ABSTRACT
Access to property in the form of shelter and livelihood is a basic accommodation demanded in all societies. In the developing world, internationally sponsored programs in favour of property titling of irregular settlements, landless farmers, and persons displaced from their homes are the major means to accomplish this goal. This chapter examines land titling as an accommodation practice and considers its advantages and disadvantages. It argues that full-title formalization may not be the best option to sustain long-term social policy goals. Instead, using the 2011 Colombian land restitution law and international principles as inspiration, procedural changes in property law – it is suggested – may offer some promising avenues for reform. Specifically, reversing legal presumptions and shifting burdens of proof with respect to property transfers, in combination with specific social programs, may leverage the benefits of full title and lessen some of its drawbacks. These arrangements may provide a means to safeguard a continuing stock of low-income housing and land for small-scale agriculture, or at least slow down their transfer to high-end development and industrial agriculture.
