
Dec-14
Oct-13
Oct-14
Apr-15
Apr-13
Apr-14
Feb-15
Feb-14
Jun-13
Jun-14
Jan-15
Jan-14
Jul-13
Jul-14
Applications have grown 20.8 per- land or property disputes, although not The vast majority of disputes are settled
cent annually since the introduction all options available involve Land Reg- by agreement, but where the parties
of Business Gateway. istry. It should be mentioned again that are unable to resolve their dispute by
Revenue in 2014/15 was £15 million. separate procedures apply in Scotland agreement, Section 73(7) of the Land
and Northern Ireland. Registration Act 2002 says that Land
Business Gateway was also successful Registry must refer any case where “it
for customers and a number of mutual (i) Direct appeal to an independent is not possible to dispose by agreement
benefits were identified from adopting tribunal: Owners, landlords, or tenants of an objection.” Disputes not capable of
an incremental approach to service can go directly to the First-Tier Tribunal being resolved are also referred to the
deployments and expanding the num- (Property Chamber—Residential Prop- First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber—
ber of channels for customers to use. erty) to resolve disputes. The Tribunal is Residential Property). The Tribunal will
These are: faster processing times; independent of government and listens normally hold a hearing, but does have
environmental benefits; financial sav- to both sides of the dispute before the power to direct one of the parties to
ings; greater security—e-security can making a judgement. commence court proceedings instead
identify which users have undertaken (section 110(1) of the Land Registration
which functions in firms, reducing the (ii) Lodge an objection to a future pur- Act 2002). In certain circumstances,
possibility for fraud; and accessibility chase at Land Registry: Land Registry which are set out in the Tribunal proce-
24/7—service availability is not limited may sometimes be unable to complete dure rules, the Tribunal can determine a
to UK office opening hours, enabling registration where it has notifica- dispute without holding a hearing.
offshore conveyancing firms to lodge tion of a prior, third-party objection.
work wherever they are based. It first considers if the objection has (iii) Court action: A party might decide
grounds and therefore any chance of to refer the matter to court rather than
success. If it cannot possibly succeed, use either of the other two options. If
5.7 Land and property whether on the facts or the law, the Land Registry has referred a dispute to
dispute resolution objection is cancelled. If the objection the First-Tier Tribunal, it is likely that
is not groundless, the applicant is given the Tribunal will adjourn the proceed-
In England and Wales, a number of details of the objection so that negotia- ings to await the outcome of the court
different options exist for resolution of tions might take place. proceedings.

release as much as possible to custom-

Figure 5.10 Lessons learned—put
5.8 Lessons learned the customer at the heart of everything
ers free of charge, compliant with the
and future outlook you do Data Protection Act, while encouraging
the re-use and exploitation of that
The obvious lesson is that the customer data by others in the market. Some
really does know best. The secret of Integrate data will only be issued under license
don’t
success lies in understanding what Dictate and will be chargeable and the income
customers need rather than what they Customer from chargeable activity must be suf-
Customer and
want. This enables customer benefits Support Market ficient to fund the release of increasing
to be prioritized and ensures that solu- Insight volumes of free data.
tions are delivered at a cost that is af- Customers
fordable to both service providers and To conclude: Land Registry has come a
Iterative
customers (see Figure 5.10). and Agile Prototype long way over several decades; in the
Development and Pilot process it has gained experience in
Land Registry is mindful of the mar- Prioritise how to engage with customers, adjust
Customer
ket in which it operates. Favorable Benefits
to new demands, and initiate innova-
treatment was an accusation levelled tions, but cautiously and incrementally
against Land Registry by customers to minimize risks of disruptions or
fearful of losing market share. To miti- even failure. Land Registry is reaping
gate against distortion of one sector of financial, operational, and reputational
the market in comparison to the oth- Land Registry’s next business strategy benefits and will continue to develop
ers, Land Registry’s release schedule will build on the successful approach transformational programs to derive
was done deliberately over many years of engaging and testing it has used even more benefits and greater ef-
and Land Registry was and is prepared to date, and will include a complete ficiency in the future.
to abandon prototypes or proposed overhaul of its IT systems to take on
services that do not prove popular with new datasets, cope with rising demand
customers. It refines new services with from a growing number of customers Chapter 5 References
the help of customers eager for service requiring land-related information,
enhancements. Land Registry never and provide even greater security to Pemberton, A., and P. Mayer. 2000. “A Short
History of Land Registration in England and
mandates the use of any new service, protect against property fraud. Wales.” Available at: http://webarchive
believing that “if a service is good, .nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101213175739/
people will want to use it. If it is bad, The strategy is to grow the range of http:/www.landreg.gov.uk/assets/library/
documents/bhist-lr.pdf
they shouldn’t be made to.” information held by Land Registry, and

How Innovations in
Land Administration
Reform Improve
on Doing Business
and the United Kingdom list of contributors
Julie Barry is a land registration spe- to business relations, she worked for
cialist based in the United Kingdom the National Assembly of Republic of
who spent her 38-year career working Korea as a higher-level civil servant
at H.M. Land Registry for England and concentrating on inter-parliamentary
Wales. She is presently its Head of cooperation. Ms. Cho has a Master’s
International Relations and promotes degree in Public Administration from
H.M. Land Registry and the importance Harvard University’s Kennedy School
of land registration through publication of Government.
of papers, advising government offi-
cials, and speaking at conferences. She Klaus Deininger is a Lead Economist in
is currently a Vice-Chairman of the the Development Economics Research
United Nations Economic Commission Group (DEGRG) at the World Bank. His
for Europe (UNECE) Working Party areas of research focus on income and
on Land Administration to promote asset inequality and its relationship to
good land management to 56 UNECE poverty reduction and growth; access
member states, and on its behalf has to land, land markets and land reform
worked on deployments to Moldova, and their impact on household welfare
Uzbekistan, and Armenia. Julie has also and agricultural productivity; land
been a Board member of the European tenure and its impact on investment,
Land Information Service (Eulis) since including environmental sustainabil-
2010. ity: and capacity building for policy
analysis and evaluation, mainly in the
Beckhee Cho is Director of Global Africa, Central America, and East Asia
Business at LX, Land and Geospatial Regions. He has a Ph.D. in Applied
Informatix Corporation (previously Economics from the University of Min-
Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation), a nesota, an MA in Agricultural Econom-
semi-public organization with expertise ics from the University of Berlin, and an
in land and cadaster-related works and MA in theology from the University of
GIS, land administration, and manage- Bonn.
ment systems as well as capacity
building thereof. Overseeing the global Thea Hilhorst is a senior land gover-
aspect of such works, she is in charge nance specialist in the Development
of building cooperation and business Economics Research Group (DEGRG) at
partnerships around the world. Before the World Bank. The focus of her work
her responsibilities at LX, she as- is on all aspects of land governance as-
sumed the position of foreign media sessments, land indicator monitoring,
spokesman at the Democratic Party impact research and advisory support
of Republic of Korea and was special to World Bank operations, mainly in
advisor to the presidential candidate Africa and Asia. She is a graduate of
of the party. In addition to positions Wageningen Agricultural University in
focusing on strategic global business the Netherlands.

List of contributors 57
Frederic Meunier is a Private Sector minerals. As Chief Registrar of Land and land information systems. He
Development Specialist and leads Titles, he holds overall responsibility is the CEO of Geomex Soft Korea, a
the Registering Property Indica- for the management of the national company focusing on GIS-LIS system
tor of the Doing Business Report. land registry. Dr. Nkurunziza provided development and consulting and GIS
He is also in charge of the Entre- the technical and strategic direction master plans for local governments.
preneurship database—developed in to development and implementation Before establishing Geomex, Dr. Yoo
association with the Kauffman of Rwanda’s land reform program. participated in the construction of the
Foundation. Previously, he worked at Dr. Nkurunziza’s academic background KLIS in Kangwon Province in 2005,
Société Générale Corporate & Invest- is in Land Surveying; he holds a PhD in and his company still updates, man-
ment Banking, where he focused on Public Policy from the University of Bir- ages, and maintains the system. He
project finance and public private mingham (UK) and worked as Research was a senior researcher at Seoul City,
partnerships. He holds a Master’s Fellow and Lecturer in the Universities where he worked on the basic design of
degree in Economics from the College of Makerere (Uganda) and Birmingham. the National GIS Policy and consulted
of Europe and a Master’s degree in Dr. Nkurunziza chairs the Boards of Di- on GIS-LIS construction for the Seoul
Strategy and International Business rectors for Rwanda Housing Authority, Metropolitan Government. With such
from ESSEC. Rwanda’s Fund for Environment and expertise, he attended the basic design
Climate change (FONERWA), and the work of the Sejong U-city in disaster
Emmanuel Nkurunziza is the Director Natural Capital Accounting National management, ecological and facility
General of Rwanda Natural Resources Steering Committee. management system. Dr. Yoo holds
Authority, a position he holds concur- a PhD in Geomatics, Geography and
rently with that of Chief Registrar Jaeyong Yoo is a senior consultant in Environmental Science from Monash
of Land Titles. He has held these Land Information System (LIS) and University. Currently, he is consulting
positions since 2009 and is respon- GIS for several companies including and developing LIS projects for devel-
sible for managing Rwanda’s entire LX. He is currently adjunct professor at oping countries such as Bangladesh,
natural resources portfolio, including SungKyungKwan University, teaching Indonesia, Tunisia, and a number of
land, forests, water resources, and GIS-based urban safety management African countries.

www.doingbusiness.org
9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_CVR_1605046.indd 2 10/27/15 9:36 AM

Innovations in Land Administration

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Innovations in Land Administration

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How Innovations in

Thea Hilhorst and Frederic Meunier, Editors

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_CVR_1605046.indd 1 10/27/15 9:36 AM

Some rights reserved.

Cover photo: Marguerite Duponchel

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 2 10/27/15 10:09 AM

Abbreviations and Acronyms vii

1. How Doing Business Can Help Improve Quality of Land Administration:

1.1 Conceptual basis 1

1.2 The Doing Business approach and its evolution 2

1.3 Global evidence on the quality of service provision 5

1.4 How to improve land administration quality? 7

2. Implementing and Sustaining Land Tenure Regularization in Rwanda 10

2.1 The Importance of land in Rwanda 11

2.2 Putting the policy and legal framework in place 11

2.3 Testing the procedures before roll-out 12

2.4 Preparing, managing, and monitoring the LTR roll-out 13

2.5 From LTR to sustainable land administration systems used

3. Land and Property Administration Reform in Lithuania 20

3.1 Land reform 20

3.2 Institutions engaged in real property governance 23

3.3 Land information structure 24

3.4 Expanding the use of land data 29

3.5 Issues and new initiatives 31

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 3 10/27/15 10:09 AM

4. Development of a Unified Land Information System in the Republic

4.1 Economic transformation and changing demands for land

4.2 Digitalizing and linking land administration systems and services 34

4.3 Key elements in the development of the KLIS 38

4.4 Challenges building the KLIS 40

4.5 The impact of the KLIS 41

5. Building Business Resilience—the Experience of H.M. Land Registry

5.1 History of land registration in England and Wales 45

5.2 Doing Business rankings 46

5.3 Structure and functioning of Land Registry 47

5.4 Land Registry business governance 48

5.5 Information held by Land Registry 48

5.6 Process for innovating and expanding Land Registry services 51

5.7 Land and property dispute resolution 54

5.8 Lessons learned and future outlook 55

Figure 3.2 Evolution of Cadastral Data in Lithuania 26

Figure 3.3 Data Integration in Lithuania’s Centre of Registers 27

Figure 3.4 Timeline of Historical Developments in Lithuania’s Land

Figure 4.1 Republic of Korea’s Ranking on the Global LAQI

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 4 10/27/15 10:09 AM

Figure 4.3 Estimated Cost Savings Associated with the KLIS 42

Figure 5.3 Example of a Title Plan in H.M. Land Registry 49

Figure 5.4 Extract of the Index Map in H.M. Land Registry 50

Figure 5.5 H.M. Land Registry’s Service Proposition Lifecycle 52

Figure 5.7 H.M. Land Registry’s Channel Access Release Schedule 53

Figure 5.8 H.M. Land Registry’s Service Proposition Development

Figure 5.9 Take-up of MapSearch versus “Search of the Index Map”

Figure 5.10 Lessons Learned—Put the Customer at the Heart

Table 1.2 Quality of Land Administration Index by Region and for Study

Table 1.3 Key Dimensions of Land Administration Quality in Sample

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 5 10/27/15 10:09 AM

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 6 10/27/15 10:09 AM

ECA Europe and Central Asia

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 7 10/27/15 10:09 AM

Klaus Deininger, Frederic Meunier, 1.1 concepTual basis

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 1 10/27/15 10:09 AM

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 2 10/27/15 10:09 AM

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 3 10/27/15 10:09 AM

9404_EnablingDoingBusiness_1605046.indd 4 10/27/15 10:09 AM

4. Development of a Unified Land Information System in the Republic

4.1 Economic transformation and changing demands for land

5. Building Business Resilience—the Experience of H.M. Land Registry

Figure 5.10 Lessons Learned—Put the Customer at the Heart

Table 1.2 Quality of Land Administration Index by Region and for Study

Table 1.3 Key Dimensions of Land Administration Quality in Sample