The state's hands are tied, but the craftsmen's are not: A facade is being built on an illegal C-shaped building, and the authorities are not allowed to react.

A facade is being built on Lamela C, an illegal residential building in the Podgorica neighborhood of Zabjelo, but the authorities are not allowed to react.

This follows from the response provided to "Vijesti" by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, headed by Slaven Radunović.

On Thursday, the Government of Montenegro approved the Draft Law on the Legalization of Illegal Structures, according to which, if adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro, this and many other illegal structures could be legalized, as one of the conditions is that they were built before satellite imaging...

In their responses to questions from "Vijesti", Radunović's department reminded that the ruling of the Basic Court in Podgorica imposed a temporary measure prohibiting them from taking any steps that would harm the owners of the apartments - demolition, entry into the property...

"In this regard, the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property respects and will respect the court's decisions and adherence to the legal framework at all times, and accordingly, when a final decision is made, the public will be informed in a timely manner," they said.

On Thursday, after a government session, Radunović said that the implementation of the future regulation will "preserve the space of Montenegro, as the most valuable resource of a state."

He specified that any facility that was built illegally in Montenegro, and that does not threaten the public interest, will be legalized in accordance with future regulations if it was built by the time the satellite survey of Montenegro is completed, which is in the next few days.

"After that date, any building that is built illegally will be demolished," said Radunović, adding that this law sends a message that there will be no more illegal construction.

"Vijesti" reported this spring that the judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Ilija Radulović, decided to reopen the main trial in the case that the Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office is conducting against the investor of the C-section "PS Gradnja" and the owner of that company, Dejan Petričević, for the continued criminal offense of building structures without registration and construction documentation, although he previously announced at the hearing that he would issue a verdict by the end of March.

"...For the sake of better clarification of the factual situation. Considering the above, the verdict in this case has not been published," the Basic Court said.

In June 2023, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica filed an indictment against the company "PS Gradnja" and the owner Petričević, for the continued criminal offense of constructing a building without a registration and construction documentation.

The company "PS gradnja" is behind the collective housing facility in the Ljubović neighborhood in Podgorica, known as Lamela C, which was scheduled for demolition several years ago, but that did not happen.

The Ministry of Spatial Planning and Urbanism issued a new decision at the end of January and rejected the appeal filed by “PS Gradnja”, which the investor filed against the decision of the urban planning and construction inspector on the forced demolition of the disputed building. However, the investor continues to use legal mechanisms and appeal the decisions of the authorities.

In mid-January 2024, on the order of the department's inspection, which was then headed by Janko Odović, the demolition of the disputed building began, but the intervention was suspended the same day at around 13.30:XNUMX p.m.

After that, work was carried out several times in part of the disputed building, which was not previously denied by the apartment owners, who intended to complete the work themselves and move in.

After a violation of the building inspection seal, the Podgorica police also dealt with the disputed lamella. Given that it is an illegally built structure, as they previously told "Vijesti", they sought an answer to the question of how the owners of the apartments in lamella C were registered in the real estate cadastre.

At the beginning of last year, the Basic Court in Podgorica issued a temporary measure, temporarily prohibiting the state of Montenegro and "Zaštita prostora" from demolishing and making any changes to the C...

What does the Bill provide...

The draft law on legalization stipulates the obligation to register objects in the real estate cadastre within six months, after which the owners will no longer be able to register the objects in the cadastre. Registration in the real estate cadastre is one of the conditions for legalizing the object.

It is stated that municipalities are responsible for buildings with a net area of up to 500 square meters, while the legalization of larger buildings and buildings in protected zones will be handled by the future Legalization Administration.

The draft regulation also provides for the method of legalizing collective facilities, as well as the purchase and repayment of land in cases where they are built on state-owned land.

The obligation of property authorities is prescribed to publish a public call for owners of illegal structures built on state-owned land to register the structures in the cadastre within six months, and if they fail to do so, they will belong to the state...