Government using AI to clear land registry backlog
The Government is using an artificial intelligence system to help clear a huge backlog in land title cases.
Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, told the House of Assembly on Friday that the Land Title and Registration Department faced an accumulating backlog of about 800 first-registration cases.
“This increase was due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the surge in property sales and an increase in voluntary registrations,” he said.
“These factors highlight the need for an efficient and secure method of processing title registrations.
“Our current resources have proven insufficient to address this increased volume of work.
“Although we have embarked on a project to scan deeds, this step alone is not enough to clear the backlog, as each document still requires a detailed review, verification and entry process, which is both time-consuming and resource intensive.”
Mr Roban said his ministry had considered several options including offering overtime, hiring additional staff at an estimated cost of $470,000, outsourcing to overseas vendors, using trainees and engaging retired legal professionals.
He added: “Each option had significant drawbacks, including high costs, risk to indemnity and resource constraints.
“After a thorough review, the Ministry of Home Affairs determined that an AI-driven solution, like the model implemented by the UK Land Registry, is the most sustainable and cost-effective option.
“This approach promises to meet current needs while preparing the department for future demands.”
He said the ministry was partnering with FluentData as its AI vendor at a cost of $50,000.
Mr Roban told the House: “After successful testing, the AI system demonstrated that it could extract required information from deeds in seconds, a task that would otherwise take human officers several hours.
“This technology will streamline document processing, reduce caseworker workload and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows.”
The department was established in 2006 with the core responsibilities of ensuring secure property ownership by maintaining official land title records, enabling people to prove ownership, preventing disputes and providing legal certainty.
Mr Roban said the backlog impacted other critical services and delayed the flow of land tax information to the Office of the Tax Commissioner, affected realtors, the Land Valuation Department, mortgage banks, and had “broader implications for our economy”.
He added: “The backlog of 800 case files has already been scanned, organised and returned to the department.
“We have secured approval for a subscription-based Google AI service to process these digital files.
“We anticipate that the data extraction process will be completed within 12 weeks or sooner.”
• To read the minister’s statement in full, see Related Media
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