Topic D ‘Cadastral Mapping’ intends to get an understanding of the spatial data component of the cadastral systems, which was traditionally referred to as the cadastral map. Spatial data are increasingly being managed in digital formats, making them more suitable for a number of other applications. The main value of this use and flexibility is that cadastral data have increasingly become part of national SDIs. It is therefore interesting to monitor this development in the different countries and jurisdictions. The sub-topics are Cadastral Map, Example of a Cadastral Map, and the Role of Cadastral Layer in SDI.
Topic E ‘Reform Issues’ investigates Problems and Issues, with which the cadastral system is confronted.
Fig 3 Web page example of country data
The second part of the template identifies the basic principles of the cadastre and some key indicators. The statistics are kept simple and focus mainly on the size and efficiency of the system, i.e. the number of population, parcels and professionals.
Difficulty with the Term ‘Land Parcel’
As mentioned above, the definition of the term ‘land parcel’ posed some difficulties during the development of the questionnaire. It became obvious that ‘land parcels’ have different meanings in different countries and are often used in conjunction with the term ‘property’.
In Australia ‘land parcels’ are the spatial units that are surveyed in the field while the corresponding ‘land ownership titles’ are the entities recorded in the land registry. The relationship between these two main units is usually a 1:1-relationship, i.e. each land parcel is related to exactly one land ownership title in the land registry. The term ‘property’ is in use at local councils and utility companies, which maintain ‘property’ records for their own planning and tax purposes. Properties may consist of many parcels, in most cases, however, they consist of one parcel only.
In the 1960s, Malaysia introduced the concept of ‘Qualified Titles’, which are ownership titles to land issued prior to a final accurate cadastral survey. This concept was introduced for administrative expediency in the face of the slow pace of registration of final titles because of a lack of qualified land surveyors. This approach was very successful to support an active land market, but it had also the effect that in many areas there are large surveyed areas - called ‘land parcels’ - consisting of many smaller land ownership units.
Fig 4 Web page example of field data with statistics
In Denmark the term ‘property’ is a legal term defined in the Cadastral Act and may include one or many ‘land parcels’. The properties are used as a basis for securing legal rights such as ownership and mortgage, which comprise the whole property. A ‘land parcel’ is part of a property and may only be sold or mortgaged separately when it is divided from the property through a subdivision process.
