Guidelines for the Formalization of Informal Constructions

"The overall goals of the Working Party on Land Administration are the promotion and improvement of land administration and land management in the UNECE region so as to adequately respond to a changing environment and emerging needs .... In Europe, 50 million people live in informal constructions. These are not included in the economic cycle, or registered, or inheritable, mortgageable, transferable or taxable. They therefore cannot generate value for their occupants. Why is informal construction a major issue in some European countries and not others? Generally, informal development takes place in countries where large sectors of the land market, often serving societies poorest members, rely on extra-legal development because of inadequacies in land policies, strategies and regulations, construction-permitting and planning for affordable housing. People often build informally when neither the state nor the private sector provide sufficient adequate housing in quantity, type and location ...."--Page 4 of cover