Real estate interests in Deir Ezzor… Efforts to preserve property and revive archives amid the challenges of loss

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service and development plans aimed at preserving real estate properties, preserving documents and records, and improving the quality of services provided to citizens, in an effort to revitalize real estate work and enhance the capacity of the relevant departments to meet the needs of visitors.

As part of these efforts, the Directorate is working to implement a thorough and detailed inventory of the cadastral plans and technical transactions stored in the Survey Secretariat’s warehouse. This plan aims to reactivate the services provided by the Survey Department, improve the organization of documents, and inventory existing ones, thus facilitating access to available real estate information.

In parallel, work continues to equip contract warehouses with appropriate and safe means to preserve real estate documents, in addition to binding records and following up on electronic archiving, with the aim of protecting documentary assets, reducing the risk of their damage or loss, and providing a more appropriate environment for preserving records that constitute an essential reference for proving real estate rights.

The real estate departments in Deir Ezzor, Al-Mayadeen, and Al-Bukamal provide their services to citizens through the main building of the directorate in the city of Deir Ezzor, allowing the continued provision of services within the available capabilities, despite the challenges facing restoring work to full capacity.

Despite the steps taken, the Directorate still faces fundamental challenges, most notably the shortage of qualified personnel and the lack of an integrated digital system that allows records to be kept and retrieved reliably and quickly. There is also still a need for a comprehensive national plan to address the file of lost real estate records, whether by reproducing documents available to other directorates, or establishing a central reserve archive that ensures the protection of data and documents from loss in emergency situations.

The repercussions of losing a large portion of real estate records are not limited to administrative aspects, but extend to the heart of property rights. The lack of documentation complicates procedures for proving ownership, increases the difficulty of handling real estate disputes, and negatively impacts confidence in real estate transactions and investment opportunities, in light of the need for reliable references that ensure clarity of rights and sound legal procedures.

The efforts made by the Real Estate Services Directorate in Deir Ezzor represent an important step towards preserving the remaining real estate archives and reactivating services. However, addressing existing challenges requires moving from inventory, organization, and preservation work to an integrated system that includes digitization, training personnel, recovering lost records, and creating secure and interconnected backup copies between directorates.

The real estate registry is not just an administrative document, but rather a guarantee of citizens’ rights, a pillar of legal stability, and one of the basic components for the recovery of economic and real estate activity. Hence, protecting the real estate archives in Deir Ezzor represents not only a technical task, but also a responsibility related to preserving rights, enhancing confidence in institutions, and creating the necessary conditions to rebuild a safer and more transparent real estate environment.