In mid-May (15.05.*) we began, and in June (5.06.) continued, a series of reminder publications regarding a problem created by public sector employees, which, given the various nuances of recent events, shows: "Time passes, yet the customs and shortcomings remain!" You won't find such a sentiment in government declarations!

Could the necessary database of real estate encumbrances for businesses only contain complete data from 2016 onwards?

The Law on the Information System for Encumbered Territories, submitted to the State Secretaries' meeting, provides for the creation of a unified register for the information system of encumbered territories, where data on encumbered areas and the objects causing such encumbrances would be accessible. It is intended that the database will be entrusted to the State Land Service.

Causing losses?

The problem is that we have repeatedly purchased properties only to discover the fact that there is some form of restriction, even though after calling authorities and checking databases, this encumbrance does not appear, admits Evija Greģe, Executive Director of SIA Hansa Silvesters. She explains that since properties are purchased with the intention of carrying out forestry activities, such “surfacing” of restrictions or prohibitions causes losses. It is intended that the system will include data on various encumbrances, ranging from nature reserves and their zones, protected landscape areas, and data on micro-reserves, to protection zones around cemeteries and animal burial grounds. "It is important, however, that the information in the database is complete," emphasizes E. Greģe.

For a fee?

It is planned that obtaining data from the future database for state institutions to carry out their functions will be free of charge, but every private individual and legal entity will have to pay for obtaining the data. Although the law indicates that the fee is yet to be determined, the annotation to the bill predicts that it could reach 10 lats per month, which implies that, in all likelihood, access to the future database will be organized on a subscription basis. "Even if a fee is imposed for using the future database, we are prepared to pay the planned 10 lats, because the losses due to unknown restrictions are much greater," explains E. Greģe.

Could it have been simpler?

“Of course, if you want a little more bureaucracy, you can have it,” believes Līga Zdanovska, Head of the Production Resources Department at SIA Mark Invest Latvia. She points out that collecting encumbrances and making them available is, of course, necessary, but it does not require a separate register. “It would be enough to indicate all encumbrances in the land registry; after all, it is the property document,” explains L. Zdanovska.

Must we wait?

Until the moment when encumbrance data is available and complete in a unified register, we will still have to wait. The bill stipulates that regulations specifying the operation of the database must be issued within half a year after the adoption of the law, and the database itself must start operating within three years. After the creation of the database, information that is already available in vector data format must be submitted to it within a year, but if it is not yet in vector data format, five years are given for the preparation of the information.

Assuming that the Saeima passes the law next year, one could realistically only expect to receive complete data in the Encumbered Territories Information System from 2016. The ability to identify all encumbrances related to a land plot is necessary because if an encumbrance “surfaces” for a property that has already been purchased, it leads to significant losses, says E. Greģe, Executive Director of SIA Hansa Silvesters.

Material first published in the newspaper "Dienas Bizness" on 13 August 2007
* previous articles:
https://www.zemeunvalsts.lv/cies-nolaidibas-del-vai-15-gados-kaut-kas-ir-mainijies-atgadinajums-

https://www.zemeunvalsts.lv/apgrutinajumi-atklasies-kas-ir-mainijies-atgadinajums-ii-