Registering Property in Lao PDR

This section records the full sequence of procedures, time, and cost involved in registering property in Lao PDR. The Doing Business project assumes a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase a piece of property in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. The property consists of land and a building, is already registered, and is free of title dispute. The process of property registration is complete once the property title has been transferred to the buyer’s name, so that the buyer is able to use the property for expanding business, as collateral for new loans, or, if necessary, to sell it to another business.

The country data appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2009.

The table below provides a summary of property registration requirements (along with the associated completion time and cost). The table is followed by additional country-specific details for registration requirements.

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Standardized property

Property Value: LAK 356,872,155
City: Vientiane

Registration Requirements Summary:


  Procedure Time to complete: Cost to complete:
1 Notarization of sale-purchase agreement 2-3 days LAK 186,998 + 1,000 per page (assuming 5 pages)
2 Inspection of the property by a land official 10 days To be paid in Procedure 3
3 Obtain a certificate of land guarantee and the land map 1 day LAK 30,000 (certificate) + LAK 30,000 (map)
4 The Village Chief should be informed of the transaction 1 day Paid in Procedure 6
5 Obtain stamp and signature from the district land office 2 days Paid in Procedure 6
6 Collect certified information with regard to the purchaser 3-10 days LAK 50,000
7 Change of the records in the Land Register Book 10 days LAK 30,000 + LAK 20,000 (stamp duty) + about 1% of property price (transfer tax) + 3% property value (registration fee)
8 Give public notice of the transaction up to 90 days LAK 40,000
9 The new land deed is delivered to the buyer by the Land Management Authority 15 days no cost

Registration Requirement Details

Procedure 1.
Notarization of sale-purchase agreement
Time to complete:
2-3 days
Cost to complete:
LAK 186,998 + 1,000 per page (assuming 5 pages)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The signed sale-purchase agreement must be certified by the notary, at the village level, to attest that the land use right has been acquired by transfer. This document will constitute the Land acquisition certificate required for the application for land registration - art. 45 Land Law.
Procedure 2.
Inspection of the property by a land official
Time to complete:
10 days
Cost to complete:
To be paid in Procedure 3
Name of Agency:
Comment:
An inspection by the land official takes place before registration of the property.
The duration depends on the availability of the land officers and of the neighbors of the land parcel and generally takes 10 days since several parties are involved. The main issue is the property’s contact with neighbors and their agreement.
Procedure 3.
Obtain a certificate of land guarantee and the land map
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
LAK 30,000 (certificate) + LAK 30,000 (map)
Name of Agency:
District land office and provincial/municipality land office
Comment:
The buyer should obtain a certificate of land guarantee at the district land office and provincial/municipality land office where the Land Titling Project is being implemented.
This will be required for the application for land registration - art. 45 Land Law. The land map is obtained at the province/municipality land office, after measurement of land by the land official in Procedure 2.
Procedure 4.
The Village Chief should be informed of the transaction
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
Paid in Procedure 6
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Parties must go to the village where the parcel is located to inform the Village Chief.
Procedure 5.
Obtain stamp and signature from the district land office
Time to complete:
2 days
Cost to complete:
Paid in Procedure 6
Name of Agency:
District land office
Comment:
Parties must obtain the stamp and signature at the district land office
Procedure 6.
Collect certified information with regard to the purchaser
Time to complete:
3-10 days
Cost to complete:
LAK 50,000
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The purchaser collects the certified statutory document (copy of the contract between the providers of capital, copy of the Enterprise Registry, copy of the articles of association) in order to provide the basic information required for the registration - art. 47 Land Law.

The buyer can get the certificate statutory document at district or province/municipality land offices. Before that, he must go to different places to get the certificate: first to the village where the parcel is located to inform the Village Chief, then to the district land office for the stamp and signature and then to the province/municipality land office to obtain the certificate.
Procedure 7.
Change of the records in the Land Register Book
Time to complete:
10 days
Cost to complete:
LAK 30,000 + LAK 20,000 (stamp duty) + about 1% of property price (transfer tax) + 3% property value (registration fee)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 8.
Give public notice of the transaction
Time to complete:
up to 90 days
Cost to complete:
LAK 40,000
Name of Agency:
Comment:
There must be publication of an information notice at the village and district offices, and in the media - art. 49 Land Law. The parties must wait for up to 90 days to continue with the registration process, as long as no objection is presented during that period.
Procedure 9.
The new land deed is delivered to the buyer by the Land Management Authority
Time to complete:
15 days
Cost to complete:
no cost
Name of Agency:
Land Management Authority
Comment:
If no claim from third party occurs - according to art. 49 of the Land Law, the buyer receives his new title. This procedure may take longer if there is a dispute on the ownership.