FEATURE
Cadastral Survey
Cadastral survey is a detailed land surveying of the boundaries and metes of a given country. A large number of countries have undertaken Cadastral Surveys to record their land boundaries and to allow easy access by legal professionals for boundary disputes, land ownership, and land boundaries among others. This allows a layperson to see exactly what a land boundary is according to a country’s civil law and to understand what is an easement, a public right of way or a private landowner’s right to occupy the land. It also gives the public an idea of how much a particular land or area is worth, and this is essential in selling or buying land or properties.
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Most people think of a cadastral survey as a purely administrative task whereby land is surveyed to find out the boundaries of properties. However, a cadastral survey can also be a lot more complex. For example, a town or city may want to know how many times a street has been altered since it was last surveyed so that they can plan future road improvements accordingly. If planning permission is needed then the town or city will need to apply for an addition to the current civil law land survey to enable them to do so. Also civil law areas may require a survey to find out if there are any underground utilities that may affect the marketability of a home or block of flats. If planning permission is required for any structural changes then added to a civil survey could be vital to avoid future problems with planning applications.
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September-October issue l 2021
“The absence of defects in the record chain of title and freedom from encumbrances are major factors upon which the marketability of a land title is generally considered to depend. Such encumbrances and defects remain a clog on the title and an impediment to its marketability,” says a marketing representative at Geoinfotech Nigeria. Geoinfotech Nigeria, further believes that, a properly executed cadastral survey can add value to land marketability in the following ways; • It confirms the genuineness of the land or building. • Eligible access to insurance plans. It grants security to land in terms of grappling and
such land or building has rights to compensation in case of government’s policies and decisions. People value security in Landed properties and as such, the key factor to its marketability is assurance that the property won’t be revoked or hijacked from them. Fred Aboagye-Larbi, Managing Director at BEACON SURVEY LIMITED, states that, “The accuracy of cadastral survey increases the confidence in the document covering the land or property.” Additionally, when planning a building project, or altering or extending an existing one to make it more efficient, or perhaps to increase its marketable value, a cadastral survey is essential for giving the planner an accurate idea of how the property would look
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