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Study on Land Markets in Urban and Rural Areas of Lao PDR

This study has been conducted by a team of national consultants supported by two international consultants and is based on fieldwork in 4 provinces (Champassak, Luang Prabang, Oudomxai and Sekong) and in Vientiane Municipality. During the preparation phase, interviews were also conducted in headquarters of key line agencies involved in the land issue. In the provinces, a total of 7 districts and 13 villages were visited and key actors and households involved in the local land market were interviewed. It has to be stressed that the focus of this study was to gather information on the implementation and interpretation of legal procedures and regulations at provincial, district and village level. To that end and due to the limited timeframe, the major part of the fieldwork was dedicated to interviews of official staff at line agencies, banks and locals authorities dealing with land issues. . Especially urban and peri-urban areas of Lao PDR have recently been subject to increasing land market activities. With the amendment of the Land Law in 2003, land sales were officially legalised and an increasing number of Lao households are engaging in land market activities such as buying, selling, leasing or mortgaging of land. The fee structure for official registration of transactions and the procedures leading to this turned out to vary considerably across the country. One example is the varying role notaries play. By law, they are required to certify all documents and contracts regarding land transactions. In the current situation they are only involved in certifying mortgage contracts and while notary certification significantly raises the costs of official registration, the added value of their services is still unclear. . An informal market of land transactions co-exists with the formal market, especially outside the urban and peri-urban areas. Land transfers are in many cases only certified by the village headman and most lease contracts are not being officially registered. Complex formal mortgage procedures and lacking access to finance institutions in rural areas force many households into informal mortgage market agreements. . Based on the detailed analysis of current practices, the report draws conclusions and recommendations concerning land sales and land rental markets as well as mortgage of land use rights.

Uploaded on: Jan 2008
File size: 1 MB - Language: English
Keyword(s): Land Use Planning , Law And Regulations , Marketing , Natural Resources Management
Category: Environment

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