Property market & legislation in Serbia

LEGISLATION

LAND CLASSIFICATION

According to the Law on Planning and Construction, the main types of land are:

• Construction land
• Agricultural land

There are two types of construction land:

• Public construction land
• Other construction land

Public construction land is land in state ownership, on which public structures of general interest have been built, and developed public areas, as well as land, according to an adopted plan, designated for stated purposes.
Other construction land is land that can be in all types of ownership, due to fact that it is subject to free trade on the market.

LAND OWNERSHIP

Apart from private and state property, there are specific types of public property and different forms of collective property (cooperative, mixed property).

All of the city construction land is under the state property regime. Owing to the fact that the city land is state property, the real estates built on this land are in private ownership. The owner of real estate built on city land enjoys exclusive “right of use” of the land.

According to the legal regulations, foreign individuals and legal entities which have business in the Republic of Serbia can acquire real estate (except city construction land – state property) in the same way as domestic entities, on two conditions:

• Property intended for use must be for business purposes
• Reciprocity must exist with the foreign country from which foreign investor is coming

There are certain limitations on acquiring real estate property rights for foreigners which are related to property locations (vicinity of military facilities or the like).


LEASE OF OTHER CONSTRUCTION LAND

Lease period: private family homes - 99 years; other purposes – 15 to 80 years

Initial fee is 90% of the market value of the construction land

Procedure:
1. Public auction in Public Enterprise (PE) for City Construction and Development
2. Bringing a Leasing Act from the Executive Board of the City Assembly
3. Signing a leasing contract with the PE for City Construction and Development

Deadline for bringing the land to its intended use, in compliance with the urban development plan, is 3 years following the day of signing the lease contract.


PERMISSION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BUILDINGS

Construction of building is carried out on the basis of Construction Approval and technical documentation consisting of: general design , conceptual design, detailed design (subject to technical control), contractor’s design and as-built design.