Montenegro’s parliamentary committee on tourism, agriculture, ecology and spatial planning approved a draft law on the legalization of illegal buildings, which will now be forwarded to the Parliament for adoption. The law introduces new provisions for citizens, allowing those living in illegal structures to pay the urbanization fee in monthly installments over 30 years instead of the current 20 years. Additionally, they can receive a 20% discount if they pay the fee in full at once.
Municipalities will receive 80% of the collected fee, while 20% will go to the state budget, which could amount to around 36 million euros. The Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property, Slaven Radunović, explained that the law concerns more than 100,000 buildings and aims to bring illegal construction into legal channels and stop further unauthorized building.
Since 2017, only 5.5% of submitted legalization requests have been approved, with 3,397 legalization decisions made out of 61,647 applications. Radunović emphasized that the law requires buildings to appear on a satellite map completed in July, not to endanger public interest, and to meet basic construction standards. For increased efficiency, legalization of buildings larger than 500 square meters or located in protected zones will be handled by a new agency, the Administration for Legalization of Illegal Buildings, which must be established within 120 days after the law’s adoption. Legalization of buildings up to 500 square meters will remain the responsibility of local municipalities.
Radunović also noted that illegal buildings must be legalized within two years, or their operation will be prohibited, with the deadline extended to three years based on recent amendments. This requirement is especially important for hotels. The committee also supported 14 government amendments, which became part of the law. These amendments include introducing a new date for the satellite image and improving the legalization process efficiency by allowing legalization of buildings on the map that do not threaten public interest or construction standards, regardless of existing urban plans.
When asked about northern municipalities, Radunović said the law targets illegal builders who cannot be treated the same as those who built legally. He acknowledged the presence of enough commissions and architectural experts to handle legalization cases. He also mentioned that hotels have paid a high fee of 400 euros per square meter, unlike other illegal builders.
Radunović expressed regret that those who patiently waited for plans to build are now placed in the same category as illegal builders. He agreed that 13 northern municipalities will receive revenue from legalization fees, except for Žabljak, which has many illegal villas. The committee may propose an amendment to include Žabljak. Regarding building proximity to neighbors, if a building is too close without neighbor consent, it will be demolished. Currently, 129 demolition orders exist but are not final, with chances for appeals.
Opposition members questioned if the law represents a surrender to illegal construction and whether ongoing legalization processes can continue. They also asked about the possibility of legalizing temporary structures, minimum distances between buildings, neighbor consents, and forgiveness for demolition orders not recorded in the cadaster.
The Bosniak Party inquired whether northern municipalities could keep full fees from urbanization rather than the planned 20%, which would go to the state budget. The Chamber of Commerce noted that the law did not recognize architectural firms, which could speed up legalization and prevent backlogs. They also warned that urbanization fees could burden four-star and higher hotels, which have already equipped their lands, and should not be treated differently from other businesses.
Parliamentarians also proposed adopting amendments to the Law on Building Construction to align with EU regulations and recognize architects’ professional qualifications. The committee also approved amendments to the Law on Forests submitted by the Europe Now Movement parliamentarians.
