Land, land everywhere, but not a service to link: Land Policy and Urban Expansion in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia David Mason, Geoffrey Payne and Meskerem Brhane World Bank, Geoffrey Payne and Associates March 24, 2014

Presentation Overview Introduction and Context Literature on Title and Tenure Security Mongolia: Legal and Institutional Context Urban Expansion and Market Distortions Conclusion and Next Steps

Urbanization and Change in Mongolia Large, scarcely populated Most urbanized in EAP region Market transition Progressive land and shelter policy

The Benefits of Land Title Property rights are an important component of economic growth Land title and poverty alleviation Limits to land title Investment in land and housing independent of title Title does not always influence collateralization What else should be considered along with prior to land title?

Land Administration System Three types of rights afforded to land Possession rights (renewable) Ownership rights User rights (subject to frequent renewal) UB residents allowed plot of up to 700m2 by law Affordable, widely held by poor and ger area residents Allocation of plots opaque

Challenges with current system Availability of land has encouraged low-density growth Large informal sales market in ger areas System does not record sales prices or values Fees and taxes associated with land are small and based on fixed values Banks do not want to collateralize plots Network infrastructure is incomplete and access drives market prices

Next Steps and Future Research Considerations for financing infrastructure Reform land valuation and taxation system Tax apartments Incremental upgrading and self-taxation/betterment districts Ongoing research Improving description of informal markets in ger areas Estimating value gained through infrastructure connections