Kosovo - Securing Property Rights

Until recently, figuring out just who owns what could be very difficult in Kosovo.

Tens of thousands of properties were left damaged, destroyed, or abandoned by the conflict there in 1999 and property transactions in the country were often unregistered because of problems with government offices.

That’s finally changing, however, as a result of Kosovo’s Real Estate Cadastre and Registration Project, which aims to improve tenure security and develop land and property markets in the country.

“The project is very important for Kosovo and for the ownership of property - and for citizens, because ownership is now being registered and rights to property are being guaranteed,” says CEO of Kosovo’s Cadastral Agency, Murat Meha.

Under the World-Bank supported project, cadastre offices around Kosovo are being renovated and equipped to provide more efficient services to the public.

Some of the updated tools include a new positioning system that receives satellite signals and provides data for GPS equipment able to immediately verify registered land measurements remotely.

As part of the project, a number of staff have received training in better management, planning, legal, technical, and administrative skills.

Avni Olluri directs a cadastre office responsible for 60,000 residents in Kosovo’s municipality of Lipjan. 

He says that as a result of the project’s training and new equipment, he and his staff are now able to register prosperity in a matter of hours, instead of days:

“Our services are divided into two sectors, geodesy and cadastre.  We register the ownership here and provide other services which are crucial to the citizens,” Olluri says.

72-year-old Lipjan resident Veselinka Mirkovic was able to quickly register her property and get the ownership documents necessary to apply for a bank loan.  

“Service is a thousand times better than it used to be, they provide fast service and they direct you,” she says.

A systematic registration process and awareness campaign related to the project assists people in registering their land and houses, free of charge.

Also, under a gender component of the project, an awareness campaign is underscoring the importance of land ownership for women.

As a result, Ganimete Gashi and her husband are finally officially registering their various properties in both of their names.

“I am really glad that my husband took this initiative to register our ownership jointly,” says Gashi, adding that, after 28 years of marriage, it was about time!