Land Tenure Security (Legal Documentation and Perception)

Determining land tenure security by measuring both the recognized legal documentation of land tenure rights, and people's perception of how secure their land tenure rights are (whether they are legally documented or not).

Total adult population:

A country’s adult population is measured by census data or through surveys using an adequate sampling frame.

Legally recognized documentation of land tenure rigths:

Use a questionnaire asking about:

• individual or joint use and ownership of land parcel;
• whether a document is issued for this land parcel by a Land Registry / Cadastral Agency (such as a title, certificate or equivalent);
• what type of document it is and whether their name is registered on the document as owner or user;
• whether they have the right to sell the land parcel (indivually or jointly);
• whether they have the right to bequeath the land parcel (individually or jointly).

Perceptions of land tenure security

We define perceptions of tenure to be secure if:

• The landholder does not report a fear of involuntary loss of the land within the next five years due to, for example, intra-family, community or external threats and;
• The landholder reports having the right to bequeath the land.
• Question to aks: On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is not at all likely and 5 is extremely likely, how likely are you to involuntarily lose ownership or use rights to this [PARCEL] in the next 5 years?

See further the attached documents:

• Metadata on SDGs Indicator 1.4.2
• Measuring Individuals’ Rights to Land: An Integrated Approach to Data Collection for SDG Indicators 1.4.2 and 5.a.1

Sex

Type of tenure

• This is SDG indicator 1.4.2.
• Legal documentation of rights refers to the recording and publication of information on the nature and location of land, rights and right holders in a form that is recognized by government, and is therefore official.
• Perception of tenure security refers to an individual’s perception of the likelihood of involuntary loss of land, such as disagreement of the ownership rights over land or ability to use it, regardless of the formal status and can be more optimistic or pessimistic. Although those without land rights’ documentation may frequently be perceived to be under threat, and those with documentation perceived as protected, there may be situations where documented land rights alone are insufficient to guarantee tenure security. Conversely, even without legally recognized documentation, individuals may feel themselves to be protected against eviction or dispossession. Therefore, capturing and analysing these diverse ranges of situations will enable a more comprehensive understanding of land tenure security, based on a country specific context.