Unified Land Policy in Latvia Edvins Kapostins State Land Service of the Republic of Latvia

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Some statistic data about Latvia  Number of population – 2.34 million  Total area million ha  Agriculture land 38.3%  Forest land 44.5%  Number of owners and land users –  In ownership 51,9% from the total area of the state

Structure of land ownership % from the total area Natural persons59.2 Legal persons3.0 Municipalities5.8 State and state enterprises30.1 Free undivided land1.9

The goal of land policy is to create political, legal, social and economical conditions for securing real properties, formed as a result of reforms and to raise their value, which at the same time would facilitate conservation of land and other resources, continued use and increase of return.

Land policy consists of a whole complex of socio- economic and legal prescriptions that dictate how the land and the benefits from the land to be allocated. A balance must be struck between the exploitation, utilization and conservation of the land as resource..... (Land Administration Guidelines.1996)

Why do we need land policy?  Insufficient motivation and funding for arrangement and registration of real property  Fragmented structure of property  Insufficient infrastructure for management of property

Why do we need land policy?  Land market develops only around big cities (uneven development of regions)  Irreversible changes of land as a resource  Decrease of rationally usable areas

Basic principles for the Land policy  Legal securing of formed real property  Increasing of real property value  Conservation of land and other natural resources  Sustainable land use and increase of its return  Establishment of unified land administration system

Legal securing of formed real property  Completion of land reform by keeping initial basic principles  Ensuring of legal indivisibility of land, buildings and resources  Legal securing of borders  Arrangement of legal relationship between land owners and leaseholders

Increasing of real property value  Avoid land property fragmentation  Facilitate consolidation  Facilitate real property market and availability of credits

Sustainable land use and increase of its return  Ensuring use of property according to territorial planning  Possibilities to expropriate land for national or municipal needs  Tax policy, which stimulates development  Rational use of unutilised land areas

Establishment of uniform land administration system