Proclamation No 721/2011 uses the word lease right instead of land right because the scope of

this proclamation is limited to urban lands. Article 2(1) defines the term lease and by this
definition, a person will get a use right concerning urban lands.Article 4(1) specifies how access
to urban land includes the right to use urban land by lease. This point is further understood by
looking at article 5(1) which prohibits land possession other than lease holding and also by
looking at the title of Article 6, which deals with issues related to the conversion of old
possessions to leasehold. According to article 5, no person can acquire urban land other than the
lease holding system and the permission of the appropriate body is needed to use a plot of any
land adjacent to his lawful possession. Article 6 is basically about the conversion of old
possessions to lease land. The term old possession is defined under Article 2(18). Generally, land
held before the EPRDF as well as land held through informal means that wasn't certified must be
registered as leased land. All land in urban areas shall be registered as lease land after being
identified and registered by the municipality, and the person will be subject to payment of lease
price when land is transferred to a third person other than inheritance, when old possession and
newly leased land are merged, and when informal settlement land is being regularized. Article
7(2) is about the modalities of urban land acquisition. An urban land can be accessed to the
citizen in only 2 ways and this is A, tender, and B, allotment. A Tender-The term tender is
defined under Article 2(9) and the basic concept of tender is found under Article 8-11. According
to article 8, the appropriate body shall ascertain basic elements before advertising urban lands
prepared for tender. Under article 9 and 10, the appropriate body will give information relating to
urban land prepared for tender like the lease benchmark price, and make it easily accessible to
the public. According to article 11, the appropriate body will put bid documents on sale and the
person who is willing to bid will participate and each person can't buy more than one bid
document for the same plot. If less than 3 bidders participate the bid will be canceled but article
11(8) is an exception to this principle. The highest bidder is selected based on various criteria
such as bid price, amount of down payment, and duration of payment under article 11(5). B,
Allotment- the term allotment is defined under Article 2(10) and the basic concept of allotment
is found under article 12-13. According to article 12(1) allotment of urban lands upon decisions
of the cabinet of the concerned region or the city, the administration will be given to institutions
that are listed under this sub-article. The cabinet of the concerned region or city administration
has the ultimate power in deciding these projects whether or not having a significant advantage
over the region or the city administrations. If a person is displaced due to an urban renewal
program he will be entitled to a substitute land by virtue of Article 12(2). According to article 13,
a person can request urban land lease holding through allotment by fulfilling certain
requirements. Once a person has access to urban land by tender or allotment, he shall conclude a
contract of lease with an appropriate body by virtue of Article 16(1).according to article 16 the
lease contract must include the important elements listed under this article and the person must
know about the contents of the contract before signing the contract. Once the person has signed
the lease contract the appropriate body will give him the lease holding certificate that is prepared
in accordance with article 17 and then the person will receive the plot of land by physically
appearing on site. According to article 18, the period of lease varies based on the level of urban
development and sector of development activity and the years are listed under sub-article 1 and
sub-article 2 is an exception for the principle of the period of the lease. According to article 20 of
the proclamation, a person permitted urban land lease holding may be given a period of lease
payment taking into account the payback period of the investment. However, the amount of
down payment, to be determined in accordance with the prevailing factors of the region or the
city administration, may not be less than 10% of the total lease amount of the urban land. Then
the remaining balance of the lease amount shall be paid based on equal annual installments
during the payment term. By virtue of Article 20(6), the appropriate body shall have the power to
seize and sell the property when the lessee failed to pay. By virtue of article 26-31, the
appropriate body shall have the power, where it is in the public interest, to clear and take over
urban land upon payment of commensurate compensation, in advance, for the properties to be
removed from the land. . The appropriate body shall in certain cases take over land in respect of
which a clearing order or notice has been served. Urban land clearing and compensation cases
appellate tribunals shall be established by regions and city administrations. According to article
33 of the proclamation, Regions and City administrations shall have the powers and duties to
issue regulations and directives necessary for the implementation of the Proclamation.