Key issues for improving and monitoring land governance in Moldova Annual World Bank Conference on LAND AND PROVERTY 24-27 March 2013 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

General data about Moldova Territory – 33 800 sq. km Population – 3,56 million (excl. breakaway territory Transnistria) 39% urban area inhabitants 61% rural area inhabitants GNI per capita – 2070 USD 1500 localities 5,5 million real properties (estimated) 4,7 million real properties legally registered in cadastre 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Key points of the Moldavian Land Administration as of today Unified system Property objects and rights in single organization and single system; Land & constructions & premises; Address Register Legal & Technical & Value data; State and private properties are treated equally. Digital Central database contains data for the whole country; Cadastral and legal data (graphical and descriptive) covers 85% country; Data exchange with other state registers Data services available on-line (e-services) Multipurpose Property guaranty, valuation for taxation, market service. Self financed operational entities Full cost recovery from fees of the clients 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Organizational structure Real Property Administration System GOVERNMENT Ministry of Regional Development and Constructions Construction State Service Ministry of Economy Public Property Agency Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Justice Ministry of Finance Tax Service Agency of Land Relations and Cadastru SE Cadastru Notaries Districts (rayons) Surveying companies Municipalities

Privatization process 1991 - 1999 1991: Agricultural reform agricultural land privatization (1996-2001) 98,7% of agricultural land liable for privatization is private (high fragmentation of lands, ave land plot is 0,8 ha) 2,8 million titles issued and registered in cadastre 1993: state-owned housing stock privatization 1993: privatization of enterprises and non- residential buildings 1999: individual housing land plots privatization 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Establishing the national cadastral system 1999 -2007 Building the legal framework 1998 Law on real estate cadastre 1998 State Program on real estate cadastre creation 2000 Fiscal code (covering Immovable property tax) 2001 Law on pledge 2002 Civil Code 2002 Law on valuation 2004 Law on real estate formation Accelerating the process of land distribution 2,8 million agricultural land titles registered 1,1 million property titles issued in 900 localities 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Establishing the national cadastral system 1999 - 2007 Building the system of cadastral offices State Agency of Land Relations and Cadastre established 12 territorial cadastral offices established and 28 branch offices, reorganized in 2006 being established the state – owned enterprise “Cadastru” with 39 branch offices Systematic registration (World Bank supported progects) 4,2 million properties registered in a systematic registration procedure 14 151 sq. m. of territory covered with cadastral maps Developing a property valuation system for tax purposes 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova Factors affecting the outcomes of the privatization and property registration The local authorities in rural area were not ready for privatization and systematic registration process lack of reliable information, lack of clear procedures to follow in case of excess land, delay in approving decision regarding the transfer of property in private ownership lack of capacity for a quality control procedure Data quality was affected by lack of clear procedures in quality control of land planning projects 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Development Partnership Policy issues Technical & Operational issues WB: Land governance assessment framework (2012 – 2013) UNECE: Moldova Country profile (2013 – 2014) Norwegian Government technical assistance: aero photo imagery for the whole country 2007, partly updated for flood areas 2011 MoldPOS 2010 (reference stations network covering the whole country) Integrated real property registration system (MoldLIS on-going) 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova LGAF Findings Thematic Areas Good Practice Poor Practice Legal and Institutional Framework 46% 54% Land Use Planning, Management and Taxation 36% 64% Management of Public Lands 56% 44% Public Provision of Land Information 85% 15% Dispute resolution and Conflict Management 71% 29% Forestry 42% 58% Large Scale acquisition of land 31% 69% 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

General recommendations Completing the sureying and registration of land and properties and associated rights Improve the regulations and enforcement for joint-ownership and communal land tenure Strengthen the urban planning and its enforcement mechanisms Strengten the responsibility and administrative capacity of LPAs to manage building permits and legalization of constructions (DB 2014 score 174). 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

General recommendations cont’d Complete the tax reform to achieve the full benefits of a modern ad-valorem property tax system (nowadays there are 2 tax systems in place). Improve the expropriation procedures which need to be made more expedient and recognize non-registered, informal rights on land and property. Clarify and strengthed the responsibilities, duties and capacity of state and local agencies to manage public lands (demarcation and registration of public lands) 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

General recommendations cont’d Improve forest land management in order for Moldova to head into the direction of greener growth Moldova’s evolution into a multi-functional cadastre should be considered within the goal of National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) development Develop alternative mechanism for land and property dispute resolution and review the land legislation for more transparency on dispute resolution mechanisms 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

General recommendations cont’d Encourage citizen participation through the provision of access to information, entry points for interaction and mechanisms to monitor the implementation of land policies. E-Government initiatives: open data sets, digital public services by 2020, interoperability of public registers and one stop-shop for public services 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova

Final general recommendation “... here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”   Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland 26 March 2014 Angela Matcov, Republic of Moldova