Communication atelier / colloque

Official registration of property in Perú (1996-2000)

Julio Calderón (Consultant, member of IRGLUS (International Research Group of Law and Urban Space)) | Development Planning Unit, London College | 2001 |

This is a study of the official real estate registration policy or formalization of property established by the Peruvian government between 1996 and 2000. The official real estate registration policy consists of awarding duly registered land titles with the same value as the legal market to lower income sectors, so that they can place their properties and houses on the market, gaining access to credit. De Soto (1986, 2000) promoted this policy in Peru and throughout the world, under the theory that public red tape prevents working class people from gaining access to land titles, thus restricting their chances of placing their assets on the market or using them as a mortgage guarantee. The intention is to increase the productivity of poor people and their contribution to the urban economy (World Bank, 1991).It is necessary to figure out the land tenancy regularization process that gave rise to the official registration of property.