Are you really sure about that? Hard titles are given at different times (usually before "elections"). For example, I've got a few plots down south. They were all soft, but one got hard title a few years ago, but the others are still soft. They go by area, so you can't apply to get hard title just for yourself (as they need to come measure/gps all the other plots as well). Just wait and eventually they'll come over... Eventually...

How big is the land btw? Because you lose 3-5m, up to 10m even depending on the size of the road. So if it's a tiny slither of land alongside a huge road, it's quite possible you'll never get a hard title.

Normally when a hard title block is split it’s up to the residents to club together and get the titles done. Can’t be done as hoc.

It might not necessarily been the same Sangkat.

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:50 am Sure. Confirmed it enough times that missus is blue in face.

Land is large enough for the bunker in the back, older sister’s house in the front, chicken house behind everything else, etc.

Supposedly hard titled long ago when it was a much bigger piece of land, then lost to the bank.

After a much smaller piece was bought back from the bank, situation had changed. Could only be soft titled from then on. Maybe hard title will be available in the who knows someday of Khmer time.

Anyways, there is too much drama in trying to do good.

Stuff that is straightforward in the west is never straightforward in the Kingdom or Wonder.

You might check with the bank, maybe they still have hard title to the land.

I sold my house on 2800 m2 in Jan. 2019 located in Stung Hav, Sihanouk province. We had owned it for 12 years on a soft title. Per our sales agreement we had to obtain the hard title. We applied for it at the local cadastral office that prepared all the documents which had to make the rounds for signatures of all officials involved, the Sangkat being one of them. Per se the Sangkat cannot stop the application as it falls under the purview of the Ministry of Land management. Once they got all the local signatures, village, town, district, and signatures of the adjoining land owners (they must also agree), it is submitted to the provincial cadastral office that examines it and passes it on to the Ministry of Land Management in PP. It is then kicked back to the province. They send out surveyors to measure the land by GPS. The measurements then go to the tax office for assessment, after which follows another round of examinations of documents. Once you get the notification of the tax due and it was paid to tax office via the cadastral officer the hard title will be issued, in our case directly to the buyer. The cost for us was $6,000 for the application, tips, and the titling fee. The tax was $890 which is not based on the sales price but on a price determined by the tax office based on their assessment of local prices, which are usually very low outside larger cities. Well, lo and behold, after 18 months we were finally done with that process.

If the Sangkat objects to the application they must have a valid legal reason. Abandonment sounds fishy. Any land abandoned usually falls back to the state and becomes state land, so that might be the real reason behind it. But then you wouldn't own it at all. This information was gained from our cadastral officer, because when we bought the land back then we made sure that the land had been the property of the sellers for more than 5 years, at that time the minimum period of occupation to claim ownership. Our sellers had owned it since 1989 and the docs to prove it. Ours and adjoining lots were not scheduled for hard titles but all privately owned land on a soft title can be converted to a hard title unless it is not in the public interest. With real estate you really have to check every angle before you can go ahead with a purchase, sale, or titling.

We went through the same process when our rubber plantation (since sold) was re-titled, although we already had a hard title, in a campaign initiated by the PM a few years back. So lots of red tape.

I would check with the cadastral office for your province.

rubberbaron wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:56 pm\

I would check with the cadastral office for your province.

The OP is not in the country, bases himself on the info from his wife who is in the country and used the word 'presumably' twice. My guess is his post is more a question than statement.

Land titles, or the lack of it, can be a fishy business. In order to obtain a hard title, a soft title is needed. Loads of soft titles are with the 'NGO's' though, which is a euphemism Cambodians like to use for commercial money lending institutions, where they are used as a collateral for a loan.

newkidontheblock wrote:Normal and logical does not necessarily apply to Cambodia. None of the residents are getting hard titles because the Sangkat chief has said so.

It's not up to the sangkat chief. However, if there's a dispute regarding the land it needs to be resolved beforehand. How was the land broken up if the bank had the hard title? Nothing you're saying makes sense... Maybe there's a miscommunication between you and the wife, or she doesn't exactly know what's going on and is being played by the sangkat.

[Edit: rubberbaron sort of said this already]