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Articles on Property law

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DNA is a trove of personal information that can be hard to keep track of and protect. Boris Zhitkov/Moment via Getty Images

Genetic paparazzi are right around the corner, and courts aren’t ready to confront the legal quagmire of DNA theft

Both Macron and Madonna have expressed concerns about genetic privacy. As DNA collection and sequencing becomes increasingly commonplace, what may seem paranoid may instead be prescient.
A satellite captured large and small deforestation patches in Amazonas State in 2015. The forest loss has escalated since then. USGS/NASA Landsat data/Orbital Horizon/Gallo Images/Getty Images

The great Amazon land grab – how Brazil’s government is clearing the way for deforestation

Land grabs spearheaded by wealthy interests are accelerating deforestation, and Brazil’s National Congress is working to legitimize them.
Vendors in Australia are not legally obliged to tell prospective buyers about past crimes such as murder committed on the property. Dan Peled/AAP

What should buyers of a house be told about it?

It’s still mostly a case of ‘buyer beware’ when it comes to finding out about a property. But many buyers feel they should be told if, for example, it was the scene of a violent murder.
Many rural farmers in India lack clear ownership of the land they work and live on. AP Photo/Anupam Nath

Blockchain-based property registries may help lift poor people out of poverty

Without secure records of property ownership, many poor people around the world have trouble improving their economic situations. Several countries are already trying blockchain-based land registries.
Property is under threat, physically and conceptually, from climate change. .Martin./flickr

Can property survive the great climate transition?

To create property systems that are as dynamic as the landscapes we occupy, we might need to start thinking about ourselves as belonging to and answerable to the land, not the other way around.
Our land-title system originated in the mid-19th century when Sir Robert Richard Torrens campaigned to reform Adelaide’s chaotic deeds-based land system. National Library of Australia

Torrens, our land-title pioneer, might have approved of privatised registries

Sir Robert Richard Torrens – the man behind Australia’s ‘Torrens system’ of land-title registration – was an economic liberal who might have approved of privatising title registries.
A blockchain’s ability to move assets from one owner to another allows less dependence on intermediaries. www.shutterstock.com

How the blockchain will transform housing markets

There are many hidden costs and inefficiencies in housing markets. Blockchain is poised to transform that.
Federal and state agencies are using powerful automated data-matching programs to identify properties that are generating income and might be liable for tax. from www.shutterstock.com

Airbnb hosts beware – it’s not just Centrelink using robo-debt systems

State revenue offices are using data matching to identify people who earn income from Airbnb, then sending notices that they may be liable for land tax, even though this remains a legal grey area.
Australians do business with a title office only a couple of times in their lives – when they buy and sell their homes, for instances. AAP/Paul Miller

What are the implications of privatising land title offices?

Privatisation has its advantages. But Australia’s title offices may not necessarily be the right government businesses to be privatised.
Several preventative measures can be taken to reduce the impact of fraudulent property industry behaviour on consumers. AAP/Dan Peled

How can we arrest the rise in white-collar crime in Australia’s property industry?

Consumers lose out when a real estate agent acts fraudulently – be that false advertising, deceptive conduct or misusing trust funds. Research shows a link between such misconduct and lower regulatory and educational standards.

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