Applications have begun – incredible turnout: People waiting in lines; Now you can "Have a Home of Your Own"

Applications can be submitted online through the digital platform established by the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism, using one’s personal ID number (JMBG) and ID card, an account on the eUprava portal, or via a local government service center.

Citizens will also be able to submit applications at 547 post offices across Serbia, as well as at an additional 150 locations that will become available by the end of the year, with the assistance of authorized postal staff who can fill out and submit the electronic application on their behalf. Registration fees range from €100 to €1,000, depending on the size of the property and its location.

Exemptions from payment apply to: social assistance recipients, persons with disabilities, war veterans, single parents, and families with three or more children.

The law stipulates that properties will first be recorded and then registered in the real estate cadastre, allowing citizens to freely manage their property – through sale, inheritance, mortgage, and legal connection to communal and other infrastructure.

The law also introduces zero tolerance for new illegal construction: once it comes into effect, any property built without a construction permit or approval for works will be registered as state property.

Fees for family houses and apartments depend on the size of the settlement (population):

• In Belgrade: €100–€1,000

• Settlements with over 100,000 inhabitants: €100–€500

• Settlements with 50,000–100,000 inhabitants: €100–€300

• Settlements with less than 50,000 inhabitants: fixed fee of €100

Fees for warehouses, auxiliary buildings, and production facilities are based on property size:

• Up to 500 m²: free

• Over 500 m²: €10 for each additional square meter beyond 500 m²

Required documentation includes:

• Valid ID card or passport

• Proof of acquisition (contract, inheritance decision, or court judgment)

• Cadastral parcel number (available on the “Geosrbija” website)

• Property details (type, area, number of floors)

• A statement under criminal and material responsibility confirming that the information provided is accurate.

The Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism compares the data from the application with public records. If the verification is positive, the agency issues a certificate and sends it to the Republic Geodetic Authority (RGZ), which carries out the priority registration of ownership rights, regardless of previous procedures.

If the verification result is negative, the agency immediately notifies the applicant and the relevant construction inspector electronically.

For properties built on someone else’s private land without legal basis, the agency will request that the applicant settle matters with the landowner.

Properties built on land designated for public use or in protected areas will either be removed or become state property.

Temporary structures (e.g., mobile homes, containers, inflatable halls) will be recorded but not registered as property. If the investor is known, they submit the registration application instead of the property owner and cover the fees. If the investor is unknown, any tenant, manager, professional administrator, or other legally interested party can submit the application for the building, after which the apartment owner registers their unit and pays the fee.

The fee for registering ownership rights for commercial and other buildings is equivalent to the contribution for development of construction land.

Fees are not paid in advance; after notification, the agency sends the payment request via email, phone, or to the address listed in the application. All amounts are paid in Serbian dinar equivalent, calculated using the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the day of calculation.

In recent days, the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Aleksandra Sofronijević, visited Pančevo, Šabac, Negotin, and Smederevska Palanka to ensure everything is ready for the submission of electronic property registration applications in these cities.

The minister emphasized that the new law “Svoj na svome” cannot be implemented without teamwork and called on citizens to submit applications and register their properties.

The Law on Special Conditions for Recording and Registering Property Rights, also known as the “Svoj na svome” law, came into force at the end of October, allowing owners of illegal structures to legalize their property for a fee of €100–€1,000.

An exception is provided for those who, for objective reasons, did not submit an application within the prescribed deadline; they may do so within one year from the law’s entry into force, with evidence justifying the late submission.

The law covers recording and registering property rights, i.e., the legalization of illegal construction. This includes:

• Objects or parts of objects built contrary to the law

• Objects where works were carried out without a construction permit (e.g., repair, reconstruction, adaptation, change of purpose)

• Objects for which a temporary construction permit was issued before May 13, 2003

The law also includes a social component, stipulating special conditions for owners for whom the property is their only residence, including single parents, social assistance recipients, rural households, war veterans, and families with three or more children, who are exempt from legalization fees.

The registration process is conducted through a digital platform established by the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism on the information infrastructure of the Republic Geodetic Authority. According to some estimates, Serbia has around 4.8 million illegal structures.