"Don't ask, I'm not even allowed to go near it," complains a private contractor engaged in construction work on a likely illegal building in a settlement in Ulcinj. He says inspectors regularly visit the site, stamp buildings, write reports...
"They just walk around... Then they get huge fines, maybe even imprisonment... Well, I can't even think of sticking a septic tank pick into the ground," he says.
After the adoption of the Law on Construction of Buildings and the Law on Legalization of Illegal Buildings, and the round-the-clock control of employees of the Municipal Secretariat for Communal Supervision and Inspection Affairs, it is no longer profitable to be an illegal builder in Ulcinj.
In Ulcinj, in Štoj alone, there are more than eight thousand illegal buildings, luxury apartments, hotels...
Illegal construction has almost died out, and new laws also prohibit the sale of illegal buildings.
Secretary for Communal Supervision and Inspection Affairs Amir Mehmeti He said that he, his assistant and municipal inspectors are in the field every day.
"We are visiting all places that are interesting for construction. We are controlling the entire territory of the Ulcinj municipality and all construction sites, whether with or without papers, in order to prevent the construction of new illegal buildings from starting. For now, the situation is satisfactory. We do not allow anyone to build where we find irregularities and we inform the Ulcinj Municipal Administration and the Ministry responsible for construction inspection for each case," Mehmeti told "Vijesti".
He stated that the Ministry is still responsible for the possible demolition of illegal structures, until a local construction inspection is formed.
"Until then, we are suspending work and forwarding the minutes to them for further action," said Mehmeti.
"Vijesti" previously reported that the implementation of the new laws, in addition to illegal builders, will also hit notaries hard, who will no longer be able to conclude contracts with buyers and sellers of illegal buildings until they are legalized. A moratorium of sorts will likely be felt by numerous agencies dealing with the purchase and sale of real estate, as well as the construction lobby...
Article 33 of the Law on the Legalization of Illegal Buildings states that "a building constructed without a building act, or contrary to that act, cannot be in legal circulation, or cannot be alienated, and no economic or other activity can be carried out in it."
The same provision applies to an illegal building that is not registered in the real estate cadastre, or for which a legalization decision is not issued in accordance with that law.
The law stipulates that an illegal building for which a request for legalization has not been submitted, for which a decision has been issued rejecting the request for legalization, and for which the procedure for registering the building in the real estate cadastre has not been initiated, will be removed.
The decision to remove an illegal structure is made by the spatial protection inspector.
The law also stipulates that the enforcement of the decision to remove a primary residence may be carried out after alternative accommodation has been provided. Article 32 specifies that “in the event of the removal of an illegal primary residence, in accordance with this law, the local self-government unit is obliged to provide alternative accommodation to the owner of the illegal primary residence and members of his family household”. Alternative accommodation is provided as temporary accommodation, by renting an apartment, providing compensation for the rent and in other ways, in accordance with the regulation of the local self-government unit.
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