Regulating the status of informal structures is of special importance for the local government, which, according to the Law on Local Self-Government and the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction, within its own jurisdiction, governs building land and create conditions for the construction of buildings. Usurpation of space by illegal constructors, local governments are not able to fully and in a quality manner pursue policies of planned development of the municipality, as well as being deprived of the income from which is made municipal construction land, or in order to improve municipal infrastructure as a key requirement for quality of life and work of citizens.
Law on regularization of informal structures, which will apply from 01 March 2017, created the legal conditions for the implementation of the process of legalization and regularization of informal structures. The Law also introduces a new municipal revenues – among others, the fee for the use of space for informal structures. This fee is a kind of repressive measure for owners of informal buildings and, ultimately, aims to introduce a greater number of buildings in the legal procedure for their legalization.
The law authorizes local governments to impose this revenue according to its regulations – decision, which will determine the amount and manner of payment of fee and the criteria for the use of space for informal buildings. Union of Municipalities, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, in order to help municipalities to timely introduce a fee and thus provide a legislative framework for the collection of revenue, in cooperation with expert representatives from local governments and the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, prepared a Model Decision on fee for the use of informal building space.
Model Decision is not obligatory for the local government units, but should help in providing guidelines and principles on which municipalities will regulate these issues and make their decisions.