Manthorpe, J.

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Lanc Registration and Land Valuation in the United Kingdom and in 
the countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 
(UNECE) 
John Manthorpel 
Introduction 
This paper is in two parts and also incorporates, as an Annex, a recent paper on 
Land Valuation in the United JGngdom written by the present Chief Executive of the 
Valuation Office Agency for the United Kingdom. 
The first part provides a short summary of the organisation and systems for 
land registration and land valuation as they operate in the United Kingdom. It 
describes their organisationally separate but related functions. It explains how these 
have developed historically but are at the same time responding to new demands 
and opportunities. 
The second part provides an overview of systems of land registration and land 
valuation in countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This 
overview draws on information obtained as a result of responses to a UN questionnaire 
on Land Administration. The United Nations defines land administration as those 
public activities that relate to land concerning land registration, cadastral and 
topographical survey and mapping, land valuation, land use and land information. 
Generally Land Registration is the term used to describe the registration of real 
rights in land. Land Valuation is the term used to describe the process of determining 
market values in land for the purposes of assessing taxes. Land is defined as not just 
the surface of the land but includes the physical structures and buildings built on the 
land and beneath the surface of the land. 
1. Land Registration and Land Valuation in the United Kingdom 
The Land Registry 
In the United Kingdom land registration is administered: 
in England and Wales by Her Majestys Land Registy (HMLR) 
in Scotland by the Registers of Scotland (ROC) 
1) CB HonAssocRics CIMgt; Former Chief Land Registrar England and Wales; UK representative on UN 
ECE MOLA. 
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. . . . .  .. 
~ , . . , . . .  . . . . .  . _  . .;,-.,.I 
I 
in Northern Ireland by the Land Registry of Northern Ireland (LRNI) Department 
of Environment. 
Ministerial responsibility rests with the Lord Chancellor (Minister of Justice) 
for HMLR, the Scottish Minister for the ROC and the Minister for Northern Ireland 
for the LRNI. The operations of each of these land registration agencies is similar 
although different in scale. In England and Wales 20 offices serve a population of 50 
million, in Scotland 2 offices serve 5 million people and in Northern Ireland one office 
serves a population of 1.5 million. 
The Land Registry is responsible for maintaining a register of legal interests in 
land, including ownership, and beneficial and subjective rights including those of 
third parties. It registers mortgages. It is a map based system and handles and records 
all transactions and other dealings in land and property. In 1997-98 it handled 2.96 
million transactions and 5.4 million enquiries, searches and requests for documents. 
By maintaining an up to date public register of legal interests in land, which are 
guaranteed by the State, the land registration system ensures the practical and active 
working of a confident real estate market and, importantly, a functioning secured 
credit market. Under statute the Head of the Land Registry (the Chief Land Regi- 
strar) has quasi-judicial powers. These include the power to decide matters of title, to 
rectify title and to pay indemnity if a person suffers loss because of an omission or 
error on a register. 
Persons contemplating dealing with land, or who have other interests in land 
and property, can, on payment of a fee, make enquiries and inspect the land register 
for any property and receive authenticated copies of registers and plans. The English 
system also allows a person to secure priority for an intended transaction for 30 
working days by making an application for an official search with priority. Such an 
application 'freezes' the register in favour of the applicant for six weeks whilst the 
intended transaction is finalised. This ensures that conflicts regarding property 
transactions are avoided. 
The Land Register in England and Wales comprises over 16 million titles of 
which over 15 million are computerised and accessible on-line from anywhere in the 
United Kingdom. The Land Registry is nearing completion of its programme to 
computerise its land registers and has begun a programme to computerise all its 
individual registered title plans. 
There are 19 regional Land Registry offices serving England and Wales each 
responsible for a particular geographical area. The work of the Registry is delivered 
either by personal attendance, post, telephone. fax or direct access. Most transactions 
are lodged for registration by solicitors (notaries) by post. An increasing percentage 
of enquiries are received by telephone, fax or direct access. 
Because it handles all sales of land and buildings in England and Wales the 
Land Registry has unrivalled information on the state of the land market. This is 
46 
both in relation to the volume of transactions and to the prices paid. There are two 
functions here which are important. First it publishes quarterly a ’Property Price 
Report’ indicating market activity and average prices for different residential property 
types by local authority area. It can also provide this data for smaller postal areas. 
The second function is to pass information to the Valuation Office for each sale below 
the threshold above which tax is paid. Where tax is paid at the time of a purchase 
(Stamp Duty) the information is sent directly by the solictor to the Valuation Office. 
By this means the Valuation Office is constantly aware of the actual market prices 
paid for property. 
Historically land registration came about to provide certainty of title, security 
of tenure and to promote an active land market. It was the means of spreading priva- 
te ownership more widely across the population. It provides the guaranteed protection 
for those institutions, banks, and persons who lend money on land so encouraging 
investment and mobility. It is a self financing organisation meeting all its costs and 
expenditures from fees paid by those who use its services. Like all government 
agencies it operates to testing performance standards for speed, cost and quality. 
The Land Registry employs some 120 lawyers who are expert in property and 
conveyancing law but the great majority of its staff are specialists in land registration 
practice who develop their skills and expertise through a career in land registration. 
In summary under the land registration system: 
all sales must be compulsorily registered 
interests in land are only recognized by the Courts once registered 
registered interests are guaranteed by the State 
indemnity may be paid if a person suffers loss through an error or omission on 
the register 
all costs must be met by fees paid 
all properties are registered with general boundaries on large scale topographical 
maps 
the register is open to public inspection by anyone. 
The Land Registry is not concerned with valuation of property or the collecting 
of taxes. In the United Kingdom this function is the responsibility of the Valuation 
Office. 
The Valuation Ofice 
The Valuation Office (VO) is an agency of Her Majesty’s Treasury (the Ministry 
of Finance) and the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the Minister of 
Finance). 
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The Valuation O,,,<e is responsilx for the valuation of land anh "uildings for 
tax purposes. It maintains the rateable value lists for residential properties which 
form the basis of Council Tax Bandings and on which local taxes are paid by owners 
or occupiers of residential property. It maintains the 'business rate' lists of non- 
residential property on which businesses pay local taxes. It is a dedicated service 
employing specialist valuers who maintain a continuous process of revaluation based 
on development, appeals and market information. 
In addition to its main tasks of valuing residential and non residential property 
it acts on behalf of public authorities who are selling or buying property. In this role 
it seeks to ensure fair treatment both on behalf of the taxpayer as buyer or seller but 
also protecting the interests of individual persons or business concerned with the 
transaction. The VO also maintains valuations of the property of public bodies so 
that it is possible to assess whether or not these assets are being used economically 
on behalf of the public and delivering value for money. 
The Valuation Office is one of the largest employers of professional valuers in 
the United Kingdom and includes specialists in particular aspects of valuation relating 
to industrial property. 
The Annex to this paper 'What's a Valuation Service for ?' was written by the 
Chief Executive of the Valuation Office, Michael Johns, for the latest edition of a Public 
Sector Management journal 'Agency Focus' it contains a fuller account of the work of 
the Valuation Office Agency. 
Co-operation between the Land Registry and the Valuation Office 
As has already been indicated the Land Registry and the Valuation Office are 
separate Agencies forming part of separate Ministries responsible to different 
Ministers. Both HMLR and the VO use extensively the national large scale maps 
produced by the United Kingdom's National Mapping Agency (the Ordnance Survey). 
The Ordnance Survey(0S) is an Agency of the Department of the Environment, 
Transport and the Regions. Local Authorities (Municipalities) have considerable 
autonomy but are overseen by the Department of Environment in respect of Planning 
and other regulatory matters. 
There has been an increasing awareness over recent years of the need for co- 
operation and co-ordination between these agencies - all of which are concerned 
with land - its ownership, its value, its topography and its use. To meet this need a 
new development 'The National Land Information Service' (NLIS) has been launched 
which brings together the computer databases of HMLR, VO, OS and Local 
Authorities. Many other public bodies such as the Geological Survey, the Coal 
Authority, Water Authorities etc will be incorporated into the NLIS. 
This development has been the subject of succesful live trials but the objective is 
to enable any user to access on-line the computerised public land information 
48 
_ ,  . .. . . .  - . , . . . , . . . . ..,. "." . . , . . . . . . .. . ._, .i . '  , . ,. . ,. 
I 
1 
databases of all public bodies holding information about land. The Land Registry 
and the Valuation Office are leading players in this development. What is of note is 
that technology has made the rationalisation of information, and its ready access, 
possible without the need for organisational change. Re-organising major government 
departments which have been established under continuous ministerial control for 
many decades would not be a simple matter whereas the association of land 
information data held by these agencies is proceeding with considerable co-operation 
and enthusiasm. 
2. Land Registration and Land Valuation in countries of the 
Economic Commission for Europe(UNECE) 
United Nations 
Background 
Land Administration is the United Nations' term that encompasses land 
registration. cadastral and topographic survey, land valuation, land use and land 
information. 
In 1993 UNECE launched an initiative to strengthen land administration 
capabilities, principally for countries in transition. In 1996 it established MOLA (the 
Meeting of Officials on Land Administration). MOLA is a forum of senior expert 
officials from land administration organisations in ECE member states. Its principal 
areas of activity, research and development relate to legislative, institutional, financial 
and technical issues. 
Its main purpose is to provide a meeting place for officials from public 
institutions. It carries out a series of practical workshops and works to a two year 
plan approved by the United Nations. Amongst its projects was the compilation of 
an Inventory of Land Administration systems in the ECE. The 2nd Edition of the 
Inventory was published in April this year. Its aim is to provide an authoritative 
source of reference and information on all aspects of land administration including 
land registration and land valuation and so promote a better understanding and 
productive exchange of ideas and experience. 
Comparative Information on Land Registration and Land Valuation 
I have set out below extracts from the Summary of Responses to the 
questionnaire. This was sent to 52 ECE countries and replies were received from 40 
countries. Of these 36 countries responded with information on land registration 
(registration of real rights in land) and 34 countries responded with information on 
their systems of land valuation. 
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Land Registration 
Land registration systems operate throughout the world as the legal basis of 
recording, with certainty, the ownership and other legal rights in and over land. Such 
systems provide the machinery for confident property transfer, the operation of a 
secure mortgage market and protection for the citizen. The effective operation of 
land and title registration systems are fundamental to succesful market economies 
providing confidence for private ownership and property transfer and, as a 
consequence, engendering social stability. 
Responses to the questionnaire indicate how component elements of systems in 
different countries vary. Some but not all, systems are map based, some are backed 
by State Guarantee of title, others simply record the existence and priority of 
documents of transfer and mortgage. Organisationally many land registry 
organisations operate under the M i n i s t r y  of Justice whilst others are combined with 
the National Mapping organisations or Land Valuation Agencies. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
e 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
All countries operate a system of recording land ownership 
All countries record the legal rights in and over land on their register 
86% record mortgages or secured loans against the land 
45% show the last purchase price of the property on the register 
57% of land registers are wholly open to public inspection 
40% are open to all but with restrictions 
25% are open to specific parties but with restricted access 
69% of all land registers are wholly are partly computerised 
56% of systems are administered nationally or centrally - 44% regionally 
30% of systems are wholly financed from fees from customers, 25% are financed 
by government funding and 45% from a combination of fees and government 
funding 
85% of land registration systems are backed by some form of state guarantee 
79% of systems operate arrangements to secure priority for applications. 
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Land Valuation 
The principal basis for developing systems of land valuation is to enable national 
governments to establish an efficient and equitable basis for raising taxes from those 
who own or occupy land and property. Such systems are generaly operated by public 
authorities at national, regional or local level. Responses to the MOLA questionnaire 
indicate that land valuation is well established in those countries where private 
property ownership is commonplace. In those countries establishing market 
economies, and private ownership of land, valuation systems are being developed in 
parailel. 
The foilowing statistics are derived from responses to the questionnaire 
o 
o 
. . 
. . 
95% of countries operate systems of land valuation 
Valuations are used for: 
- assessing land taxes 
- compulsory land acquisition 
- assessing compensation 
81 % of countries undertake periodic revaluations of property 
- Valuations are based on: 
- actual sale values 
- ground inspections 
- rentals 
- income capitalisation 
- age 
- construction 
- property type 
- floorarea 
- condition of repair 
- landarea 
- rental 
- location 
- services 
- planning 
Valuation records include information on the following attributes: 
In 70% of countries valuations are carried out only by government valuers 
In 8% of countries valuations are undertaken by private valuers on behalf of 
government 
22% of countries use both public and private valuers 
in 97% of countries land owners or occupiers have a right of appeal against the 
assessed valuation 
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Valuation data is wholly open to public inspection in 32% of countries and partly 
open in 32%. In a further 22% of countries data os open only to professional parties. 
In 14% land valuation is not open to public inspection 
In 72% of countries records are either wholly or partly computerised 
In 69% of countries actual purchase prices are recorded by the Valuation Office 
and 35% are available to the public 
The cost of maintaining land valuation is wholly met by fees in 10% of countries, 
by government in 67% and by a combination of fees and government funding in a 
further 23%. 
These statistics indicate that whilst the principles and objectives underlying Land 
Valuation and Land Registration systems are consistent throughout Europe the 
organisation, financing and position in government does vary. These differences reflect 
the history and the particular requirements of individual countries. What is clear is 
that there is increasing potential to harness new technology to improve systems and 
to improve access to land information by those who need it. It is also clear that there 
is increasing scope for countries to exchange ideas and to learn from each other of 
which this National Meeting in Rome provides such an opportunity. 
, 
1 
52 


Land Registration and Land Valuation in the United Kingdom and in the Countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

J. Manthorpe

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Land Registration and Land Valuation in the United Kingdom and in the Countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

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