Cadastre, digital machinery, yet with difficulties!

April 17, 2024

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Online services of the State Cadastre Agency have been testing the patience of citizens. For eight months now, they have been encountering disruptions in the online cadastre service, the sole means of interaction since the beginning of July 2023. Services have been intermittently blocked, resulting in the suspension of hundreds of applications. The most recent blockade occurred in February and lasted for two weeks, as confirmed by real estate agencies and notary offices. The two responsible institutions, the Cadastre and AKSHI, are attributing the issue to each other, leaving citizens without a resolution.

‘Starting from Monday, July 3, the Cadastre will become a digital machinery and employees there … will have no other option but to carry out their work in front of a computer.’ –announced Prime Minister Edi Rama last year during a meeting with directors and employees of the State Cadastre Agency as part of the cadastre digitization reform.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Following July 3, 2023, physical desks of the Cadastre were shuttered, transitioning the entire system online. However, the digital revolution aimed at rooting out property corruption is now presenting citizens with fresh difficulties. Periodically, the system experiences outages, resulting in the suspension of applications for Cadastre services.

Just last month, the online system of the State Cadastre Agency was out of operation.

‘I needed a property certificate because I was applying for a loan at a second-tier bank, but the system was down. Despite opting for the ‘fast track’ service, which incurs higher costs, I still faced a prolonged wait,’ shares Arben, a resident of Tirana.

This time, the issues with the Cadastre’s online system persisted for two weeks. The Notary, Perian Bodinaku, acknowledges that while services are now operational, but the service disruption caused confusion and delays for citizens.

‘The main issue in these cases is the delays because applications submitted from the notary offices to the Immovable Property Registration Office involve different contracts. Citizens bear the brunt of these issues, as delays directly impact them,”–explains Bodinaku.

SCA ‘HANDS-OFF,” AKSHI TAKES CHARGE

To delve further into the ongoing issues in the Cadastre, which have caused difficulties for numerous citizens, Faktoje submitted an information request to the State Cadastre Agency.

Rather than offering a comprehensive explanation of the persistent problem, SCA shifted responsibility to the National Agency for Information Society.

‘We would like to inform you that the services of e-Albania electronic platform are not managed by SCA, but by AKSHI. For any inquiries you may have, please direct them to AKSHI to obtain the requested data,’ responded the Cadastre Agency.

A week later, even the National Agency for Information Society failed to clarify the specific issue with the Cadastre’s online services. On March 8, AKSHI informed us that the Cadastre services were back in operation.

‘… the services of the State Cadastre Agency provided to citizens through the e-Albania platform are fully operational,”– stated the response from the National Agency for Information Society.

RECURRING ISSUE

Since July of last year, the physical desks at the Cadastre were shuttered, shifting all services online. However, shortly after the new system was implemented, problems began to emerge. At that time, both Prime Minister Edi Rama and Cadastre Director Dallandyshe Bici denied any system collapse. They maintained that the system was operational but had experienced delays.

‘There’s no doubt that the system is functional; it delivers data on time. However, we’re in a phase where the system needs to be familiarized by its users, and it also needs to withstand the negative pressure from those who no longer have control over the Cadastre. Notaries, intermediaries, cockroaches within the Cadastre no longer wield power over the fate of citizens’ applications,’ explained Prime Minister Edi Rama to journalists.

In the meantime, the reality is that since July 2023, citizens have sporadically encountered not only delays but also a lack of service from the State Cadastre Agency. The Albanian Association of Immovable Property (NAREA) highlights that challenges and issues related to the State Cadastre Agency are a daily occurrence.

‘1. Non-compliance with application deadlines.

Failure to provide data on property files, often despite payment, even though there is a purchase contract marked for 1 ALL.
Allowing partial applications. It is permitted that when a sale occurs; only one of the purchasing parties can apply.
Significant delays in obtaining cadastral map copies.
The Immovable Property Registration Office demands documents from citizens that it already has in its archives.
The Immovable Property Registration Office never fulfills its duty according to Directive No. 1, dated April 13, 2016, paragraph 26.10, regarding the recording of joint square meters in property cards.’ – NAREA

Conclusion

The government acknowledges that the digital revolution at the State Cadastre Agency was essential in the fight against corruption. ABSOLUTELY! However, such revolutions also require strong and secure systems. The closure of every State Cadastre Office since July 3, 2023, and the exclusive provision of services online through e-Albania requires a Plan B to prevent the ‘burdens’ from falling on citizens.