Serbia’s efforts to digitally transform its land administration systems are paying off

Until recently, registering the purchase of a property in Serbia was a time-consuming and often complicated process.

But that has changed thanks to a major push by Serbia’s Republic Geodetic Authority to modernize the country’s property registration system.

Known by its acronym, RGA is a specialized state institution that collects, connects and distributes all geospatial and real estate data nationally.

In 2015, it launched its Real Estate Management project with funding from the World Bank and technical expertise from FAO.

By digitizing its operations and making this information available publicly, long queues are a thing of the past, said RGA Director Borko Draskovic.

“Before this project, real estate data in Serbia were fragmented and difficult to access but after a couple of years of dedicated effort, we managed to simplify procedures,” he said. “We initiated changes to key laws, we implemented various innovative technological solutions, and we digitized large archival materials and combined them with existing digital data and processes, creating a unique system that is now transparent, reliable, efficient and easy to use.” 

It is now easier to share this information with other institutions and to introduce new e-services and products.

“This system is available to all, free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week via our electronic services,” he added.

Impressive portfolio

The project is part of an impressive portfolio of World Bank-funded land administration projects throughout Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa that collectively exceeds USD 2 billion.

FAO has supported most of these projects, providing technical expertise on areas like digitalization, surveying and mass property valuation, among others.

Nicola Pontara, the World Bank Country Manager, noted that when the Bank first partnered with the Government of Serbia on this project nine years ago, the goal was “to reduce the time to register property transactions, build a base of readily available and reliable property market information, and support implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure to encourage not just national but also regional cooperation.”

The World Bank teamed up with FAO to support Serbia in carrying out the massive digital transformation of the land administration system.

The ripple effect

The investment is paying off. Everyone from decision-makers, legal professionals and bankers to business owners, farmers and citizens can reap the benefits of digitalization.

In Serbia, for example, the RGA is responsible for 11 of the 14 global fundamental geospatial themes that the UN Committee on Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management identify as critical for every nation. These include land parcels, addresses, buildings and settlements, land use and land cover, among others. They are now available through a national platform for data sharing and distribution known as GeoSerbia.

In just a few clicks, Serbian citizens can access property and other geospatial information through diverse e-services.

Bankers, for instance, can access the eCadastre, making it easier and quicker for people to apply for a mortgage.

All applications for the registration of property rights are now done by notaries and lawyers online on behalf of their clients. This cuts out the need to visit the RGA offices. What used to take several months can now be done in fewer than four days.  

Until 2016, half of the citizens in the Republic of Serbia lived in facilities that did not have their own address.

But now every house has an address thanks to a unified address register supported by the World Bank-funded project – crucial for responding to emergencies and advancing economic development.

Responding to new challenges

But with digitalization come new challenges – from cybersecurity threats and fraud to the risk of a wider digital divide.

To prevent fraud, for example, people can track the status of their applications online or receive an alert on any changes made to their property records.

Notaries and lawyers can also provide services directly to people in their homes, particularly to those who might have difficulty travelling.

Globally, women are more disadvantaged than men in terms of land ownership and control, and fewer women are property owners.

In a move to protect women’s rights, it is now mandatory to include both spouses in the property registration in Serbia – a legal change also reflected in the IT system.

These changes are helping Serbia meet the sustainable development goal (SDG) target on gender equality in land ownership and control. The UN Department for Social and Economic Affairs has even featured FAO - in partnership with other institutions work - to promote gender equality in land tenure across the Western Balkans in its Database for SDG Good Practices.

Data when and where needed

Having reliable data available when and where needed can improve government planning and decision-making on everything from climate resilience and disaster risk prevention to infrastructure investments and natural resource management.

The project has supported further development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and its interactive GeoSerbia platform for data sharing and distribution.

GeoSerbia provides access to more than 360 datasets from various institutions and local authorities and  54 geospatial data services.

The Risk Register, using data from GeoSerbia, for instance, can help local authorities identify flood-prone areas or earthquake fault lines and better coordinate plans for infrastructure investments, policies and disaster response.

Inspiring innovative solutions

Businesses, startup companies, government and municipal institutions can use the GeoSerbia data and services to create their own tech solutions and products.

The Agricultural Payments Administration, for example, introduced its eAgrar software solution, which is connected to GeoSerbia and eCadastre. This solution enables farmers to register their farms and submit annual applications for agricultural subsidies electronically from their mobile phones or computers.

Quick and easy access to such data also benefit the management and planning of big agricultural companies.

“There are many valuable lessons and good practices we can draw from Serbia’s experience, which we can share with other countries,” said FAO Investment Centre Director Mohamed Manssouri, noting alignment with FAO’s work on responsible governance of tenure.

Serbia has already hosted delegations from Azerbaijan, Guyana, Moldova, Russia and Uzbekistan to share its experiences with the digital archive, National Spatial Data Infrastructure, address register and mass property valuation, among other areas.

Manssouri added that the digital transformation “also creates new opportunities for younger, more tech-savvy generations and could inspire other innovations across every sector of the economy, including in food and agriculture.”