The Serbian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction (“Law”) which was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia on 27 July 2023.
The amendments have introduced, inter alia, abolishment of fees for conversion of right of use into ownership right to a wider group of entities, establishment of the Agency for spatial planning and urbanism, changes to issuance of construction permits, energy passports and green construction.
Conversion of the right of use into the ownership right
The amendments abolished compensation for the conversion of the right of use into ownership right for wider range of entities. The abolition of the obligation to pay the conversion compensation will facilitate for the development of attractive locations that were inactive due to the high conversion fees payable under the regulations before the latest amendments.
Founding the Agency for spatial planning and urbanism
According to the amendments of the Law, the new government authority will be founded – the Agency for spatial planning and urbanism. The agency will be competent for, inter alia, issuance of green construction certificates, and maintenance of the register of brownfield investments in Serbia.
Green construction
The Ministry competent for construction affairs will establish the Central register of energy passports (CREP). Certificates regarding the energy characteristics of a building are to be registered within this register. Investors of public buildings and private buildings larger than 10,000 sqm shall be obliged to obtain the certificate.
The amendments envisage fast track for installing solar panels, and introduction of mandatory e-car chargers for both residential and commercial buildings.
Construction permits
The proposed amendments envisage that investors, who construct buildings of gross floor area of over 20,000sqm, may submit applications for the construction permits issuance either to the local municipal authority or the Ministry.
Other
Other changes include the possibility that information on location may, if the conditions are met, be issued by public notaries. Investors (or contractors) shall be required to submit third party liability insurance policies when submitting the notice of commencement of construction works, whereby such policies shall serve as securities for damages that may occur on local infrastructure during performance of the works.
The Agency for spatial planning and urbanism should commence operations within 3 months as of entry into the force of the amendments.
