Legalization of facilities according to the 2025 law

1. Introduction - New law on legalization from 2025

By now, you must have heard about the new law that was passed on October 24th, 2025, under an emergency procedure in the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia. In the media, the term Legalization law has become established (which is not surprising, since in the previous 30 years, numerous laws were passed that tried to solve the problem of legalization of buildings built without proper permits), but that is not the official name of this law.

The official title of the law, which was published in the Official Gazette on the day following its adoption, reads: "The Law on Special Conditions for Recording and Registration of Property Rights". December 8th, 2025, is marked as the start of the application (submission of applications, that is, 45 days from the date of publication. Since this law refers to the legalization of objects made without the permission of the competent authorities, the previously mentioned colloquial name "Law on legalization" may better describe its true nature, and we will refer to it as the Law in the rest of the text.

The law will try to solve the decades-long problem of illegal construction in Serbia and the various problems encountered by citizens who live in such buildings, starting from the lack of appropriate infrastructure and ending with legal issues that inevitably arise, such as difficult transfer of ownership, lower value, problems in the inheritance process, and others. What fundamentally distinguishes this Law from the previous laws related to legalization is that the entire procedure will take place on a digital platform and that it will not be necessary to create expensive technical documents for the submission of requests and registration of property rights.

The state authorities responsible for the implementation of this law are the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Agency) and the Republic Geodetics Bureau (hereinafter: the Bureau). Also, the Law states that the act that initiates the legalization procedure is an "Application".

Based on the information we currently have at our disposal, in this text, we will show you in an accessible and comprehensible way the procedure for the legalization of buildings according to the new law. The author would like to note here that this text is being written at the beginning of November 2025, when the necessary by-laws have not yet been passed (which should prescribe in a precise way how this law will be applied) nor has the portal through which requests will be submitted been put into operation, and accordingly it is necessary to inform yourself about the specific procedures at the time when you submit a request for the legalization of the facility.

Previous notes - how to acquire property rights to real estate in Serbia

For someone to acquire ownership rights to real estate in Serbia, it is necessary to have a valid legal basis (apartment/house purchase agreement, gift agreement, inheritance decision) based on which they will be registered as the owner in the real estate cadastre. For someone to be able to exercise the right of ownership in full, that is, to be able to dispose of real estate (this does not mean only selling, but also pledging real estate, placing a mortgage), it is essential to be registered as an owner in the real estate cadastre. The real estate cadastre is a publicly available record of all real estate located on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

Understanding these basic concepts and ways of acquiring real estate, as well as the importance of registration in the cadastre, is important to understand the purpose of the Law that we will discuss here, as well as to understand what the owners of illegal buildings that are not currently registered in the cadastre get by legalizing those buildings.

At this point, it would be desirable to mention the way in which the building should be built, which would be registered in the cadastre. The person who builds such an object (let's also assume that this person will also be the owner) does so on the land intended for it, i.e., construction land that is registered as such in the real estate cadastre. The procedure includes many steps and the fulfillment of demanding administrative conditions, so here we will only mention that it is necessary to obtain a building permit, and after the completion of the building, which meets all the conditions to be considered that the building was legally built and is safe for use - a use permit is obtained.

All buildings that were not built in the above-mentioned manner are considered illegal buildings, and with the fulfillment of certain conditions, it will be possible to legalize such buildings under the new Law on Legalization of Buildings.

Illegal construction - a criminal act

Building without a building permit is a criminal offense according to the Criminal Code. For a person who is a contractor or a responsible person in a legal entity that is a contractor, a prison sentence of 3 months to 3 years or a fine is prescribed, while for an investor, a prison sentence of 6 months to 5 years is prescribed.

However, especially considering the scope of illegal construction in Serbia, the perpetrators of these crimes are generally not prosecuted. This is one of the reasons why there are (according to some estimates) more than 4 million illegal buildings in Serbia.

The new law stipulates zero tolerance towards all persons who will illegally build buildings after the law comes into force. Similar provisions were prescribed by the previously adopted laws on legalization, so it remains to be seen whether this will actually be implemented this time or whether this provision will remain just a dead letter on paper.

Legalization of objects - list of objects that can be legalized according to the Law

The new law prescribes a list of facilities whose legalization will be possible in accordance with the law.

They are:

buildings, parts of the building, that is, special parts of the building built contrary to the law;
objects, parts of the object, that is, special parts of the object built, that is, works performed on the object without obtaining a decision on approval for the execution of works;
facilities for which a temporary construction permit was issued before May 13, 2003;
buildings built at a time when the issuance of a building permit was not prescribed, and the property rights were not registered in the real estate cadastre;
residential buildings of categories "A" and "B" and commercial buildings for which a decision on a building permit was issued, but the legal deadline for obtaining a decision on a use permit expired by the date of entry into force of this law;
underground and above-ground installations, i.e., infrastructure line facilities, if they are subject to registration in the real estate cadastre, i.e., the infrastructure cadastre;
objects from the record of established changes to immovable properties that are not registered in the immovable cadastre;
buildings registered in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Special Conditions for Registration of Ownership Rights on Buildings Built Without a Building Permit ("Official Gazette of the RS", No. 25/13 and 145/14) and
land under the building or part of the land on the cadastral plot on which the building is built.

Objects that will most often be subject to legalization according to the procedure provided for by law are listed in item number 1. These include numerous houses and apartments inhabited by citizens of Serbia, which are not registered in the real estate cadastre. Therefore, with the implementation of the Law, it should be possible to legalize the house, that is, the legalization of the apartment, which in some situations (which we will mention in the rest of the text) would be done without compensation, that is, it would be free.

Legalization of buildings built in special areas, for which legalization requires the approval of the competent authority, and buildings that are registered as property of the Republic of Serbia.

The legalization of buildings built in the following areas requires the consent of the manager of the public good (competent state body) or the Ministry of Defense:

Facilities built in another zone of public property protection,
objects that, with their smaller part, also occupy a part of the surface of the protective zone of the public road,
facilities built in the protection zone of high-voltage lines, as well as
objects built in the protection zone of military complexes, military facilities, military installations, and military warehouses.

Objects that cannot be legalized for the benefit of citizens, i.e., objects that will be registered in the ownership of the Republic of Serbia, are:

Objects built on land in public ownership, which are planned by the planning document valid on the date of entry into force of this law for the arrangement or construction of public purpose objects in mandatory public ownership (e.g., squares, parks, schools, hospitals),
buildings built in the first natural property protection zone and the protection zone of cultural property of great importance and cultural property of exceptional importance,
facilities built in another natural asset protection zone built on publicly owned land,
objects registered in the List of World Cultural Heritage or built on the cultural property itself, on the public water property, in the railroad belt, in the immediate sanitary protection zone of the water source, as well as
facilities built in the expropriation zone of state road IA - highways and IM row - expressways.

Also, it is important to note that if someone owns a small prefabricated building, such as container-type prefabricated houses and mobile homes and prefabricated car washes, as well as buildings that are not finished in a constructive sense (for example, the roof is not finished) - these buildings will not be entered in the real estate cadastre, but in the records of determined changes to buildings that are not registered in the real estate cadastre (which is also maintained by the Republic Geodetic Institute).

Registration of ownership of objects legalized under this law in the real estate cadastre - a note that the object is registered according to the new law

The law stipulates that for all objects that are legalized under this law, a note will be entered in the cadastre that the right of ownership has been acquired in accordance with the new law.

The reason why the note will be registered is that, for the legalization of the object, it will not be necessary to attach the technical documentation that was necessary to attach according to the previous laws on legalization. For example, in order to legalize an illegally built building, according to the previous law on legalization, it was necessary, among other things, to attach a report on the found condition of the building. That is no longer the case. According to the new law, it is necessary to electronically submit data about the building (ID of the building or mark the building on the map, type of building, area, number of floors, special parts (if any), and proof of the right to the land and the building (purchase agreement, decision on inheritance or assignment, etc.).

As, according to the new Law, technical documentation is not submitted and checked by the competent authorities during the legalization of facilities, there is no confirmation of the safety of such facilities. Therefore, a note is entered in the cadastre that the building is legalized in accordance with the new law, which essentially represents a warning to potential buyers of such a building that there are no guarantees of its safety.

Article 5 of the Law also supports all of the above, which stipulates that the Republic of Serbia does not guarantee the safety and security of the use of an object registered in the real estate cadastre under this law. The same article stipulates that the owner of the object accepts the risk of using the immovable property that is the subject of registration and responsibility for possible damage to third parties.

Method and procedure of legalization of buildings according to the new law

Before the start of submitting applications based on the Law (December 8th, 2025), all local self-government units in Serbia are required to submit a "digital zoning plan" to the Agency, which contains zones for which the purpose of the land has been determined and the amount of the contribution for the development of construction land. Local governments are obliged to submit this plan to the Agency within 60 days from the date of entry into force of this law (which is October 24th, 2025). Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen.

Based on this plan, the Agency will be able to determine in which zone the facility is located, i.e. whether the legalization of such a facility is possible (for example, it is not possible to legalize facilities located in the first zone of protection of agricultural property) or whether the approval of the competent authority is necessary for legalization. Zones where it is not possible to legalize an object (these objects are registered in favor of the Republic of Serbia), i.e., zones where the approval of the competent authority is required for the object's legalization, are listed in the previous text.

Another reason for creating zoning plans and submitting them to the Agency is determining the fee for legalization. The fee will be determined in accordance with the zone in which the object to be legalized is located, and will amount to 100 to 1000 euros, and in some cases, free legalization of the object will be possible.

Data set for public display (database on objects to be legalized) - The Agency is preparing a suitable database based on submitted zoning plans, satellite and other images, and other data sources. That database will be created for the purposes of identifying objects (on satellite images) and determining the ownership of objects that meet the conditions prescribed by law for legalization. From the date of publication of the data set for public display, all interested persons (this primarily means citizens who want to legalize their apartments/houses) will be able to submit applications (requests) for legalization, objection to the data from the application, evidence of the construction time of the building (if the building is not visible on satellite images) and other documentation of importance for the legalization of the building. This database should be created no later than December 8th, 2025, since, according to the Law, the deadline for submitting a request for legalization should begin then.
Submitting an application for legalization of the building - all applications, i.e., requests for legalization, will be submitted in electronic form. It is envisaged that the applications will be submitted within 60 days from the date of entry into force of this Law, so that, since the Law enters into force on December 8th, 2025, it will be possible to submit applications until February 5th, 2026. The request for legalization (application) is submitted to the Agency and refers to one immovable property. This, however, entails the need to digitize all documents that are in paper form (this primarily refers to contracts and other documents proving the right to land and buildings). In order for a document to be digitized and recognized as an electronic document by state authorities, scanning alone is not enough. The simplest way to digitize a document in accordance with the law is to have a lawyer or notary public do it.
When it comes to the legalization of an apartment, i.e. office space, located in a residential, residential-business, or office building, the situation is as follows: Before registering the property rights to the apartment (or office space) it is necessary for the investor (or any other person who has a legal interest) to apply for the registration of the building, with which he can also submit an elaboration of geodetic works, i.e. a sketch of apartments that are not registered in the real estate cadastre (if the investor is unknown or not available, the said essay and sketch can be submitted by anyone who has legal interest). After the Agency decides that the conditions for building registration have been met, the conditions for acting on requests for legalization of special parts of the building, apartments, are met.
If the object that needs to be legalized is not visible on satellite images (for example, due to vegetation or cloudiness), which will often be the case when it comes to the legalization of a house, the owner of such an object will, along with the application (request) for legalization, have to submit an elaboration of geodetic works. The Institute decides on the correctness of the elaboration, and if it has no defects, the Institute registers the object that is legalized in a special record of established changes on objects that are not entered in the cadastre and submits a notification to the Agency. The agency then continues the process of legalizing the object as if the object were visible on the recordings. If, on the other hand, the Institute determines that the study has deficiencies, it orders the geodetic organization to eliminate the deficiencies within eight days; that is, it informs the applicant (request) to eliminate the deficiencies within 6 months.
When the Agency determines that the conditions for registration of property rights on the object for which a request for legalization has been submitted are met, it will issue a certificate that will be submitted to the Institute (Republican Geodetic Institute) via the e-counter. When the Agency issues a confirmation that the conditions for the legalization of the object have been met, that confirmation also contains a decision to delete the existing notes on the object related to the status of the object (if such notes exist). An appeal cannot be filed against the Agency's confirmation, nor can an administrative dispute be initiated, but a lawsuit can be initiated before the appropriate court of general jurisdiction.
If the legalization procedure is completed, the right of ownership of the building and the land under the building will be registered in favor of the applicant (owner of the building) and he will then have all the rights of the owner of the building that was built in accordance with the law, except for the restrictions prescribed by this Law (note that the building is registered in accordance with this Law and that the Republic of Serbia does not guarantee its safety).
After registration of the property right on the object, the possibility is acquired to connect the object to the electric power network, gas network, or district heating network, water supply and sewage system, if there are technical conditions for this.

Total cost of legalization

According to the new law, the price for the legalization of the building, i.e., the fee paid to the competent authorities, is set at the level of the contribution for development of construction land, the amount of which is determined based on the submitted zoning plan of the local self-government unit.

As an exception to the above, if an application (request) is submitted for the legalization of a family residential building (legalization of a house) or a separate part of the building (legalization of an apartment) in a residential or residential-business building for which the investor is unknown or unavailable, the price of legalization of the apartment, i.e. the price of legalization of the house is:

1) in the city of Belgrade:

- in the extra zone: 1,000 euros;

- in the first zone: 800 euros;

- in the second and third zones: 300 euros;

- in the fourth zone: 200 euros;

- in the fifth zone: 150 euros;

- in the sixth and other zones: 100 euros.

2) in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants:

- in the extra and first zone: 500 euros;

- in the second zone: 250 euros;

- in the third zone: 150 euros;

- in the fourth and other zones: 100 euros;

3) in cities and municipalities with between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants:

- in extra and first zone: 300 euros;

- in the second zone: 200 euros;

- in the third and other zones: 100 euros;

4) in municipalities with under 50,000 inhabitants and villages: 100 euros.

If the investor of the building is known and available, he pays a fee in the amount of the contribution for the development of the construction land, and the property right on the apartments is registered in favor of the owner without compensation. If the investor does not pay the fee, the Agency will issue a certificate of registration of property rights to the building with a note that the fee has not been paid, and owners of individual apartments will be issued certificates of registration of property rights to the apartment, without payment of fees.

If the legalization of warehouses, storage space, economic and auxiliary facilities, and production plants with an area of up to 500 m2 is carried out, legalization is free for those facilities, and if these facilities exceed the area of 500 m2, a fee of 10 euros is paid for each subsequent square meter.

Free legalization of the building - applicants for legalization will not pay a fee if the family residential building (house) or apartment used by the applicant and his family members is legalized, if the applicant is a person with a disability, a veteran, a single parent or a beneficiary of social assistance, or if it is a family with three or more children.

All the aforementioned fees are paid in a one-time amount; that is, the price of legalization is fixed and paid once.

Ownership of the land on which the object to be legalized is built - possible disputes about the right of ownership of the land

If the facility is on land owned by another legal or physical person, who is not the owner of the facility being legalized, the Agency informs the applicant that the requirements for legalization are not met, and such a facility cannot be legalized. In that case, the Agency will direct the applicant to resolve the issue of ownership rights over the land before the competent authority (court) within 5 years.

As an exception to the above, if at the time of the construction of the object to be legalized, there was a legal basis on the land on which the object was built, and which ceased to exist after the construction of the object, the Agency, upon fulfillment of additional conditions, can issue a certificate of fulfillment of the conditions for legalization.

Objects that are built on land in exclusive public ownership and in public ownership with an undetermined share - If the object is built on such land (and it is not a zone where the object cannot be legalized and is registered in favor of the Republic of Serbia), the Republic Geodetic Bureau determines the area of the plot on which the object is built and registers that plot in favor of the owner of the object.

When the cadastral plot is co-owned or jointly owned by several persons, only one of whom is the owner of the object being legalized, the Institute will register the title in favor of the object's owner, while no changes are made to the rest of the plot.

Illegally built facilities after the entry into force of the Law

If an application for the legalization of an object is submitted, and the Agency determines that the object was not built before the entry into force of this law, such an object cannot be legalized. In that case, the provisions of the law governing planning and construction will be applied, and such objects will be removed, that is, registered in favor of the Republic of Serbia.

If a person, after the entry into force of this Law, starts or finishes the construction of an object (illegal objects) without the issuance of a building permit, in that case, the provisions of the Law governing the construction of an object will be applied, as well as the provisions of the Criminal Code (illegal construction is a criminal offense).

In order to prevent and prevent new illegal constructions, the Republic Geodetic Institute conducts an annual survey and, based on the data thus obtained, updates the data in the records of established changes to buildings that are not registered in the real estate cadastre.

Procedures for the legalization of facilities that were initiated under the previously valid laws on legalization

The new Law on Legalization stipulates that on the day this law enters into force, the Law on Legalization of Buildings from 2015 ceases to be valid.

Procedures that were started in accordance with the provisions of the law on legalization of buildings for the buildings prescribed by this law (in the part of this text where the buildings that can be legalized are listed, you can find a list of those buildings) are suspended on the day this law enters into force.

Conclusion

The legalization of buildings in Serbia has been a decades-long problem. Numerous laws were passed that failed to solve the essence of this problem and to prevent illegal construction.

What makes this law fundamentally different from the previous ones is that technical documentation about the facility that would guarantee its safety is not submitted with the request for legalization. The justification for such a legal solution is reflected in the importance of the legalization of buildings and legal security in real estate transactions, as well as lower material costs for the legalization of buildings. All objects that are legalized according to this Law will have a note entered in the cadastre that they were registered according to it. The law also stipulates that the Republic of Serbia does not guarantee the stability of such facilities.

Bearing in mind everything we have stated in this text, we hope that this Law will be successfully implemented and that many citizens who live in buildings that have not been legalized will finally receive legal protection for their property.

Legalization lawyer

If you have an object that you want to legalize or have questions about this matter, feel free to contact the Pekić Law Office via email: [email protected]

Questions and answers

What will happen if several persons apply for the legalization of one object?

If more than one person applies to the same building, the Agency, based on the attached evidence, issues a certificate of fulfillment of the requirements for registration if the person who is the owner of that building can be determined beyond doubt. If it is not possible to determine in a clear way who the owner of the object is, the Agency will inform all applicants that the conditions for registering the object have not been met and will direct them to resolve the right of ownership in a procedure before the competent authority (court).

When will it be possible to apply (request) for legalization?

Applying for legalization should be possible on December 8th, 2025, that is, 45 days from the date of publication of the Law.

What is the deadline for submitting an application (request) for legalization?

The request for legalization should be submitted by February 8th, 2026 (60 days from December 8th,2025, when the applications based on the Law start).

What will happen if I miss the deadline for submitting a request for facility legalization?

If you miss the deadline for submitting a request for legalization for justified reasons, the request can be submitted within one year from the entry into force of this law. Along with the request that was submitted in a later period, it is necessary to submit proof of the existence of a justified reason for not submitting the request within the prescribed period.

How much does it cost to legalize a 100 m2 house?²?

The price for the legalization of a house depends on which local government the house is located in, as well as in which zone in that local government it is located, in accordance with the zoning plan.

Author

Attorney at Law Sonja Pekić