1 Land Registry and technology

According to the attributes of Blockchain decentralised, distributed and public digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network.

Land Registry (LR) challenge firstly is to adopt the specifications mentioned above in legal \ transparent framework according to regulations and law compliance (I.e. GDPR); all surrounded by autonomous governance systems with more fair and neutral regulations supported by algorithms.

Subsequently, once the legal aspects and the players roll is fully clear, business and social ecosystems development will be the second further progress of LR / FT binary structure scheme where Real state, Housing, Property development, Surveying industry (land, mining, engineering and hydrographic) and other subjects will be restructured and ready to be integrated in a more complex movement marked by inter-connective operations of sensors, Smart buildings, traffic lights, vehicles and other physical features involved in high consensus automatises networks driven by all attributes previously mentioned of Blockchain and other DLT. As an introductory example; Mobility, Smart contracts and Directed acyclic Graph (DAG) and the final inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which will in summary lead humanity to the Internet of Things (IoT) and The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Moreover, to what Surveying activities include; measuring and establishing official public or private land, air and water boundaries (national or cross border) with the subsequent registration of results with the appropriate authorities or governmental bodies;

• Searches for historical authentication of previous boundaries.
• Supporting the Geographic Information System (GIS) is a framework that acquires, analyses,
• manages, stores, extracts, transforms and visualises geographical and spatial data. Geographical Information System is a computer system for data related to on Earth’s surface, policies, standards, human resources and related activities necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use, maintain, and preserve spatial data. Gistandards.eu (2018)
• Verifying data accuracy and recording the results of surveys as well as maps and reports.
• Facilitates real state networking operations.
• A pool of information pieces of evidence and testimony when legal actions are required. including
• descriptions of land for deeds, leases, easements, and other licit documents or land records regarding property's physical and legal status.

In addition, combining Land surveying (geodetic measurements and observations, mapping and other works, procedures which are required to assemble and maintain real estate and land-related technical records) with Frontier Technologies will benefit the status quo by;

• Increasing connectivity of different parties associated with a project allowing for increased collaboration and trust (transparency and immutability of data)
• provide a shared, tamper-proof digital ledger or journal of transactional information,
• allow smart contracts to pay subcontractors (or others) automatically as soon as work has been
• completed and checked, reducing the payment delays and securing transactions
• facilitate and streamline workflow processes,
• provide efficiencies in the way different pieces of information or data [2] (the "blocks") are stored,
• collated, and referenced and shared,
• allow all participants involved in the transaction to monitor project progress - every step of the way.
• Network Participants - Connecting and Sharing on the Blockchain
• Disrupting the Real Estate Industry Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies

2. Disrupting the Real Estate Industry Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies 

Once considered the attributes of Distribute Ledger Technologies, how will initially disrupt the establishment, the focus will go on the benefits and ultimate target; transaction management system that allows the buyer/seller, and their respective service providers to close the real estate deals in a transparent and secure way through the immutable, open-source and universal protocol.

• Decreasing siloed databases: Real estate processes would benefit from secure and tamper-resistant shared databases that assemble data and documents from different stakeholders at the same time.

• Increasing efficiency in the transaction process: Most real estate transactions are still conducted through wire transfers and require costly verification processes that can take days to complete. Blockchain-based transactions could enable a streamlined process that delivers quickly and reduces costs.

• Reducing intermediaries and third parties — from brokers to escrow companies — could be rendered obsolete by blockchain-based approaches, as records could be stored, verified, and transferred using blockchain technology. Finally reducing costs and time processes.

• Buying-selling-renting real estate
• Mortgage financing
• Ownership or titles registration and transfers
• Recording of transaction and documents
• Escrow services
• Virtual notarisation
• Capital raising
• Asset tokenisation
• Construction industry/real estate development
• Surveying/appraising
• Reducing Government bureaucracy
• Decreasing drastically transaction costs
• Privacy and financial inclusion efficiency
• Rising liquidity.
• Fraud detection
• Fair and transparent ownership disputes
• Secure the data.

3. Land Registry & Frontier Technologies world scenarios:

Wyoming

Teton County, Wyoming signed a Memorandum of Understanding on December 20th of 2018 with Overstock.com’s blockchain subsidiary Medici Land Governance (MLG). The partnership focuses on the migration of the county’s current land records to a new blockchain-based system. According to the press release, the system will utilise MLG’s blockchain to track, record, and publicly display the county’s land registry.

As part of the program, all records dated after 1996 migrate over to the new blockchain system. Speaking on the partnership, longtime crypto advocate and Overstock CEO, Patrick M Byrne, described the importance of future blockchain land registry systems. He also touched upon the power of technology to alleviate trust concerns in the market.

Vermont

In January of this year, South Burlington’s Clerks Office announced a partnership with the blockchain-based startup Propy, Inc. According to the press release, Propy is tasked with developing a secure distributed ledger of the city’s property ownership information. City officials want to know what type of cost savings a blockchain-based system brings to the equation.

Currently, the city spends thousands on storing and protecting these records. A digital system could eliminate these costs and free up much-needed funds for the city. The City Clerk, Donna Kinville, explained how South Burlington takes pride in finding innovative solutions to serve their citizens.

The state of Vermont continues to see growing interest in blockchain technology. Last year, the state created a crypto group to further investigate use cases for the new technology.

India

A partnership between the Blockchain Learning Group, Blockscale Solutions, and the United Nations Development Program may transform the way land registry records are stored in India forever. Panchkula, India, a small city located in the state of Haryana, is the testing ground for this new blockchain land registry system.

Researchers want a proof-of-concept. And, this data allows developers to approach larger cities throughout the country. The concept utilizes the Ethereum blockchain to create a distributed ledger system specifically designed to suit India’s ever-growing land registry needs.

The data from all the properties sold within the county adds to the blockchain in near real-time. Additionally, the use of smart contracts enables automatic sign-offs by both buyer and seller once the transaction reaches the final approval stage. As one of the most populated countries in the world, India suffers from numerous land disputes arising from conflicting paperwork.

Netherlands

The Netherlands ' Land Registry enterprise architect, Koen Huisstede, recently stated that a blockchain solution will be integrated into the country’s land registry protocol within the next one to three years. This move falls in line with the country’s April decision to sign a declaration supporting the creation of an EU Blockchain Partnership.

The Netherlands ' Land Registry wants to research how blockchain technology can simplify the current systems. These systems cover mortgage rights and all third-party data related to the property market. Developers seek a more flexible organisation that is better suited to the tasks required in today’s economy.

Sweden

The Wall Street Journal reported in March of this year that the Swedish land-ownership authority (Lantmäteriet) had reached the final testing stages of their two-year-long blockchain land registry research program. Established in 2016, the program utilizes ChromaWay’s private blockchain to register land and property sales.

The Chief Solutions Architect at ChromaWay, Jörgen Modin, described how the current systems can take three to six months from the point of contract signing until actually transferring of the property’s ownership. The new system reduces this waiting period to a matter of hours.

UK (Digital Street)

On October 1, 2018, the UK’s land registry released a public statement regarding a new partnership with the blockchain-based firm Methods. The partnership seeks to simplify the UK’s growing land registry concerns. The project’s name is Digital Street, and it could reduce many of the problems faced by UK land registry officials today.

UK Land Registry Office via Law Society Gazette

The project utilizes R3’s open-source Corda blockchain to streamline the traditional land registry processes. Speaking on the partnership, the country’s registry chief executive, Graham Farrant, spoke on his country’s desire to be the world leader in blockchain land registry systems.

Using blockchain and distributed ledgers to (secure, online databases allowing everyone involved in a transaction to clearly see the track the status of the sale). With the potential to open up property transactions and allow those involved to stay up to date and those who need to act can be sent notifications with sufficient guidance.

Also Exploring digital contracts that automatically complete once everyone involved has filled out their section) and advancing digital signature technology (allowing individuals to sign documents online), can be used to improve the Land Register.

Columbia

Latin America has a history of notoriously difficult land registry systems. Colombian officials seek to change this stereotype with the integration of blockchain tech. In August 2018, the country announced the launch of Ethereum-based land titles and registration system.

The project is a joint venture between The National University of Columbia, Spain-based UST Global, and the Colombian government. University researcher Mauricio Tovar explained how the new system will prevent loss of documentation and increase both efficiency and security. This maneuver falls in line with the Colombian government’s recent push to be more transparent in its dealings with its citizens.

Dubai

Dubai has long been a hotbed for crypto activity. That’s why it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to learn that this pro-crypto community is already working on a blockchain land registry system. The new registry is part of the countries larger blockchain commitment, dubbed the Dubai Blockchain Strategy.

The city’s new blockchain system stores both sales and lease contracts. This information is available for public and private investors to review. Dubai seeks to include a tenant database within its system in the near future as well.

8 LAND REGISTRY & FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES

References:

GBA https://www.gbaglobal.org/

Coincentral https://coincentral.com/blockchain-land-registry/

Gistandards https://www.gistandards.eu/

Cbinsinghtshttps://www.cbinsights.com/research/blockchain-real-estate-disruption/ GovUK Digital Street

https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/10/09/moving-to-our-second-year-on-digital-street/