Types of Legal Property Ownership Documents in Cambodia

• Sommana Yan
• 12 March 2022
• Local News
• 8740 Views

The legitimacy of real estate possession in Cambodia is determined by titles, certificates or other documents issued by competent authorities.

The following are the 14 types of legal real estate ownership documents in Cambodia:

1. Title of Possessory of Right Over Immovable Property (White title or Sporadic title)

This kind of title was issued through sporadic (plot-by-plot) land registration before 2019 in accordance with sub-decree No.48 RNK.BK dated on 31 May 2002. This is also considered a hard title but was not systematically registered. The land/property is registered plot-by-plot based on the request.

2. Certificate of Ownership over Immovable Property (Hard title)
This is the strongest form of property ownership in Cambodia. This type of title was issued in 2002 based on sub-decree No. 46 RNK.BK. The title includes a QR code that contains detailed information about the property. Some would call this title ‘Systemic Title’ as the land/property has been registered in system/cluster with property GPS measurement.

3. Letter of Transference of Possessory Right over Unregistered Property (Soft title)
Inter-Ministerial Prakas No. 14414 BRK dated 30 December 2016 has authorised the governor of the city or district or Khan to transfer possessory rights over unregistered property such as houses and land. The document issued by those local authorities is called a Soft Title. This is a valid document, but one should register the property and convert it into a hard title to ensure full rights on the property.

4. Certificate of Economic Land Concession
According to sub-decree RNK.BK dated 29 August 2007, this certificate determines the legitimacy of land possession in the investment form on state land that is issued by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. For example, the government granted a 99-year leasing land in Koh Rong to The Royal Group to develop luxury resorts.

5. Strata Title (Condo Title)
This title has the same strength and validity as the Certificate of Ownership over Immovable Property (Hard Title), but it’s used only for possession of a private unit of co-owned building such as condos. This title was issued based on the Prakas No.262 BRK dated 30 November 2009.

6. Certificate of Perpetual Lease
The certificate is similar to the Certificate of Economic Land Concession, which determines the type of real estate, the size, the location, the identity of the owner and tenant and the term of the lease. However, it is not concessional or state-related.

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction is the competent authority to issue this certificate in accordance with Sub-Decree No. 114, dated August 29, 2007.

7. Certificate of Perpetual Lease over Private Unit
This certificate shall be issued to the long-term tenant on the private unit of the co-ownership building by the Director of the Department of Land Management, Urban Planning, Construction and Cadastral, according to Prakas No. 262 dated 30 November 2009. This is similar to Perpetual Lease but made for co-owned buildings such as condos.

8. Certificate of Usufruct
Based on Land Law 2001, a usufruct is a legal right given to a person or party that confers the temporary right to use and derive income or benefit from someone else’s property, which cannot be longer than the lifetime of the usufructuary.

Inter-Ministerial Prakas No. 30 dated 29 January 2013 has entitled the Department of Land Management, Urban Planning, Construction and Cadastral to issued this certificate.

9. Immovable Property Lease Contract
Simply, it is a written contract with an object for the lease of immovable property made between the owner and the lessee. This contract gives the lessee the right to occupy, use and enjoy the leased property in accordance with the terms of the contract.

10. Government Document
The government can issue any documents such as Prakas, Decree, or Sub-decree to give ownership of state land to both public and private sectors. These documents are legally valid as a land ownership document.

11. Certificate of Common Ownership
The certificate is issued to the community, not the individual. The title has detailed information such community’s name, location, size, boundaries, type of land, usage purposes.
The type of certificate is issued by the Director of the Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in accordance with Sub-Decree No. 83 dated 19 June 2009

Besides the above 11, there are three more ownership documents that can be used but are no longer fully valid. Those are CI (rights to possess and sale of houses in Phnom Penh), receipt from the Ministry of Agriculture, and Title of Possessory Right.

Those documents were used in the State of Cambodia Regime. After the Land Law of 2001 came into force, all of these types of titles became possession titles, not ownership titles anymore, which the owner should re-register to obtain legal ownership.

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