Investment Council discusses legal certainty of property rights and private sector challenges

The Investment Council (IC) held a meeting chaired by the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Ms Delina Ibrahimaj, with the participation of the Director General of the State Cadastre Agency (SCA), Ms Lorena Goxhobelli. Discussions focused on the challenges faced by the private sector regarding access to cadastral data, progress in digitalisation, and the completion of initial registration nationwide to ensure legal certainty of property rights. The meeting brought together IC members, as well as representatives from the public and private sectors and international development partners.

In her remarks, Minister Ibrahimaj highlighted the importance of legal certainty of property rights for the business environment, underlining progress in the digitalisation of public services and reforms aimed at simplifying administrative procedures. She also stressed the need to continue deregulation efforts and improve the legal framework, as well as the importance of cadastre digitalisation within the European Reform Agenda and the Growth Plan.

In her intervention, Ms Goxhobelli noted that the digitalisation of cadastral data and the completion of initial registration have recorded significant progress over the past two years, strengthening the foundations for secure property rights and legal certainty. In December 2025, the SCA completed the scanning of 54 million documents and reached approximately 90% digitalisation of property records, with full completion targeted for June 2026.[1] She also highlighted improvements in service quality, the expansion of automated processes, and the integration of digital systems as key elements that enhance transparency, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen legal certainty for citizens and businesses.

The IC Secretariat then presented its analysis of progress and remaining challenges in cadastral digitalisation and administration, and their impact on legal certainty of property rights and the investment climate from a business perspective. Recommendations were put forward to strengthen legal certainty, standardise processes, improve access and transparency, enhance inclusiveness, and support institutional performance monitoring.

Business representatives expressed support for the proposed recommendations and emphasised the need to address concerns related to unclear property titles, procedural delays, and the need for greater transparency, predictability and efficiency in cadastral services.

International development partners underlined that secure property rights remain fundamental to economic development and EU integration, commending cooperation with Albanian institutions and reaffirming their continued financial and technical support for reforms in this area.

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Full materials from the meeting, including findings from a survey of 146 companies on the digitalisation of cadastral services, will be published in the coming weeks.

[1] In parallel, the digitisation of cadastral maps has begun and is expected to be completed in 2026. As regards initial registration, coverage is projected to reach 96.5% by 2026, with full nationwide completion anticipated in 2027.