PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LAND TENURE

1. UPA Package 2, Module 2 PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LAND TENURE

2. Aims of the lesson • To understand the basic definition, system and the characteristics of land tenure and property rights, then its relationship with urban poverty alleviation • To understand the criteria for assessing land tenure and property rights • To understand the recent trends and demand of secure property rights

3. Definition of Terms and the Nature Land Tenure: It can be defined as the mode by which land is held or owned, or the set of relationships among people concerning land or its product. It also can be described as the manner in which rights in land are held.

4. Definition of Terms and the Nature Property Rights: It can similarly be defined as a recognized interest in land or property vested in an individual or group and can apply separately to land or development on it. Rights may cover access, use, development or transfer and as such, exist in parallel with ownership.

5. Definition of Terms and the Nature

6. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective • Two Major Categories: • The Roman law or the Napoleonic Code view land as a commodity which can be owned. • The British common law regard land as something to which one can have rights.

7. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective • Customary Tenure and Property Rights: • The major characteristic of customary tenure is that the land is regarded as belonging not to the individual but to the whole social group. • It is found in most parts of Africa, the Middle East, Melanesia and North America

8. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective • Private Land Tenure and Property Rights: • The concept of private property rights is an integral part of the legal structure of European society. (UN 1973) • The combination of private ownership and extensive individual rights has been the cornerstone of Western European and North American societies for the last two hundred years. • In developing countries it is imported and generally concentrated in urban areas. It may co-exist with other indigenous tenure systems. However, its primary limitation is the difficulty of access by lower income groups.

9. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective Public Land Tenure and Public Control: • The concept of public land ownership is largely a reaction to the perceived limitations of private ownership in that it seeks to enable all sections of society to obtain access to land. • higher level of equity, but lower level of efficiency, or high costs of land management and investment constrains.

10. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective Religious concepts of tenure and property right: • Islamic concept • ‘aqf’ land is land ‘held for God’, and owned by religious foundation. • ‘musha', or communal land, is land owned collectively, originally under tribal tenure. • ’mulk' land, or private land, is owned by an individual with full ownership rights and is also protected in law • ‘miri', or state controlled land.

11. Systems of Land Tenure and Property Rights in A General Perspective Indigenous and imported tenure concepts: • By the end of the nineteenth century, indigenous land tenure systems were operating in parallel with European concepts in most parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific. • Modern legal systems co-exist with legally adopted customary system.

12. Non-formal tenure categories and property right: • A wide range of categories with varying degrees of legality or illegality:Include regularized and un-regularized squatting, unauthorized subdivisions on legally owned land and various forms of unofficial rental arrangements.

13. National Tenure Policy Options • Freehold • Leasehold • Conditional freehold

14. Criteria for Assessing Tenure and Property Rights • Clarity • Efficiency • Equity

15. Discrimination in the Access to Land • Discrimination exists against three broad groupings of people ---- • women, • indigenous peoples, • minority groups of settlers

16. Recent Trends and the Demand for Secure Property Rights In the 1990’s, the World Bank has put emphasis on tenure security policies based on access to land ownership. The objectives were: • To unify land markets. • To guarantee investments by providing real rights. • To permit beneficiaries to have access to mortgage finance. • To develop or improve property taxation (linked with decentralization policies).

17. Recent Trends and the Demand for Secure Property Rights • The World Bank’s draft Urban Strategy Paper (2000) emphasizes the need for ‘stronger property rights’ in real estate markets and ‘secure and clear’ tenure in upgrading projects. Tenure security and property rights are listed as among the most important factors influencing housing demand and it is claimed that insecure tenure leads to under-investment in housing and to reduce housing quality

18. Demand for Tenure Security “Security of tenure is a fundamental requirement for the progressive integration of the urban poor in the city, and one of the basic components of the right to housing … It guarantees legal protection against forced eviction …The granting of secure tenure is one of the most important catalysts in stabilizing communities, improving shelter conditions, reducing social exclusion improving access to urban services”.(UNCHS 1999)