The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro has submitted amendments to the Parliament and the Government of Montenegro concerning the Draft Law on the Legalization of Illegal Structures, with the aim of improving the implementation of the legalization process at the local level and avoiding legal and administrative ambiguities.
The Union of Municipalities points out that, in its current form, the proposed legislation would impose unnecessary burdens on local governments, particularly regarding the establishment of commissions tasked with inspecting illegal structures and comparing their actual condition with the data contained in geodetic surveys—responsibilities that already fall within the jurisdiction of the geodetic inspection authority. Instead, the Union proposes eliminating these unnecessary commissions and procedures that duplicate existing obligations.
A key focus of the proposed amendments is to facilitate the legalization of family houses of up to three storeys and not exceeding 200 m² of net floor area through a simplified procedure that would not require technical documentation relating to structural integrity and seismic resistance. Instead, notarized statements by property owners would be sufficient. This approach would enable thousands of citizens to more easily resolve the legal status of their homes.
The Union also advocates for the full urban remediation fee to remain with municipalities, as well as for the cumulative application of discounts for citizens who make a one-time payment for the legalization of their primary residence. This would accelerate the overall legalization process, secure additional resources for faster urban remediation, and reduce costs for citizens.
The Union has also proposed deleting several provisions related to the establishment of municipal commissions for the registration of illegal structures, as the Draft Law already requires owners of illegally constructed buildings to register such structures in the cadastral records within six months.
The Union of Municipalities expects that Members of Parliament will recognize the importance of these amendments and support solutions that contribute to a fairer and more efficient legalization process, while strengthening local self-government and upholding the principles of decentralization.
