In the capital of Kosovo, tens of thousands of apartments are occupied, but without the most important legal document: the certificate of occupancy. This lack, which affects over 85 percent of high-rise buildings, leaves residents in legal uncertainty.
For five years, Besim Shala and his family of four have lived in an apartment on the fifth floor of a building in the Rruga B neighborhood in Pristina, but to this day, he is not its legal owner.
Shala purchased the apartment at the beginning of 2020 for around 80 thousand euros and signed the contract with the investor at the notary.
Despite this, his name does not yet appear in the official ownership documentation in the municipality.
"I have asked the owner several times to transfer the apartment to my name, but each time, the answer has been that it is in the process of obtaining a certificate of use from the municipality," Shala tells Radio Free Europe.
The reason? The investor has not yet received the certificate of occupancy for the building, otherwise known as technical acceptance.
This is an essential document that certifies that the facility was built in accordance with the building permit and that it meets the conditions for safe habitation - including the proper functioning of electrical installations, water supply, heating and ventilation.
Shala's case is not isolated. In Pristina, about 85 percent of high-rise buildings do not have a certificate of occupancy.
According to the National Audit Office, during the years 2017-2021, only 46 occupancy certificates were issued for over 300 high-rise buildings.
"Only 15 percent of construction permits issued during this period were equipped with a certificate of use," states the report "Efficiency and effectiveness in the high-rise construction process in the Municipality of Pristina", which was published in March by the National Audit Office.
The report emphasizes that without a certificate of occupancy, buildings are not considered safe for residents, do not meet legal standards for living, and do not give citizens full legal rights to the property.
For construction permits issued in 2022–2023, the report explains that they are not included in the analysis, as the construction has not yet been completed and cannot be evaluated.
Meanwhile, in the period 2014-2023, the Municipality of Pristina issued a total of 1,601 construction permits, but only 147 of them ended with a certificate of use.
Radio Free Europe has requested data from the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (MMPHI) on the situation of housing use certificates in all municipalities of Kosovo.
In response, the ministry said that it does not possess specific statistics, as constructions of this category are the exclusive competence of the municipalities themselves.
But, in a presentation before the Kosovo Assembly at the end of 2022, Minister Liburn Aliu said that over 75 percent of buildings across the country were built without construction permits and, consequently, without certificates of occupancy.
"Across Kosovo, over 352,000 buildings are without permits, while in Pristina alone there are around 46,000 such buildings," Aliu said at the time.
Radio Free Europe has also requested data from several of Kosovo's largest municipalities - Gjakova, Ferizaj, Peja, South Mitrovica, Gjilan and Prizren - on the number of construction permits and use certificates issued during the period 2017-2021, but none of them have responded.
Driton Tafallari, former advisor at the Ministry of Environment, says that the lack of usage certificates is a widespread problem in almost all municipalities in Kosovo.
He says that the situation is even more worrying in large municipalities, where construction is more numerous and more intense.
According to him, over 90 percent of housing nationwide does not have technical acceptance.
The problem, says Tafallari, stems mainly from the irresponsibility of investors who do not apply for a certificate of use, but also from the lack of institutional control during the construction process.
He adds that many builders have not adhered to the projects for which they have received building permits, making extensions or changes that prevent them from applying for technical acceptance of the facility.
"They have increased the construction areas, they have added floors beyond what was accepted with the construction permit. Therefore, when there is a discrepancy between the construction permit and the real situation on the ground, the responsible body does not have the right to issue the certificate of use," Tafallari tells Radio Free Europe.
Ilir Gjinolli, professor of Urbanism and Spatial Planning at the University of Pristina, also believes that part of the blame lies with the builders, but the greatest responsibility, according to him, falls on the municipal authorities, which do not have sufficient capacity to carry out inspections during the construction phase.
Faton Hoxha, president of the Kosovo Builders Association, admits that a large number of buildings in the country are occupied without a certificate of occupancy.
But, he says that there are cases when investors have requested to be provided with this document, and municipalities have not issued it on time.
Consequences for citizens
The lack of a certificate of occupancy brings serious consequences for home buyers, says Tafallari.
In addition to the lack of legal security for housing, citizens cannot use these properties as mortgages for loans, nor can they legally sell them, according to him.
"In addition to this, there is also the psychological burden, because all the time you have the feeling that you are living in an apartment that has legal problems," says Tafallari.
According to Gjinolli's assessment, it is not only the residents who lose from this situation, but also the municipalities themselves.
"Where there is no certificate of use, there is no possibility of registering the property in the cadastre. Thus, everyone is at a loss, including those who have purchased an apartment or other property and the municipality, which loses property taxes," Gjinolli tells Radio Free Europe.
Shala, who lives in an apartment without proper property documentation, says that he tried to get a loan from a commercial bank, but that he was unable to use the apartment as collateral.
"I am extremely worried, because a lot has been done. Until I have proof that this is my property, I don't feel comfortable," he says.
What is the solution?
To find a solution to this situation, Professor Gjinolli says that willpower is needed from all actors, especially those who directly benefit.
According to him, residents should pressure municipal authorities to implement the law and issue certificates of use, while the government should assist municipalities with financial resources, human and technical capacities.
"There should be a specific deadline, which would include the inspection and certification of all buildings, not waiting for the application from the builders, but going directly to them," says Gjinolli.
The Construction Law provides for penalties for using buildings without a certificate of occupancy.
Investors can be fined from 1,000 to 30,000 euros if the facility is in operation without this legal document.
Radio Free Europe asked some of the largest municipalities in Kosovo - Pristina, Prizren, Gjakova, Ferizaj, Peja, Gjilan, etc. - how much they monitor the implementation of the Law on Construction and how many construction companies have been fined for using high-rise buildings without a certificate of use, but, until the publication of this article, it did not receive a response from any of them./ REL
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