Communities and Local Government secretary Eric Pickles said he wants councils and public sector organisations to publish the information which will help protect frontline services.
Public sector assets are worth an estimated £385bn, with almost two thirds owned by councils. And a recent independent report found local government and the public sector could save up to £7bn a year in operational costs through better property management.
Annual running costs top £25bn and the backlog of maintenance repairs has been estimated to be around £40bn.
Pickles said he wanted local people to be able to use the lists alongside the Localism Bill’s new community rights to protect local treasures.
He believes the public have a right to see the scale and variety of public sector asset wealth.
A “demo” map was published and located over 180,000 assets owned by almost 600 public sector bodies, including central government and 87 councils.
Pickles said: "We need to know, now more than ever exactly what assets are publicly owned. The general public probably have no idea of the sheer scale and scope of property and land on the public sector's books. In many cases it goes way beyond traditional frontline services.
“I want the public sector to take a good hard look at what they own. By cataloguing each and every asset councils can help Government find innovative new ways to utilise them, improve local services, and keep council running costs down and save taxpayers' money.
“This asset information also holds huge potential for local communities, offering an at a glance way to find that new meeting place or rescue the derelict tennis court round the corner."
