The Local Area Distortion Factor (LADF): Resolving Property Area and Spatial Deviations from Geodetic Transformations in the Greek Cadastre

The Hellenic Cadastre, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025, represents a major modernization step in Greece’s technical and legal documentation of property rights as the successor to the country’s land registry system. It will also constitute a land administration system, since it will encompass not only property rights but also restrictions and regulations in the context of RRR. A significant technical but also legal challenge inherent to this system pertains to the resolution of deviations between surfaces calculated prior to 1990 based on older geodetic reference systems and recalculated today using the current Greek Geodetic Reference System, GGRS87. Deviations that arise from geodetic transformations between older and modern projected reference systems are compounded by limitations inherent in historical surveying techniques and in the geodetic infrastructure that was available at the time. To address this issue, we introduce the Local Area Distortion Factor (LADF), a novel metric factor designed to adjust and harmonize property areas across different geodetic systems. This real-world case study offers a practical illustration of the application of LADF, demonstrating its capacity to enhance the precision of cadastral records while preserving interpretability for both experts and non-experts. LADF can also be used to improve land adjustment processes during the implementation of urban plans, property valuation, taxation, and notary acts that are in different reference systems.