Kosovo Property Agency No.17 November 2008 One million Euro collected from rental scheme Among its many tasks, the Kosovo Property lected in rent thus far, including the deposits paid expiration of the agreement and after inspection Hence, for all those who need to rent a property Agency (KPA) is mandated to administer and by tenants upon entry of the rental agreements.. of the property has taken place. in Kosovo, the KPA Rental Scheme remains one implement the Rental Scheme for properties of the solutions and most favorable offers administered by the KPA on behalf of dis- Statistics show that 4,192 properties have been The KPA determines the rent based on the cur- placed property right holders. In other words, placed on the Rental Scheme throughout Kos- rent value of properties as evaluated by the Mu- the Rental Scheme makes it possible for prop- ovo, where as to date, 893 properties have been nicipality Directorate of Taxes (more informa- erty right holders (PRH) to receive a fixed rented. The KPA notices an increasing inter- tion on how rent is calculated at www.kpaonline. income by authorizing KPA to rent out their est from people who wants to rent properties, org ). The rent is therefore not negotiable neither properties until they decide to use them in any and this interest is more noticeable in Prishtinë/ by the owner or the tenant. If the owner can get a other way. This scheme also makes it possible Priština town, particularly for properties which higher rent for his property, he/she can withdraw for people interested in renting a residential are furnished and in better condition. from the KPA Rental Scheme at any time. property throughout Kosovo to do so through KPA. KPA collects the rent a month in advance. The rent money is paid to KPA which in turn transfers Kosovo Property Agency Furthermore, the Rental Scheme makes it pos- it to the owners or property right holders. KPA sible for all those who are illegal users of a prop- charges an administrative fee of 5% of the rental erty to become regular rent payers and, in agree- price for the provision of services related to rent- The KPA was established on 4 March 2006 by UNMIK ment with a legitimate property right holder, to ing. Fees imposed by the property right holders Regulation 2006/10 which was later superseeded by continue staying in those properties for the speci- bank is also deducted from the rent received. In fied period of time agreed in the contract. cases where the rent is not paid, KPA issues an UNMIK Regulation 2006/50. The KPA has, subject to eviction order. If tenants fail to pay, KPA will appeal to the supreme court of Kosovo, exclusive ju- In the first period after the Rental Scheme was evict them. initiated, there was some hesitation by illegal us- risdiction resolve claims for private imovable prop- ers to accept this scheme and pay the determined A refundable deposit is required when the Rental erty arising from the 1998-1999 armed conflict. rent regularly, but recently, they are becoming Agreement is signed. The deposit covers the po- more aware of the importance of paying rent. tential unpaid rent or any considerable damage made by the tenant. The deposit (or the amount www.kpaonline.org Since the launch in October 2006, the Rental left from the deposit if the tenant has damaged Schemes has experienced a continuous progress the property) is refunded to the tenant after the 038 249 918 [email protected] and a total of 1,001,783 Euro have been col- 2 No. 17 November 2008 How are KPA cases decided? KPA resumes delivery of KPCC decisions On 23 of October, the Kosovo Property private immovable property originat- tent of the English version shall pre- The Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) was established on 4 March Agency (KPA) resumed with delivery ing from 1998-1999 armed conflict. vail. 2006 as an independent administrative agency. of decisions decided by Kosovo Prop- The main duty of the Agency is to protection of property rights. In erty Claims Commission (KPCC) to Delivery of decisions will continue It is expected that the KPCC which this respect all citizens are treated equally in accordance with the claimants. along with case processing and adjudi- was inaugurated in June 2007, will fi- cation of all claims filed with the KPA. nalize the adjudication of all property law. Following a decision by the Government A KPCC decision, a copy of which is claims submitted to the KPA in 2010. The property rights issue is a very complicated and sensitive one. of Serbia, all KPA offices in Serbia proper provided to all parties to a claim, de- KPA decisions are preceded by a long procedure of case processing, are temporarily closed but claimants will termines the property right(s) related If you want to find out if your claim starting from the precise identification of a property, verification of be able to receive decisions at KPA offices to properties claimed with the KPA. A has been decided, you contact KPA documents presented by parties involved in the process, followed throughout Kosovo including Prishtinë/ successful claimant will through the by phone 038 249 918, 038 249 936, by case processing by the professional team of KPA lawyers. After Priština, Prizren, Pejë/Peć, Gjilan/Gnji- KPCC decision receive confirmation or, you can visit our web site at www. the claims have been processed, they are presented to the Kosovo lane, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, KPA office in of an ownership right or a user right kpaonline.org where you can check Property Claims Commission for adjudication. However, the proc- Podgorica and in Skopje. to the claimed property. The decisions the status of your claim by using the ess does not end here because the KPA also carries out execution issued by the KPCC will become final search engine. If parties are not able to collect their deci- and enforceable unless appealed to the of its decisions. sion due to the closure of KPA offices in Supreme Court of Kosovo within 30 The KPA was established on 4 March The KPA decisions are taken by the Property Claims Commission. Serbia, KPA will offer archive the deci- days after delivery to the parties. 2006 through the promulgation of The Commission is composed of two international and one national sion in KPA. All the parties are entitled UNMIK Regulation 2006/10 which member. The Commission members are required to be experts in to recieve their decisions, and they may Parties to a claim will receive an of- later was amended with UNMIK Reg- the field of the housing and property legislation. The national mem- contact KPA HQ and request to pick up ficial decision in the English language, ulation 2006/50. The KPA has, subject ber is appointed by the highest executive body in the country and is the decisions in any KPA office outside of as well as translated verified versions to appeal to the Supreme Court of Ko- nominated by the President of the Supreme Court of Kosovo. Serbia proper. in Albanian and Serbian languages. sovo, exclusive jurisdiction to resolve The dynamics, dedication and professionalism of the KPCC mem- The English version is the official ver- claims for private immovable property bers, all of whom are recognized experts in the field of property The KPCC has already adjudicated 16,658 sion and should there be any conflict (including commercial and agricultur- out of 39,758 property claims submitted between the English and the Albanian al properties) arising from 1998-1999 rights and the law presents a positive indication that the KPA is to the KPA. The KPA will continue its or Serbian language version, the con- armed conflict in Kosovo. following the best way for implementing the law and respecting the work resolving the remaining claims for property rights for all citizens in Kosovo. 2,593 claims were decided in the last (9th) Session of the Kos- ovo Property Claims Commission, which was held in October, thus, increasing the total number of decided claims to 16,658, out of KPA has adjudicated more then 16,000 property claims 39,758 received claims. The KPA has also started with execution of final decisions, which is one of the biggest challenges in the whole After completing its 9th session on 24th agricultural properties, 4.9 percent are figures related to the resolved claims process. We kindly request the continuous support from local and October, the Kosovo Property Claims related to residential properties and for each KPCC session, from the very international authorities aw well as all citizens, in order to ensure a Commission (KPCC) has adjudicated 0.07 percent is related to commercial beginning until now. 16,658 out of some 39,758 property properties. successful and prompt completion of the KPA mandate. Claims adjudicated according to re- claims submitted to the Kosovo Prop- gions and municipalities: erty Agency (KPA). The Agency will On its last session the KPCC decided http://www.kpaonline.org/ClaimsTo- continue its work adjudicating the re- some 2,593 property claims. It is ex- talDecided.asp Valbona Dhomi maining 23,100 claims for private im- pected that the KPCC which was in- movable property originating from augurated in June 2007, will finalize Claims decided according to the sort 1998-1999 armed conflict. the adjudication of all property claims of property and property right: submitted to the KPA in 2010. The http://www.kpaonline.org/claimProp_ The 16,658 claims decided thus far next KPCC session will be held on Decided.asp amount to 41.9 percent of all claims which December 2008.