Informatizzazione del Libro fondiario
Provincia Autonoma di Trento - Servizio Libro fondiario

A. Problem Analysis

 1. What was the problem before the implementation of the initiative?
With the Royal Decree no. 499 of March 28th 1929, the Italian legislation established that land registers shall be regulated by the Austrian law of 1871 but, according to a new act, it related to the provisions of the Italian law. Subseguently after W.W.I.,the region of Trentino Alto Adige has had a title registration system, based on the Austrian "Grundbuch" model, known as "tavolare". This title system, known as "tavolare" is the registration of inter vivos acts, which also has constitutive value, thereby, before being entered in the Register, the purchaser is not the owner of the right. Each land parcel is identified on a map and the related rights are recorded in the "Main Book" along with the name of the owner. The "Libro Fondiario" is organized under the "real folio" principle. The Land Register consists of the main register ("Libro Maestro") and its collection of documents. In the main register, which consists of three sections, every landed property has its own entry, organised by entry numbers. The collection of documents consists of all documents which served as a basis for the registration of a landed property. The new electronic database - which was fully introduced in 2008 - has been integrated with the cadastral data and is meant to replace the traditional books. As opposed to the provisions of the Italian Civil Code, real property rights are not acquired until they are legally registered in the Land Register: both title and .entry ("intavolazione") are required. The above only applies to contracts between living individuals. The entries in the Land Register are carried out in compliance with a decree of the land register judge. No article must be neglected in the judge's examination, including the legality of the document, the capacity of the parties, issues that affect the validity of the agreement, the impact of the right in question on property, and any impairments regarding the description of the property. The land register judge is assisted by a registrar, who is deeply involved in all the phases of the procedure. In light of the accuracy provided by the examination formerly described, the land register's entries benefits of public faith: any person relying on them in good faith benefits of almost absolute protection. Before computerization, file registration in the Land Register ("piombatura") and entry ("intavolazione") were done manually. That I to say that the public servant wrote the number of the file and the content of the right in the book. For this very reason, the recording procedure was slower than nowadays. The adopted measure proved complex for the common user to understand, considering that on the book you could find either the old or the actual registration. The implementation of the computerized database enabled a 24 hour accessibility to the information from anywhere through the use of the portal, saving individuals considerable time and money, whereas before, individuals were reguired to physically present themselves to a designated office. Needless to say, this was a time consuming procedure as opening hours were also restricted.

B. Strategic Approach

 2. What was the solution?
In 1999, the region of Trentino Alto Adige underwent the computerization of the Public Administration in charge of the management of the Land Register System. The entire procedure is currently regulated by a special law (L.R. 1 agosto 1999 nr. 4 , Informatizzazione del Libro Fondiario"). To the present day, each registration ("piombatura") and every entry ("intavolazione") are automated. The file is recorded and given an identification number. The public servant enters the Real Folio numbers concerned by the motion. The system then inscribes the registration number in each Folio. The number on the Folio shows that there is an in progress file. Following the Judge's decree, the civil servant writes the content of the right in the Main Book. The system then generates multiple registrations (= that have to be made on more than one Folio). The Main Register data and documents can be visualized online (www.Openkat.it), at any time.

 3. How did the initiative solve the problem and improve people’s lives?
The project was a success in combining an ancient Land Registry system with a modern program. It was not only about copying a simple database (e.g. name and other personal data); but the proposal was aimed to publish our system online: the data contained in the Paper Book were controlled and screened. Any irrelevant registration was deleted.

C. Execution and Implementation

 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
L.R. 1 agosto 1999 nr. 4 regulates the entire procedure. Within each office a special Commission was created, to screen the data. The Head of the Commission was a Registrar; other members were civil servants specifically trained. The entered data was checked by internal personnel and also by a proof reader. Ensuing, a Section o'f a local Court verified all the registrations concerning a local District and confirmed them with a decree. The project involved 15 Commissions, which entered 2 million registrations in 430.000 Real Folios. The proposal was completed within 6 years.

 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
The software was developed by Informatica Trentina, a public company. The data was registered by the civil servants of each office, with the support of other personnel hired for this purpose. A group of technicians developed a special software to attach a plan of the house (it is a technical paper which represents the different ownerships of a building) to the motion. Ultimately, it will be possible to send motions online, through www.Openkat.it. The board of notaries also offered an important support in writing the bill and testing the software.
 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
The Region of Trentino Alto Adige contributed to the financing of the project. It was necessary to hire new personnel, which had to enter the data and check the Real Folios. This personnel had be trained prior. Informatica Trentina developed two new softwares: one was used to enter the data; the second is still used to manage the system.

 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
After Land Register computerization a) it is now possible to record automatically the file, giving it a registration number, written immediately in the Real Folio; any multiple registration is made by the system in each Real Folio concerned by the motion; the system manages either the current registration, or the archived registrations; b) the Real Folio shows only the current registration; if someone needs an archived registration, he can choose what to see from a drop-down menu; c) the Real Folio can be seen at any time, also when offices are closed; the user can search for Real Folios, Documents, Motions and Decrees online; d) Every decree is sent to the recipient using a certified e- mail system.

 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
The Province Municipalities of Trento is divided into 447 Cadastral ("Comune Catastale"); the computerization was scheduled; the project planned a time limit for the computerization of each Cadastral Municipality. All entries have been checked by a proof reader.

 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
The biggest challenge was creating an information technology database for a system which, for a century, had been organized to work "on paper". A considerably large amount of entries was to be filtered and analyzed; it was not enough to copy them from paper to files. We had to find the right way to simplify the real folios and to show the user a single actual registration.

D. Impact and Sustainability

 10. What were the key benefits resulting from this initiative?
File registration ("piombatura") was made manually by an employee on every single real folio of a paper book. Every registration lasted a few minutes (in the case of easy motions) or even for a whole day (for more complex motions) . With the newly implemented system, the file is registered and is immediately attributed a registration number for each real folio concerned with the motion (it takes as little as few minutes). Data entry ("intavolazione") was formerly made manually in each real folio. The public servant wrote the content of the right on a paper book. When a mortgage was to be registered in many real folios, the employee had to write the content of the right in each folio. It took him several hours. Now the system allows to write it once and then to recall the entry to be used for other folios. Consultation. The user can connect to the Land Register through www.openkat.it 24hr/day, 7/7 days. Before computerization the user should go to a Land Register Office during opening Hours (mon-fri 8.45 - 12.45) . Notification. The decree is notified through a certified e-mail system.

 11. Did the initiative improve integrity and/or accountability in public service? (If applicable)
Regione Trentino Alto Adige is still financing every technical support for software upgrade and to solve technical problems. Our project could be easily used by Land Register Systems similar to ours.

 12. Were special measures put in place to ensure that the initiative benefits women and girls and improves the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable? (If applicable)
After Land Register computerization every search is faster and instant; this means much more safety for the user (Lawyer, Notary) who is writing a document. We hope it will be soon possible to send the motion and to submit the decree to the judge on line.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Provincia Autonoma di Trento - Servizio Libro fondiario
Institution Type:   Public Agency  
Contact Person:   Iole Manica
Title:   Servizio Libro fondiario executive  
Telephone/ Fax:   00390461491618
Institution's / Project's Website:  
E-mail:   servizio.librofondiario@provincia.tn.it  
Address:   via Gilli, 4
Postal Code:   38121
City:   Trento
State/Province:   Trento
Country:  

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