Albania Land and Property

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Albania

Land and Property

Types of Land Records

Endowed Properties (Waqfiyat)

Records of Endowed Properties [Waqfiyat] are accounts of land deeded to a mosque or charitable institution. Although not specifically observed in Albania, these documents are known to exist in other Muslim areas of the Ottoman Empire, meaning it is quite likely that such records exist in Albania as well. There are two types of waqfs. One is a document which deeds an individual's property to a mosque or other charitable institution which would thereafter be regarded as the property's legal owner. The other type of waqf is known as the waqf khass or chair (private waqf) in which case the property is legally owned by a pious or charitable institution, but the revenues are divided among the donor's descendants, including wives and daughters, through several generations. The waqf may also benefit the extended family, including brothers and sisters and their children, as well as freed slaves. When there are no more descendants the revenues accrue to the institution. The waqf system was not uniquely limited to Muslims.

Records exist from 1500 to the present. The practice of waqf goes back to at least the 1200s, but the earliest known documents from the Ottoman Empire date from the 1400s. These records cover 20% of the population.

These records list the names of heirs, including even wives and daughters, over several generations. Some waqfs kept track of the deaths of beneficiaries also. The documents were signed in the presence of witnesses and certified by a qadi or judge.

The official copy was kept by the qadi or was registered and kept by the appropriate department of the government.

Cadastral Surveys

The Cadastral Surveys can establish individual identity and residence and may sometimes establish family groups (at least partially).

• For more information, see Ottoman Detailed Cadastral Surveys in Albania .