Land Markets for Housing in Angola – Policy Paper

Access to land markets for housing and urban development in Angola continues to be both a challenge and an opportunity. Since its independence in 1975, and most notably since the end of the war, in 2002, Angola has undertaken to create a suitable legal framework to address the complex issues related to land access in the country. During the past decade a set of new legislation and regulations was published, covering issues such as concessions, and the functions of the local levels of government in the administration of land. However, ten years later in December 2014, a national consultation on issues of land, led by private organisations came to the conclusion that the Land Law 9/04, did not deliver the expected results. Two key areas that have not been addressed in the legislation are the administration of land in peri-urban areas where the majority of the urban population live without the formal ownership and the regulation of customary land rights, particularly in rural areas.

This paper on Access to Land contributes to the discussion on important issues of land policy and identifies some of the gaps and contradictions that remain in the regulations and current practice. The paper also introduces a discussion about the “capture the value of land”. As Angola enters its second year of economic slowdown, it is clear that the State Budget already cannot, by itself, sustain the public subsidies needed for urban development and housing, at the same level as the last decade. In order to mobilise the private sector, domestic and international banks and individual investments at home-owner to fill the gap, a reform in legislation and administration of land may be needed. The set of recommendations are mapped to allow markets to function more equitable and transparent, so that both improve the security of tenure and also the security for investors through the creation of value of land. Mechanisms are recommended, that Angola can be used to capture a part of this value for the public benefit.