0. Registering Property Adrian Gonzalez Senior Economist
Global Indicators Group, Development Economics
March 21, 2017

1. Topics and economies covered by each Doing Business report
Note: Data for the economies added to the sample each year are back-calculated to the previous year. The exceptions are Kosovo and Montenegro, which were added to the sample
after they became members of the World Bank Group. Eleven cities (though no additional economies) were added to the sample starting in Doing Business

2. Registering Property – Methodology 2004 - 2014
What has the Registering Property indicator been measuring so far?
The transfer of a commercial warehouse between two domestic companies

3. Sample of tables published in Doing Business 2005 Report

4. Registering Property – Methodology 2015 - 2017
How is the indicator constructed?
Through 4 sub-indicators

5. Registering Property - Methodology Which aspects of the Quality of Land Administration are measured?
Reliability
Data on reliability assess whether the land registry and mapping system (cadastre) have adequate infrastructure to guarantee high standards and reduce the risk of errors. Reliable land administration systems can provide up-to-date information that is sufficient to make meaningful inferences on ownership.
Transparency
Data on transparency record whether the land administration system makes land-related information publicly available. This can inform the public about transaction possibilities and foster the development of a unified and more efficient land market.
Coverage
Data on coverage assess the extent to which the land registry and mapping system (cadastre) provide complete geographic coverage of privately held land parcels. To be accessible to third parties, and thus enforceable to anyone, all transactions need to be verified and publicly authenticated at the registry.
Dispute Resolution
Data on dispute resolution measure the accessibility of conflict resolution mechanisms and the extent of liability for entities or agents recording land transactions. Unclear responsibilities in land transactions lead to more land disputes, diverting land from productive uses. Clear responsibilities can help keep the number of unresolved disputes low.
Equal Access
Data measuring whether married or unmarried women have equal access to property rights. Equal access to property rights can help to increase the competitiveness of an economy, or increase its labor force.

6. Registering Property - Methodology Reliability of Infrastructure index
A reliable land administration system:
provides clear information on the ownership of property,
supports the security of tenure, and
facilitates the development of a land market.
One key to fulfilling these functions is to have in place the infrastructure needed to maintain land information, supported by an appropriate institutional framework and adequate capacity.
Questions on reliability focus mainly on:
How are land records stored at the land registry?
Is information kept in an electronic database?
Are databases for landownership and maps linked?
The maximum score on the reliability of infrastructure index is 8 points.

7. Registering Property - Methodology Transparency of Information index
Transparency is a key element in the quality of land administration systems:
It helps eliminate asymmetries of information between users and officials;
It increases the efficiency of the land market.
A transparent land administration system —one in which all land-related information is publicly available, all procedures and property transactions are clear, and information on fees for public services is easy to access— minimizes the possibilities for informal payments and abuses of the system.
Questions on transparency look at:
Who can access to land information?
Is the fee schedule for land registry services publicly available?
Are there service standards for property transactions?
Are statistics about land transactions collected and made publicly available?
Is any specific mechanism for filing a complaint in place?
The maximum score on the transparency of information index is 6 points.

8. Registering Property - Methodology Geographic Coverage index
The utility of even the most reliable and transparent land administration system will be undermined if it covers only a limited area of the economy. Where land registries do not provide complete geographic coverage, companies and individuals cannot be sure whether the areas not covered at the registry might be relevant to their interests.
For maximum effectiveness, the registry and cadaster should make records of all registered private land readily available and the records should cover the entire economy.
Several economies have increased the coverage of their land registry and cadaster by registering properties and the associated rights through either systematic adjudication or a more sporadic approach (Thailand, Rwanda, etc.).
The maximum score on the land dispute resolution index is 8 points.

9. Registering Property - Methodology Land Dispute Resolution index
In many economies, disputes over land can make up the lion’s share of all disputes in court.
To prevent land disputes and better manage existing ones, the legal framework for land administration needs to assign clear responsibilities to stakeholders involved in land transactions, and provide effective mechanisms of dispute resolution that can be implemented in a consistent way and are accessible to all.
Questions on land dispute resolution cover aspects such as:
Who is held responsible for verifying the identities of the parties to a land transaction?
Is the property registration system guaranteed by the state?
Is any specific compensation mechanism in place?
How long it takes to solve a land dispute over a property transfer in first instance between two domestic companies?
Are statistics on land disputes collected and made publicly available?
The maximum score on the land dispute resolution index is 8 points.

10. Registering Property - Methodology Equal access to property rights (for men and women) index
Equal access to property rights is important given that around half of the world’s population is female.
Economies with more restrictions for women have on average lower female labor force participation and a lower percentage of female labor force relative to male.
Equal access to property rights allows to integrate women more rapidly into the workforce, and facilitates women to become entrepreneurs. For instance, property can be used to access finance.
Restrictions on equal access to property rights are measured by subtracting points in the quality of the land administration score.
Questions on Equal Access to property rights cover aspects such as:
Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property?
Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property?

11. 22 economies made it easier for businesses to register property or improve the quality of their land administration systems in 2015/16;
Reform
Economies
Examples
Increased reliability of infrastructure
Belarus; Indonesia; Mauritius; Mexico; Pakistan; Puerto Rico (U.S.)
Indonesia digitized its cadastral records and set up a geographic information system. In Pakistan the Punjab province launched the Land Records Management and Information Program in order to strengthen the capacity of land administration institutions in Lahore. In Puerto Rico (U.S.), the Registry of Immovable Property was digitized and the majority of land records became accessible in digital format
Increased transparency of information
Guyana; Kenya; Qatar; Senegal; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Zimbabwe
Senegal made the list of documents, service standards and official fees to complete a property transaction available online and also update a cadastral map. The United Arab Emirates published the list of service standards for any operation at the Dubai Land Department
Reduced taxes or fees
The Bahamas; Comoros; Zambia
The Bahamas decreased the property transfer tax from 10% to 2.5% of the property value. Zambia reduced the property transfer tax from 10% to 5% of the property value
Setting up effective time limits
Serbia
Serbia introduced effective time limits for the registration of property rights at the real estate cadaster
Increased administrative efficiency
Morocco; Rwanda; Sweden
Sweden introduced a new administrative process for automatic registration of mortgages and renewal of ownership
Increased geographic coverage
Georgia
Georgia reached full coverage of all maps for privately held land plots in the main business city

12. Where is the Quality of Land Administration systems best?
Note: The figure shows data for 190 economies as recorded in the Doing Business 2017 report. This figure does not take into account the equal access to property rights index. This figure uses regional classifications for 2016.

13. Economies with restrictions on access to property rights
Type of restriction
Economies
Between unmarried men and women
Swaziland, Tonga
Between married men and women
Cameroon, Chad, Chile, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Mauritania, Philippines, Swaziland, Tonga
Only 16 economies restrict access to property rights as measured by the Registering Property indicator —roughly 9% of the economies measured in Doing Business 2017.
Restrictions on access to property rights are more common for married women because these are normally linked to family and marriage codes.
The restrictions measured by the Registering Property indicator are more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa.

14. THANK YOU!
Questions ?! ? !

15. Why is Registering Property measured by Doing Business?
In developing economies, only 30% of land is subject to a form of land registration
Just 10% of land in Sub-Saharan Africa is registered
Real estate typically accounts for 50-75% of national wealth
Real estate holders will not risk investing on the property
Lenders will not risk lending
Government loses out on tax income
Unregistered property is dead capital
Secure property rights lead to increased investment
Greater credit potential and less costly to obtain finance
Government: revenue increases & greater planning capacity
Registered property enables increased financing and growth

16. Registering Property - Methodology Which procedures of a property transfer are measured?
All procedures (law and practice)
Starting point: Seller decides to sell and has found the buyer, price already defined
End point: All procedures completed so that the buyer can use the property, resell it, or use it as collateral. Transaction opposable to third parties
Assumptions
About the transfer:
Transfer of existing title of land and building – i.e. not initial registration
In the economy’s largest business city (periurban area, within city limits)
About the buyer and seller:
100% domestic limited liability SMEs
The seller has owned the warehouse for 10 years
About the property:
Fixed property value (50xGNI per capita)
Property is registered in the land registry/cadastre and is free of title disputes/mortgages
Conducting due diligence
(title search, encumbrance checking, cadastral map)
Signing of sales and purchase agreement
Payment of stamp duty, transfer tax, and/or registration tax
Registration at the land/property registry
Between 2004 and 2015, the indicator focused on measuring this

17. Methodology has been expanded to measure the quality of the land administration system
Indicator expanded to measure the quality of land administration systems as well as the efficiency of property transactions. This enriches the substance of these indicators by measuring key elements of land administration systems.
New data on reliability, transparency, coverage and dispute resolution show wide variation in the overall quality of land administration systems among the 190 economies covered.
The data shows that good practices exist in all regions of the world—and helps policy makers identify those examples.
Component measuring equal access to property rights have been incorporated in order to reflect more accurately the quality of a land administration system. The quality can be undermined by legal obstacles imposed on women, restricting their ability to access finance.

18. Registering Property - Methodology Reliability of Infrastructure index
Questions
How are land titles kept at the registry of the largest business city of the economy? (Fully digital; scanned or paper format)
Is there is an electronic database to check for encumbrances?
How are maps of land plots kept at the mapping agency of the largest business city of the economy?
(Fully digital; scanned or paper format)
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information — such as a geographic information system?
How are the land ownership registry and mapping agency linked?
(Single database; linked databases or connected databases)
How is immovable property identified?
(Unique or multiple identifiers)

19. Registering Property - Methodology Transparency of Information index
Questions
Is the information on land ownership made publicly available?
Is the list of documents required for completing any type of property transaction made publicly available?
Is the fee schedule for completing any type of property transaction made publicly available?
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame?
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?
Are the official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property registration agency made publicly available?
Are maps of land plots made publicly available?
Is the fee schedule for accessing maps made publicly available?
Does the mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a specific time frame?
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the mapping agency?

20. Registering Property - Methodology Geographic Coverage index
Questions
How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the largest business city?
How complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the economy?
How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the largest business city?
How complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the economy?

21. Registering Property - Methodology Land Dispute Resolution index
Questions
Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable property registry to make them opposable to third parties?
Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee?
Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who engaged in good faith in a 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. checking the compliance of contracts with law requirements)?
Does the legal system require a verification of the identities who are parties to a property transaction?
Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents?
How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first instance court for such a case (without appeal)?
Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance?

22. Where is Registering Property easiest in 2015/16?
Top performers in registering property
Global Good Practices
Computerized registries;
Making information and procedures available online;
Offering expedited procedures;
Low transaction costs;
Setting fixed transfer fees;
Setting effective time limits.
New Zealand
Lithuania
Georgia
Rwanda
Belarus
Estonia
Slovak Republic
Kyrgyz Republic
Russian Federation
Sweden

23. The frontier in registering property
Indicator
Procedures (number)
Time (days)
Cost (% of property value)
Quality of land administration (0-30)
Frontier 1
0.0 30
Who set frontier?
Georgia, Sweden, Norway, Portugal
Georgia, Portugal, New Zealand
Saudi Arabia
No economy has attained the frontier
For the quality index, Singapore is the economy that comes closest to the frontier with 29 points, followed by Lithuania with 28.5.
Singapore does not get a full score on the Land dispute resolution index because it takes 1 to 2 years to resolve a land dispute.
Lithuania misses 1.5 points because there is no specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints in the Land registry and cadastre.

24. Seventeen economies improved their score on the Quality of Land Administration Index in 2015/16