Cambodia Property Ownership: Understanding Title Forms

SOFT TITLE : This title form is registered at the district levels. As the administration of these titles are managed by the local authorities, soft titles are transferred quickly (normally less than 1 month) and 4% tax has to be applied when making the transfer.

HARD TITLE Hard title properties are the strongest form of land ownership in Cambodia. Hard titles are registered at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (National level). In the rare instance where a property has a hard title and a soft title, the hard title trumps claims of ownership based on possessory right. Because of this some property owners prefer to deal with hard titles. Transfer of hard titles are done at the cadastral office and usually takes around 12 weeks to complete. There is a 4% transfer tax on the “property value”, with the valuation being done by an official from the cadastral office.

Hard Title Certificate

LMAP The “Land Management and Administration Project” or LMAP is the third type of land title available in Cambodia. In conjunction with the World Bank, the program launched in 2002 and has been rolled out in selected provinces over the last decade or so. The project was designed to help implement a systematic registration system and improve the quality of information in land tenure. Similar to a hard title, an LMAP title is recognized at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (National level). Where an LMAP differs from a Hard title is an LMAP is effectively a Hard Title with Geo-tagged points – GPS coordinates clearly identifying the properties boundaries. An LMAP transfer process takes around 12 weeks and the transfer cost is a 4% of the property’s “value” which is determined by a Cadastral official.

LMAP Certificate