Showing papers on "Leasehold estate published in 2015"

Private Property Rights and Sharecropping

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to derive a theory of share tenancy with which to explore the nature of resource allocation under one of the main forms of land tenure in agriculture. Share tenancy is a land lease under which rent is a contracted percentage of the output yield from the tenant per period of time. As a rule, the landowner provides land, and the tenant provides labor; other inputs may be provided by either party. Share tenancy (or sharecropping) is thus share contracting, defined here as two or more individual parties combining privately owned resources for the production of certain mutually agreed outputs, the actual outputs to be shared according to certain mutually accepted percentages as returns to the contracting parties for their productive resources forsaken. The theory, to be derived from standard economic principles, may be generalized to all forms of land tenure under similar ownership of resources. The prevailing impression is that sharecropping results in inefficient allocation of resources.' It will be shown here that the inefficiency argument is illusory. The implied resource allocation under private property rights is the same whether the landowner cultivates the land himself, hires farmhands to do the tilling, leases his holdings on a fixed rent basis,

Tenancy and African American Marriage in the Postbellum South.

Abstract: The pervasiveness of tenancy in the postbellum South had countervailing effects on marriage between African Americans. Tenancy placed severe constraints on African American women’s ability to find independent agricultural work. Freedwomen confronted not only planters’ reluctance to contract directly with women but also whites’ refusal to sell land to African Americans. Marriage consequently became one of African American women’s few viable routes into the agricultural labor market. We find that the more counties relied on tenant farming, the more common was marriage among their youngest and oldest African American residents. However, many freedwomen resented their subordinate status within tenant marriages. Thus, we find that tenancy contributed to union dissolution as well as union formation among freedpeople. Microdata tracing individuals’ marital transitions are consistent with these county-level results.

Why do tenants leave social housing? Exploring residential and social mobility at the lowest rungs of Australia's socioeconomic ladder

Abstract: Historically, social housing in Australia operated as a springboard for social mobility. For many working families, public housing tenancy was an opportunity to save for a house purchase deposit. Latterly, tenant exits from public to private housing have declined to very low levels. This has raised concerns about systemic barriers to residential and social mobility for social renters, and about the consequent longer waiting times for applicants in need of social housing. Drawing on administrative data collected by social housing providers in NSW and Victoria, and in‑depth interviews with 95 former and current social housing tenants in both states, this paper examines tenant attitudes, intentions and motivations as regards future house‑moves. We argue that the primary disincentives to exit relate to affordability and security of tenure in private rental, rather than factors related to the social housing system itself.

Climate change adaptation in the rental sector

Abstract: This chapter examines both assets and barriers for climate adaptation in the rental housing sector through a case study of renters and housing managers in regional Australia. The study included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 22 tenants and 17 housing managers in the public and private housing sectors. A wide range of secondary sources including media articles, sustainable renting guides and legislative and policy documents. Private sector tenants believed that negative social and political attitudes to renters in Australia were an obstacle to changing tenancy conditions and improving housing. There was a wide range of views among property managers about the importance or reality of climate change, from belief to some scepticism. Amending tenancy conditions to enhance the active contribution of tenants to climate change adaptation may require innovative legislative frameworks that reflect climate change and equity imperatives as well as protection for landlords and tenants.

Assessing management costs and tenant outcomes in social housing: recommended methods and future directions

Abstract: This study confirmed that existing official performance measures of Australia’s social housing services are inadequate to measure efficiency and effectiveness. Working closely with six larger community housing providers and two public housing providers, the research team developed and trialled a new performance framework. This involved collecting data for social housing expenditure, conducting workshops with managers and staff, and surveying recent tenants. The researchers found the proposed framework be immediately applicable for large community housing providers. Public housing providers encountered more obstacles in applying the model, including specifying boundaries of housing management, and capturing back office costs. An advantage of the new framework is that it seeks to capture all aspects of the work of social housing providers from providing efficient and effective tenancy and property management services through to enhancing tenants’ welfare and quality of life. For example, across the community housing case studies, 81 per cent of management outlay went to tenancy and property management, and only 19 per cent on individual support or tenant and community services. Nevertheless, the study also showed that case study community housing providers were more able to support their tenants to reduce rent arrears and tenancy complaints, and explore ‘place management’ and community development activities compared to larger public housing agencies. It also highlighted that few public and community housing staff felt they could prioritise employment or training opportunities for tenants. The study also suggested improvements to outcome measures. For example, the key indicator of tenant outcomes in social housing is tenancy sustainment, but this could be improved by limiting its focus to ‘at risk’ tenancies. Similarly, present indicators of tenant employment outcomes could be improved by limiting measurement to those that are ‘work capable’ (factors, e.g. disabilities and pregnancy contribute to social housing access but bias employment participation downwards). Robust information on efficiency and effectiveness of social housing is essential for public accountability. The framework and metrics proposed in this study offer a way forward and, despite challenges in implementation in the public sector, would illuminate public debates around subsidy of social housing, and could be implemented with government leadership and coordination.

A Study of Private Rental Housing Market in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract: Rental housing is an expanding and lucrative investment sector that has garnered a lot of investors both in the developed and developing countries of the world. The high rate of rental default in urban centres of Nigeria tends to discourage massive investment in rental housing by the prospective investors. The study examines the nature of private rental housing market and the influencing factors in Kaduna Metropolis from the view of both tenants and property managers (Estate Surveyors and Valuers). To accomplish the aim, questionnaires were administered on practicing Estate Surveyors and Valuers (statutorily recognized property managers) and selected tenants through proxy questionnaires from the sampled firms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings show that there are different forms of rental payment patterns and tenant selection criteria adopted. The study assessed tenants’ (rental housing consumers’) behaviour and ranked breach of tenancy agreement and harsh landlord’s policy as the main causes of rental default. It recommends the needs for effective regulation and tenancy legislation review as a way forward to ensure refinement in the residential property management practice in Kaduna Metropolis. Keywords : housing, rental housing, tenancy, rental default, affordability

Long-Run Impacts of Land Regulation: Evidence from Tenancy Reform in India

Abstract: Agricultural tenancy reforms have been widely enacted, but evidence on their long-run impact remains limited. In this paper, we provide such evidence by exploiting the quasi-random assignment of linguistically similar areas to different South Indian states that subsequently varied in tenancy regulation policies. Given imperfect credit markets, the impact of tenancy reform should vary by household wealth status, allowing us to exploit historic caste-based variation in landownership. Thirty years after the reforms, land inequality is lower in areas that saw greater intensity of tenancy reform, but the impact differs across caste groups. Tenancy reforms increase own-cultivation among middle-caste households, but render low-caste households more likely to work as daily agricultural laborers. At the same time, agricultural wages increase. These results are consistent with tenancy regulations increasing land sales to relatively richer and more productive middle-caste tenants, but reducing land access for poorer low-caste tenants.

Identifying effective arrangements for tenancy management service delivery to remote Indigenous communities

Abstract: This Positioning Paper is the first output of a project that will analyse the progress of reforms to tenancy management in remote Indigenous communities.

Land tenure regimes and land conservation in the African drylands: the case of northern Ghana

Abstract: In Africa’s drylands, threats to economic livelihood from climate change are exacerbated by a low rate of investments in land conservation. The existing literature identifies land tenure insecurity as a major contributory factor. To help better understand this challenge, this paper investigated, empirically, the impact of land tenure regimes on investment in land conservation, focusing on northern Ghana. The study’s findings identified three dominant traditional institutions of land administration, viz., tendana, chieftaincy and family. These institutions in turn define three broad categories of tenure regimes, namely, freehold, leasehold and lineage. It further finds that these regimes exhibit a continuum of tenure security that impact differentially on investment in land conservation. This is buttressed by the quantitative analysis, which reveals that whereas freehold (relative to lineage) significantly engenders investment in conservation, leasehold shows no important impact. Among others, the paper re...

Land Tenure Systems in the late 18 th and 19 th century in Colonial India

Abstract: Tax from the land remained a primary source of revenue for the kings and emperors since time immemorial. Nevertheless, the ownership pattern of land had witnessed changes over centuries. In the pre- capitalist stage of Indian economy, the idea of absolute ownership did not exist. All classes connected with land possessed certain rights. Unlike, the ancient and medieval period, the British imperial rule unleashed far-reaching changes in Indian agrarian structure. New land tenures, new land ownership concepts, tenancy changes and heavier demand for land revenue brought havoc changes, both in rural economy and social web. From their beginning, as political masters, the English Company relied on land revenue as the principal source of income for the functioning of state. Up to a first approximation, all cultivable land in British India fell under one of the following three alternative systems- (a) landlord based system (zamindari), (b) an individual cultivator-based system (raiytwari), and (c) village-based system (mahalwari). British mercantile interests coupled with Free Trade principles sought to derive the maximum economic advantage from their rule in India. However, excessive land revenue demand proved counter- productive. Agriculture began to languish; large areas went out of cultivation. Henceforth, an era of famines started, which has been termed as 'man-made' rather than natural.

The Source of Land Finance:Fiscal Pressure or Investment Incentives

Abstract: Land finance is the most important issue in China during the last decade,one explanation is that the local governments are pushed to sell the land because they have great fiscal pressureThis paper uses the natural experiment of newly appointed minister in China between 1998 and 2007 to test the hypothesis,we get several findsFistly,newly elected ministers significantly reduce the fiscal pressure of their hometown,those ministers will change the allocation of central earmarked grants and increase 12%grants for their hometownSecondly,the reductions of fiscal pressure of ministers' hometown have no impact on the land finance behavior,the area and revenue of land sales have not changedThirdly,the real cause of land finance is the impulse to invest,even the earmarked grants are used for productive infrastructure but not the basic public serviceThe policy implications of this paper is that the future reform should focus on the land leasehold policy,while the decentralization is not a feasible way because the fiscal pressure is not the real cause of land finance

An empirical examination of the effects of land tenure on housing values in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of land tenure on housing values in metropolitan Kampala. Design/methodology/approach – A hedonic model is used to test the relationship between housing prices, land tenure and housing attributes using a cross-sectional dataset of transaction prices for 590 newly built houses sold in 2011. Findings – Public leaseholds in Kampala offer a premium of 23 per cent in housing values compared to freeholds. This could be due to a lack of formal systems for the assessment of leasehold premium and ground rent charges, an arrangement which can offer utility to the lesse at the expense of lessor, thereby making leaseholds popular on the market, or the developers’ lack of information on the benefits of freehold causing them to value leaseholds higher than freeholds. Similarly, private mailo tenure offers a 12 per cent premium in housing values compared to freeholds. There is no significant impact of Kabaka’s mailo tenure on housing values. When compared ...

Community Land Trusts and Indigenous Communities: From Strategies to Outcomes

Abstract: The project sought to understand what would be required to develop a model of CLTs for Indigenous communities in New South Wales (NSW), and also identify issues in considering a model for the Northern Territory. Overview Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a form of common land ownership where land is held by a private non-profit entity and leased on a long-term basis to members of the community or other organisations, while fixtures are owned or purchased by the household. Previous research showed that CLTs might provide a relevant tenure form between rental and outright home ownership for Indigenous households but work was still needed to refine workable models at a local level. The project sought to understand what would be required to develop a model of CLTs for Indigenous communities in New South Wales (NSW), and also identify issues in considering a model for the Northern Territory. The project involved engagement of project partners such as the South Eastern Aboriginal Regional Management Services (SEARMS) in NSW as well as Land Councils and Town Camp organisations in Northern Territory. The project also involved surveys of households, workshops, reviews of current leasehold situations and financial modelling. In NSW, communities were interested in home ownership but were concerned viability may be affected by householder debt. Member organisations of SEARMS were also potentially constrained by existing sub-leases with governments requiring only community rental housing. Exit clauses from sub-leases and removal of caveats on title would need to be explored to enable CLT models to occur. In the Northern Territory, there was also interest but maintaining community integrity and community governance were primary considerations for any future CLT model. While complex, governance and tenure arrangements are possible to amend relatively quickly by government. The researchers argue for a model in which a relevant Indigenous organisation retains an interest in the property and the relationship between the resident and organisation governed by a legal agreement appropriate to the local context and aspirations of community members. The agreement would include details about: upfront price and administration fees; responsibilities for repairs and maintenance; and equity treatment at termination of agreement. Importantly, the model makes no reference to tenure form and does not assume an equity component, in order that it could be adapted to different local contexts and even to the needs of individual households. The NSW feasibility study favored a long-term leasehold model involving use of a 99-year lease that would restart at sale or inheritance, allowing for equity input or withdrawal if required. The model was aimed at households with annual gross income of between $65 000 and $80 000, but because many households already have debt, risk is minimised by requiring a two-year initial period in which the resident would pay an agreed amount into a joint account on top of their administration fee, to be used as the resident’s deposit to secure a mortgage. The research identifies a useful program of activities that could be pursued by policy-makers to implement CLTs at the local level, and also provides a CLT decision making tool to help communities determine whether they need to offer additional housing options and if so the steps to identify needs, objectives and program elements.

The Impact of British Rule on Indian Villages

Abstract: The British rule had pronounced and profound impact on India. There was hardly any section of society or corner of county which could escape the long arms of British colonialism. India being a country with predominance of agriculture, any impact of government on the people turned out to be essentially the impact of government on the village. With the initiation of British rule, the new land tenures, new land ownership concepts, tenancy changes and heavier state demand for land revenue triggered of far-reaching changes in rural economy and social relationship. Early British administrators of the East India Company considered India as a vast estate and acted on the principle that the company was entitled to the entire economic rent. Moreover, the impact of other administrative measures like railways, law and order machinery and judiciary was also felt in the remote villages of India. Though, the railways served to integrate India and brought the national consciousness, however, they actively served as the agent of colonialism to drain off the valuable resources from rural regions of India. A major impact of these British policies was the expression of intense poverty and frequent famines. These again found their most dire reflections in rural India. The tragedy also found manifestations in the stagnation and deterioration of agriculture and the transformation of India into an agricultural colony of Britain. Keywords: Colonialism; Famine; Land Revenue Settlements; Moneylender; Poverty; Rural Indebtedness Objectives of the Study: As the changing life in Indian Village marked best the impact of the British administration on the Indian people, this study has been made to characterize the Indian villages in British period. It narrates how the establishment of British rule altered the basic land relationships in the villages which were governed by traditional customs and usage. It logically interprets how the British tampered the basic stability of the villages through the introduction of the concept of mortgage, sale and transferability of land. Methodology: An elaborative research methodology was used to investigate and interpret the impact of British rule on Indian villages from the second half of eighteenth century. The researcher has relied both on primary sources as well as secondary sources for collection of data. Primary data has been gathered from archival records; whereas secondary data is based on analysis and discussions.

An Economic Justification for Land Reformism

Abstract: The pervasive interests in land-tenure-reform policy in the Western world can be traced back to two distinct sources. One is liberal philosophy based on the principle of equality. Family farms owned and operated by the cultivator have long been accepted in the United States as a sound foundation of social and political stability. Following World War II, many landreform programs initiated with the assistance of the United States appear to have been conceived in the same (equalitarian) frame of reference. The second source derives its logical conclusion from the theory of the firm, which shows that, under fixed rent or owner cultivation, the tiller receives the entire incremental product, while under share tenancy he receives only a fraction. Consequently share tenancy would discourage desirable land improvements and encourage inefficient methods of production. Taken together, these two views produce a remarkable doctrinal unity in favor of owner-operated over share-tenancy agricultural units, a view overwhelmingly subscribed to by economists. Recently, the doctrine has been questioned for two reasons. The first stems from the need for an optimum size of farm unit. It is argued that, at least in the densely populated areas of Asia and the Far East, the policy of owner-operated farms would make farm size so small as to reduce the output of land (to say nothing for the moment of the relative adequacy of the level of subsistence or household-income-generation capacity). Thus not only the owner of productive resources has a stake in attempting to achieve an optimum-size unit but also society. The second criticism is chiefly based on theoretical grounds. It is argued that the landlord, being a maximizer, will contract with his tenants on rent, the size of the parcel, and labor inputs so as to maximize his rent

Leasehold: An Institutional Framework for Understanding Nonprofit Governance in a Civil Society Context

Abstract: Nonprofit organizations play a role in the creation of a society that is civil, and it is an important one that neither the state nor for-profit organizations undertake. This raises the question of governance and accountability, which is often addressed by looking to agency-based models from the private sector. The acknowledged problem is that the agency’s notion of owners does not translate well to nonprofits. Adapting the concept of leasehold (wherein the managers and organization operate with broad autonomy, using resources supplied by supporters in exchange for the promise that specific societal value will be created, and are accountable for doing so) allows for a more flexible and responsive arrangement. It also suggests a mechanism whereby many independent nonprofits taking multiple approaches help civil society evolve.

Historiographical review of the current debate on Ethiopian land tenure system

Abstract: During the period of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE), that took power following the downfall of the Socialist Derg Government, the issue of land tenancy has hotly debated among politicians. At the ratification of the 1995 Constitution, though the ruling party, EPDRF, made attempt to formally end this debatable agenda by formally enshrining state ownership in the 1995 constitution, the ruling party is not yet able to conclude this controversial and thorny issue in its favour. Since there have been people and dozens of parties arguing for private land owner ship, the debate on the issue continues till this day. Ethiopia’s rural land tenure system in particular has become bone of contention. (Mulat et al., 1998; Hoben, 2002). Land tenancy presupposes land ownership. And the dispute about the Ethiopian land tenure system is largely between those in need of changing the existing state ownership tenure and the EPRDF led government of Ethiopia. Currently, the continued debate in the state –private land ownership dichotomy has kindled the interests of scholars in various fields. Different scholars and parties are writing and debating on the subject. In this article an attempt is made to remark and analyze the major ones. Key words: land tenure, resource management, landownership, peasant, debate, tenure security, eviction and land fragmentation

Falling Off the Map: The Impact of Formalizing (Some) Informal Settlements in Tanzania

Abstract: When the Tanzanian government formalized over 200,000 informal land claims by granting leasehold titles to residents of unplanned settlements in Dar es Salaam in 2004, a few neighborhoods in the initial plan were excluded due to missing satellite photos. We examine the impact of this low-cost, large-scale titling intervention a decade later in a regression discontinuity design using new survey data collected on either side of the arbitrary boundary created by the missing photos. We find significant, positive effects on housing investment, and indicative but not statistically robust increases in tenure security and reductions in land sales. There is no evidence that titles improved access to credit markets.

Revisiting Tenancy and Agricultural Productivity in Southern India: Insights from Longitudinal Household Surveys

Abstract: The study reconfirmed prevalence of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture in Southern India in the recent years (2009-11) as was in the mid-seventies. Household level panel data collected from six villages by ICRISAT under its Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village Dynamics Studies (VDS) program were used. Area under tenancy has increased in the recent years, mostly in the form of share cropping. Panel Data Probit analysis revealed that likelihood of a household to be a tenant is positively linked with number of agricultural worker, bullock ownership and male-headed household. Land ownership, age and education of household head, and dependence on non-farm income had negative association. Crop yield and profitability were generally higher in owned land than that of land under tenancy. Reduction of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture will require risk reducing technologies (drought-resistant varieties, supplementary irrigation) and availability of critical inputs (for example, bullock for intercultural operations).

Recording medium storing a joint program between the intermediary for the exclusive use of this method and the participating over the network intermediary between the customer and the transaction method and the real estate agent

Abstract: The present invention is a joint mediation of oil, wireless internet and smart use of mobile devices in the phone, such as connecting to a network to provide information on the lease of real estate, trade goods, and connect the exclusive intermediary between the customer and the real estate and goes and real estate mutual and it provides real estate information system that, buying a property is sold or leased, and includes all the real estate agent members tenancy lead a normal member and real estate agent that you want, and provide quality brokerage services through an exclusive brokerage commission between the customer and real estate relates to real estate information system and method of operation that can be conducted smoothly and fairly joint mediation between, and the real estate agent to help significantly reduce the time and effort of our customers The present invention includes the steps of building a recording medium in which the system operator to save the system and programs of the main server, database items, general membership database, real estate agent membership database, including customer advances database of real estate integrated information system; The purchase of real estate, sale, rental of stage, you can lease a regular member of the Membership and certification procedures, and; Not correspond to the restrictions set forth in the law without realtor stage of subscription and authentication procedures formally registered real estate agent in their ward and local government, and; Duplicate registration if the Member Brokerages Commercial Commercial registration that after checking the registration step of registering the items for sale in the data base; General member General member is to search and browse through the real estate for sale in the condition you want e-map mode, or list of ways such as by using PC and mobile equipment that provides the desired real estate for sale in the real estate integrated system through a regular member interfaces to connect to the network and the step of; Showing the area of ​​the property for sale, amount, administrative district, for sale real estate registered the sale of photographs at the same time as reading Brokerages name, address, telephone number, representatives, real estate registration number from the View estate clicking the items in detail for the conditions and the step of; Apply for "exclusive brokerage commission" to the appropriate real estate properties for sale by adjusting the level of the real estate agent for exclusive real estate brokerage, and their general membership is also automatically adjust the level of customers and the general membership; It requested an exclusive brokerage regular members are the steps to change the level of customers from the general membership, and outputs the Commercial stored in the contact and basic information and attention items list of the members in the client list of the exclusive brokerage real estate in customer advances list of exclusive brokerage Real estate Wow; If you are in an exclusive real estate brokerage, select Real Estate for the customer to specify a recommended steps to Commercial Commercial recommended by shared mutual exposed to list on the list of interested customers and goods; Exclusive real estate brokerage is requesting bulk verification through the years, "Commercial confirmation request" on the current status of the Commercial Register Commercial real estate registered in the list of objects of interest and requests for mediation and co-; From the Commercial Register Commercial Real Estate can accept the agreement to share the list with the customer and due diligence stages to discuss the schedule and notify the inspection schedule an alarm message through push for a negotiated schedule due diligence on the Commercial Register and Real Estate; Steps to due diligence promises to adjust the order of the due diligence list in accordance with the completion of due diligence list to the actual inspection path that is not for sale in numerical order, and predict the travel time and distance by calculating the distance and travel time to the next mulgeonji according to the adjusted order Wow; Commercial due diligence has been completed due diligence of the steps that you will continue to "complete due diligence" process in the exclusive real estate brokerage following the arrival time to the turn of Commercial Real Estate Properties inform push through the alarm messages and; After due diligence by Commercial increasing customer items to choose from you like that exclusive brokerage real estate when processing by selecting the corresponding items in the "Detail Processing", and request the adjustment and tuning of the amount and conditions applicable Commercial Properties Real Estate, is not selected Commercial real estate has not registered with steps to inform the burden detail progress made in other items; After detailed progress smoothly agreement is made, the exclusive brokerage real estate is that the customer and for sale by the "contracted" process to disable the sharing relationships with customers, and treated as "End Sale" with respect to the sale in the real estate information system in this step the customer to ensure a regular member can no longer be viewed as a step has been configured to handle "complete agreement"; In addition, selling, if the general membership of the wish to lease the exclusive sale by selecting one of the real estate, leasing commission "to or for the Commission simultaneously to multiple real estate" regular sale, lease commissioned "to the sale of items in the real estate brokerage, leasing commission a, is connected to share the commission on a real estate agent queries the number of copies, and the like to lease the customer or included in interest in things rooms and view count, photorealistic times, including with respect to their sale in the property in real time, and view the It was configured to be Customers' point of view, it can reduce the time and effort to select a real estate brokerage businesses collectively determine possible agreement for all items registered on the real estate information system and proceed with the bulk due diligence because it reduces significantly the exhaustive efforts of customers, , real estate agent members also must waste of various expenses and labor consumption, reduce excessive competition the agreement reached stable to competitively bid the one customer in multiple real estate, as well as co-mediation approach of real estate mutual also be fair and safe because it was configured to significantly reduce the conflict between real estate

Long-Run Impacts of Land Regulation: Evidence from Tenancy Reform in India

Abstract: Agricultural tenancy reforms have been widely enacted, but evidence on their long-run impact remains limited. In this paper, we provide such evidence by exploiting the quasi-random assignment of linguistically similar areas to different South Indian states that subsequently varied in tenancy regulation policies. Given imperfect credit markets, the impact of tenancy reform should vary by household wealth status, allowing us to exploit historic caste-based variation in landownership. Thirty years after the reforms, land inequality is lower in areas that saw greater intensity of tenancy reform, but the impact differs across caste groups. Tenancy reforms increase own-cultivation among middle-caste households, but render low-caste households more likely to work as daily agricultural laborers. At the same time, agricultural wages increase. These results are consistent with tenancy regulations increasing land sales to relatively richer and more productive middle-caste tenants, but reducing land access for poorer low-caste tenants.

Adjudication in tenancy deposit scheme disputes: agents’ perspectives

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the operation of tenancy deposit protection within England and Wales. The paper consciously focuses solely on the views and perspectives of letting agents operating in the various schemes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with lettings agents in two distinct geographical urban areas, Birmingham and South Wales. Participants were selected for their market presence within a given area and the fact that they were all members of approved regulatory schemes. Findings – Overall, most agents were broadly happy with the process and considered adjudication to be an appropriate form of resolution for tenancy deposit disputes given the often small monetary value of the disputes and the large volume of cases. Concerns were raised, however, regarding the heavy bureaucratic burden placed on agents and on the perceived evidential burden on the landlord. There being a widely held view that a...

Tenure implication and property right on adoption of cocoa rehabilitation techniques in osun state of nigeria

Abstract: In an effort to achieve increased cocoa production in Nigeria, a number of initiatives were introduced towards increasing yields with the aim of reviving the old glory of cocoa and make it an engine of Nigerian economy. Despite this, farmers still produce below expected cocoa production figure due to conditions associated with their farmland. Tenure insecurity hindered acceptability of the established initiatives since majority of the farmers in the cocoa industries are holding the farmland in possession through different arrangements which provide the legal and normative framework within which all agricultural as well as other economic activities are conducted. On this note, this study aims to investigate the effects of tenure arrangement on adoption of CRTs. Result shows that respondents were mostly males, Christians, members of CFAN with mean age of 59.0+10.18 with average household size of 8 people, cultivating an average farm size of 17.38 acres, obtained mostly through different tenural patterns and scattered in different locations. Findings further reveals that age, membership to CFAN and tenure arrangement had significant relationship with adoption of cocoa rehabilitation techniques. And also, there was significant difference in the perception, as well as adoption of selective tree replanting, planting under old cocoa trees, chupon regeneration, coppicing, gapping up between tenant farmers and farm owners at p=0.05. Cocoa industry is mostly populated with tenant farmers who had unfavourable perception about cocoa rehabilitation resulting in low adoption rate due to challenge of insecurity of tenure. Thus, there is need for development of technological packages that meet the need of different categories of farmers based on their respective tenure. Also there is the need for securing land-use rights through improved tenancy arrangements to better meet the interests of small, tenant and landless farmers

Exploring land governance in post-disaster: a case of informal settlement

Abstract: SUMMARY Land is the fundamental element for shelter, protection, livelihood and early recovery from disasters such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. The effects of these disasters have direct consequences for the social, economic, legal and cultural life of the people surviving these disasters. These consequences can lead to human, structural and financial losses. The land issues are pertinent in terms of human vulnerability because land policies, and laws in access and allocation of land determine vulnerability of human beings during natural hazards. In this context, land governance – referred to as policies, rules, processes in access and allocation of land- plays significant role on the pre-disaster as well as post-disaster settings. The informal settlement is often considered as the outcome of weak land governance and it becomes more pertinent in the post-disaster settings. Basically, the proliferation of informal settlement as well as increased risk of vulnerability of existing informal settlements is often seen in the post-disaster context. Providing adequate shelter (after disaster) remains one of the intractable problems in international humanitarian response, particularly, in urban settings with tenure complexity such as multiple occupancy, informal tenure, and tenancy. However, these also create an opportunity to incorporate informal settlement in formal settings in the context of “Build Back Better”. Within this context, the focus of this paper is on analyzing the land governance in informal settlements during reconstruction phase of post-disaster periods. The method applied is based upon the desk research reviewing various literatures in the cases of Haiti earthquake 2010 and Gujrat earth quake 2001 in relation to land issues in postdisaster periods particularly in informal settlements. The comparative analysis of case studies shows that land governance plays a vital role in ”Building Back Better” which basically indicates towards reducing vulnerability in future disaster. The paper concludes with key lessons learnt in the context of land governance and ”Building Back Better”.