Cadastral Affairs Directorate in Al-Bab: Building a Database from Zero

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11-08-2021

In 2018, the opposition reopened a local Cadastral Affairs Directorate office in the city of Al-Bab in the northern part of Aleppo governorate, after rebuilding the lost real estate archive from scratch.

During Islamic State (IS) control of Al-Bab in 2014-2017, the extremist group transferred the city’s Cadastral Affairs database and paper archive to the courthouse in nearby Manbij. After the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled IS from Manbij, a fire broke out at the courthouse, destroying real estate records for both Manbij and Al-Bab. Some Syrian opposition members question the story of the fire, accusing the SDF of deliberately destroying the archive. The Syria Report was unable to independently confirm such claims. Meanwhile, the Cadastral Affairs directorate in Aleppo, which operates under the Syrian government, has said it possesses an electronic copy of the real estate records for Manbij and large parts of the Al-Bab area from before 2011. However, the Aleppo directorate has refused to communicate with the opposition-administered Cadastral Affairs directorate in Al-Bab.

The Al-Bab Cadastral Affairs archive. Source: The Syria Report.

Since 2018, Cadastral Affairs in Al-Bab has managed to reconstruct a database relying on title deeds and official documents, verifying their authenticity, and ensuring that no modifications occurred. This new archive includes original paper copies as well as electronic copies of real estate records, in addition to Finance Directorate documents, financial disclosure and inheritance forms, title deeds held by residents, municipal documents and public property records.

A Cadastral Affairs official in Al-Bab told The Syria Report that the Al-Bab Local Council and its legal office supervised the formation of the new archive. The Cadastral Affairs Directorate in Gaziantep, Turkey also provided logistical support, including printers and computers, and helped to print cadastral plans and new real estate records.

Through compiling these documents, the directorate succeeded over time in gaining the confidence of rights holders, and even in addressing real estate problems that had accumulated over the previous seven years of inactivity.

Real estate properties in Al-Bab and the surrounding countryside often rely on sales documented by the notary public, known as “judicial sales.” This is because most of the records in this area are still officially common--rarely have they been subdivided or amended, even if multi-storey buildings have been built on them. This phenomenon owes itself to the excessive costs and administrative difficulties of subdividing such properties amid historic governmental neglect of the area, local sources told The Syria Report.

Addressing this phenomenon, the Cadastral Affairs directorate in Al-Bab merged the functions of its documentation and notary public department and real estate documentation department into a single department to avoid conflicting records. Help . About Us . Contact Us . Site Map . Advertise with Syria Report . Terms & Conditions Page 2 of 2

The Al-Bab real estate area covers about 200 hectares of land, including both the city and its surrounding countryside, extending from the Turkish border in the north to the town of Deir Hafer at its southernmost boundary, though much of the nearby countryside is under SDF or regime forces control. Al-Bab city is itself divided into five real estate zones, each with its own serial number.

The Cadastral Affairs directorate in Al-Bab operates under the provisions of Land Registry Law No. 188 of 1926 and its amendments. The law regulates the renewal of damaged real estate documents. Currently, real estate transactions are recorded in a temporary daily journal, which is archived in a special electronic software. Files are kept there until the loss of some foundational records can be addressed, or until an alternative is approved. The directorate currently employs 12 people, who receive their wages from the Turkish government.