Land Registries & Cadastres

In your country, the Land Registry and the Cadaster are they different institutions?

No.

a) Which are the main duties of the sole organization?

b) Which Ministry’s competence does it fall under?

c) Is land registration and mapping organized as separate departments within the organization?

Answer to the three questions:

Historically, two different authorities have been charged with land registration: the Cadaster for technical mapping and land survey, the Land Register (Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari) for registering ownership and charges on the land. Both these institutions were organized under the same Ministry (that of Finance), but in separate “General directorates” until the reform of the Finance Administration, provided by Law n. 358, of 29 October 1991, when Cadastre and Land Register felled under the competence of the “Department of Land”, although maintaining different functions and aims.

Subsequently, Legislative Decree n. 300 of 30 July 1999 set forth the comprehensive reform of the Finance Administration by removing Departments and creating the TAX AGENCIES, among which the Land Agency was assigned both cadastral functions as well as all those functions related with the Real Estate and Mortgage registration system.

Lastly, from the 1st December 2012, the Land Agency (Agenzia del Territorio) was incorporated in the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).

Legally, the Revenue Agency is a non-economic public body that operates under the supervision of Ministry of Economy and Finance, to ensure the highest level of tax compliance. Although it is mainly responsible for collecting tax revenues, providing services and assistance to taxpayers and carrying out assessment and inspections aimed at countering tax evasion, it also provides cadastral and geo cartographic services and manages the Real Estate and Mortgage System.

Even if there is only one Agency (The Revenue Agency) handling both functions, the cadastral functions as well as the property registration ones are still clearly distinguished by the law.