The Serbian National Assembly recently passed a new Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Planning and Construction. The new law introduced numerous changes aimed at expediting and facilitating the investment process in Serbia.

The foremost alternation involves the abolition of the fee for conversion of land use rights into ownership rights. Up until now the conversion process could take up to a decade, which substantially hampered Serbia’s capacity to generate revenue from construction project investments. The said changes are anticipated to address the longstanding challenges associated with property conversion in social ownership in Serbia and encourage increased investments in the construction sector.

Other changes include establishment of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism of the Republic of Serbia. This agency is tasked with creating conditions for the efficient implementation and improvement of spatial planning and development policies in the country. Within six months of its establishment, local self-government units will be obliged to provide information to the Agency regarding brown field locations within their territories. The Agency will then compile a unified register of brown field locations, which will then be publicly accessible.

Furthermore, new roles have been assigned to the institutes of the Chief State Urban Planner and the Provincial Urban Planner. These institutes will play a crucial role in spatial planning at the state and provincial levels by providing expert guidance and directions for urban development projects.

In addition, the circle of entities authorized to provide location information has been expanded. Now, information about locations will also be accessible from notaries public, legal entities, or entrepreneurs registered for the preparation of documents related to spatial and urban planning, as well as from the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism.

New rules for energy performance certificates of buildings have been introduced as well. According to these amendments, energy performance certificates will be valid for ten years from the date of issuance and will be a mandatory part of the documentation when certifying real estate purchase or lease agreements. Certificates older than ten years will not be accepted during the certification process. However, in the case of properties under construction, the energy performance certificate will not be required for certification but must be provided after obtaining the occupancy permit and registering the real estate in the cadastre. New buildings will be required to have an energy performance certificate, while owners of existing buildings will have an obligation to obtain one within 3 to 10 years, depending on whether the building is residential, commercial, or for public use. Importantly, until the expiration of the prescribed period for obtaining the energy certificate, it is not necessary to submit the certificate when concluding purchase or lease agreements. Violation of these rules is subject to fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 dinars.

It’s important to note that energy performance certificates for buildings differ from green building certificates. An energy performance certificate displays the energy characteristics of a building and is issued through the Central Register of Energy Passports (CREP). A green building certificate, on the other hand, certifies that a building has met certain environmental criteria and allows investors to reduce contributions for land development by 10%. The issuance of green building certificates will be under the jurisdiction of the Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism.

The adopted changes specify that ownership rights for cadastral parcels will be registered in favor of individuals registered as owners of the buildings located on those parcels or as holders of land use rights for cadastral parcels in the case of undeveloped building land. Exceptions to this rule apply to entities whose status is governed by a special law related to sports, as well as associations, agricultural and housing cooperatives, and social enterprises. The registration of ownership rights will be conducted automatically by the authority responsible for state surveying and cadastre affairs, without the need for a separate request.

Additionally, alongside applications for occupancy permits, it is now mandatory to provide waste management documents. Furthermore, investors will be required to provide liability insurance policies for potential damage to third parties during construction activities, as well as consent for an environmental impact assessment if the planned project falls under such an assessment.

Other novelties include regulations on the placement of external units for cooling and heating on buildings, the issuance of temporary construction permits, the introduction of e-space in the planning document adoption process, and the enhancement of the Central Information System for Spatial Planning (CEOP).