DEADLINE FOR LEGALIZATION EXPIRED: Almost 2.5 million applications arrived for the registration of illegal buildings!

At midnight, the deadline for submitting applications for the registration of illegal buildings expired. 2,470,000 applications from citizens have arrived, RTS learns.

The highest number of registered objects is in Belgrade, specifically in the city municipalities of Palilula and Zemun, followed by the cities of Niš, Kragujevac, and Novi Sad.

Authorities say that extending the deadline proved to be completely correct, as over 13 percent of the total number of applications were submitted in the last three days.

For objects of religious communities, the deadline will be extended until the end of March, because the platform became active for those properties at the end of January.

WHAT DOES THE “OWN ON ONE’S OWN” LAW REPRESENT?

The Law on Special Conditions for Recording and Registering Rights to Real Estate “Own on One’s Own” entered into force at the end of October.

It is an administrative procedure in which the right of ownership of an illegal object is determined, after which the object is registered in the real estate cadastre.

The applicant will become “Own on One’s Own” when the Republic Geodetic Authority registers them in the real estate cadastre.

The first registrations of unregistered objects began on Friday, February 6, according to the relevant ministry.

The deadline for applying for the registration of objects was originally February 5, but it was extended by three days due to great interest from citizens and a sudden increase in the number of users in the system.

Registration began on December 8 via the digital platform of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism.

Citizens had the opportunity to submit an application at around 550 post offices across Serbia, as well as at another 150 locations.

LEGALIZATION OF ILLEGAL OBJECTS ENABLED WITH A FEE OF UP TO 1,000 EUROS

The Law on Special Conditions for Recording and Registering Rights to Real Estate “Own on One’s Own” entered into force at the end of October, and it enables owners of illegal objects to legalize their property with a fee of 100 to 1,000 euros.

The fee costs depended on the area of the object and the location where the property is situated, while recipients of social assistance, persons with disabilities, veterans, single parents, and families with three or more children were exempt from payment.

The law provides for objects to be recorded and then registered in the real estate cadastre, allowing citizens to freely dispose of their property—through buying and selling, inheritance, mortgages, and legal connection to communal and other infrastructure.

Also, the law provides for zero tolerance for new illegal construction, because upon its entry into force, all objects built without an issued building permit or without a decision on approval for the execution of works will be registered as state property.