The Swedish Land Registration System

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The Swedish Land Registration System

• Bengt Kjellson, LL.M
• Head of Division
• bengt.kjellson_at_lm.se

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Land registration in Sweden

• Lantmäteriet is the national Land Registration
  Authority

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Organisation
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Inskrivning (Land Registration)

• Reviewing and deciding in matters of
• registration of ownership
• mortgages
• other rights connected to real property
• notifications from other public bodies
• Register the decisions/information into the Real
  Property Register
• Decide about stamp duty and fees, and collect
  them

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Swedish legislation on land (real property)

• Land Code
• In effect from 1972
• Covers whole land tenure area
• Ordinance onLand Registration
• Law and Ordinance on Mortgate Certificate
  register
• Law and Ordinance on RealProperty Register
• Real Property Formation Act and Ordinance on Real
  PropertyFormation

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Property-based title system

• All land divided into properties (by cadastral
  organisation)
• All properties are registered, incl. State owned
• Every property has unique identity
• Concept of registration days for priority
• Mandatory to register transfers
• Mortgages only by title holder

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Property-based title system

• Appeals go to local courts
• Very few appeals
• We can review decisions on tax and fee
• The Property Register has legal validity
• Register backed by state guarantee
• Legal system remains the same despite
  organisational changes

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The Mortgage Certificate Register

• Registration of mortgage priority in specific
  property, specified sum of money
• Connected to property, not mortgagor or mortgagee
• Registration produces Mortgage Certificate
• Mortgage contract a private matter
• Computerised handling of majority of Mortgage
  Certificates
• Handled by banks, without involvement of us
• Tremendous advantage for property owners
• Worlds most efficient mortgage system?

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The Property Register

• This is what its like!

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Before 2001
89 small offices that were part of the Swedish
Courts
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2001-2008

• Reduced to 7 larger offices that were part of
  local courts

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Now
1 June 2008 Lantmäteriet becomes the Land
Registration Authority. 7 registration offices in
the same cities, same geographical areas and same
staff, with the addition of a Head office and a
unit for taxes and fees in Gävle
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Our work

• Focus on handling times 5 days average
• Uniform work process
• Uniform application of law
• One organisation with seven offices
• Support each other

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8 office managers
160 registration officers
5 tax and fee collection
16 advisers
6 division management
18 legal officers
8 group managers
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The Operation
950 000 matters of registration/year 60
Mortgages, 35 Ownership 0-5 days from
application to registration.
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Customers

• Banks
• Private persons
• Real Estate Agents
• Property investors
• Public authorities
• Municipalities
• Law firms
• Undertakers

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Conveyancing

• No notaries in Sweden
• You have to have a written contract signed by the
  parties and two witnesses
• The amount of money paid for the property
• A sentence that says that the owner transfers and
  sells the property
• Ownership by contract, not by registration

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Conveyancing

• Conveyancing often starts at the real estate
  agents but that is not compulsory
• The agent produces a property description and
  advertise
• Represents the seller and the buyer

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Application

• All applications to the Land Register Authority
  have to be in writing and signed

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A real property financing transaction

• The owner of the property goes to a bank to get a
  loan
• The Bank decides the value of the property
• The Bank checks the debtors economy
• The parties agree on the loan terms
• The parties signs the agreement

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continued ...

• The Bank (on behalf of the owner) applies for a
  mortgage
• The Bank receives the mortgage certificate
• The Bank hands over the money
• The owner pays back according to agreed terms
• The Bank returns the certificate

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Our Work Process
2010 3 900 registration matters/year/employee 15
min average process time One matter a minute up
to a day
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Starting up the handlingCancellation of old
mortgage and registration of a new one
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All relevant regn numbers appear
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Warning messages displayed
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Registration form
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Registration form filled in
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Example warnings marital status
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Some figures

• 130 000-140 000 properties are transferred
  annually
• Granting of 800 million SEK in mortgages every
  day
• 9 billion SEK total Stamp Duty/year
• 300 million SEK total in Fees/year
• 2 500 envelopes/day
• 700 phone calls/day

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Financing the business

• Fees go to government, operations financed
  through grants
• Generates profit for government
• More transparent
• Operations depend on level of market activity
• We want to keep the fees, and lower them

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Financial info land registration (million SEK)
2009 2010
Total mortgage amount 31 dec 3 495 508 3 701 367
Increase during year 186 389 205 859

Mortgage amounts registered/regn day 743 817

Assessed value 5 671 104 6 048 023

Total price paid 189 383 222 129

GDP 3 154 630 3 108 002
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Vad kommer
Future

• Digital matters of registration and automatical
  decisions and registrations
• E-contracts of real property sale
• One Land registration region Sweden - not
  seven
• No mortgage certificates in paper form
• Digital archives
• No information about properties via phone calls.