The Addis Abeba Land Development & Administration Bureau is gearing up to provide thousands of previously undocumented properties with official landholding rights in the latest push towards a complete digital transformation. District branches of the Bureau were informed last month that they have one month to complete issuing landholding certificates to residents settled in undocumented plots.

These properties, which have been in a bureaucratic limbo due to unstable administrative oversight and shifting mandates until 2005, are getting a fresh look as part of the city administration’s ambition to streamline and digitise its property records. The Bureau is addressing a legacy issue, with properties either bequeathed before the administrative restructuring in the mid-1990s or those made in the subsequent decade without the benefit of rigorous legal holdings.

Khalid Nesredin, who heads the land registration secretariat, described the challenge.

“We’ve struggled with these properties for years due to their intricate history,” he told Fortune. “It’s time to put a lid on this.”

Successive city administrations have made overtures to incorporate these plots into official registries, but efforts have been piecemeal. The current drive is arguably the most ambitious, targeting around 34,000 plots for registration in a few weeks. A decade ago, landholding rights were granted to nearly 60,000 households for plots secured before the 1996 administrative changes. Over 47,000 plots acquired before 2005 found their place in official registries eight years ago.

“Residents were either uninformed or simply reluctant in past registration processes,” said Khalid.

While potentially beneficial to property owners, the process is not without its checks. Khalid disclosed that districts would authenticate claims using information from the Weredas, a lower administrative unit. Plots acquired illicitly post-2005 might face city administration appropriation and could also see built-up properties demolished.

However, the path to regularisation is not without its problems.

Mare Koychaw, who leads Lideta District’s Land Development & Administration Bureau, revealed that of an estimated 1,500 undocumented properties across 10 Weredas in the District, a paltry 27 have obtained landholding rights. He saw legal ambiguities between extant directives and a six-year-old circular which warrants amendments.

While certain prerequisites, such as proof of utility payments or construction permits, are non-negotiable, residents have a lifeline. A validation letter from the District’s housing bureau or corresponding utility authorities can pave the way for services. According to Mare, such regularisation could benefit the city and property owners significantly.