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Key Differences in Land Titles in Cambodia, with Grant Fitzgerald on Realestate.com.khTV
Updated on: June 6, 2022, 5:06 p.m.
Published on: October 13, 2016, 2:57 p.m.
Realestate News

Key Differences in Land Titles in Cambodia, with Grant Fitzgerald on Realestate.com.khTV


Within the past two decades, different forms of land titles have popped up. Transactions have made a steady change as a result of that.

And Grant Fitzgerald – Country Manager of IPS Cambodia – gives a bit of an overview on each type of title during his recent talk with Realestate.com.kh.

Soft Land Titles in Cambodia:

Fitzgerald mentions that soft titles are the most common form of land ownership. Around 85 percent of all properties in Cambodia are owned through a soft title and are registered both at Sangkat and Khan – council and district – levels only. He mentions that soft titles are transferred in less than 10 working days at a low cost.

Hard Land Titles in Cambodia:

Fitzgerald explains that hard titles are “the strongest form of ownership here in Cambodia.” Hard titles are registered at a national level – through the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. Transfer of hard titles are done at the cadastral office and usually takes 12 weeks to complete. You also have to pay a 4 percent transfer tax.

LMAP Land Titles in Cambodia:

Fitzgerald explains that the LMAP or the “Land Management and Administration Project” came into existence in 2002 with the help of the World Bank. He says that the project was designed “with the idea of improving the quality of the information on the property titles here in Cambodia.”

Similarly, the transfer costs and timeframe are almost the same between LMAP titles and hard titles. The difference though is that LMAP titles are anchored on GPS points and are aimed towards more rural geographical locations.

Co-ownership “Strata Titles”:

Fitzgerald explains that “strata titles are available for foreigners, where the others aren’t.” He also mentions that strata titles have a much more specific set of qualifications. Among these qualifications is the restriction of foreign ownership of up to only 70 percent of a building, provided that it does not touch the ground floor. It’s only applicable for buildings built after 2010 and should not be within 30 kilometers of any national border.

Strata titles are also recognised at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.  And both transfer time and transfer costs are similar to Hard titles and LMAP titles

Check out IPS properties for sale and rent on Realestate.com.kh today!

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