A lot of money will leave the pockets of illegal builders after the new Law on the Legalization of Illegal Buildings.
However, the Government's intention to finally introduce some sort of order into the spatial chaos throughout Montenegro does not only affect those who built illegally.
Notaries' pockets will also be pierced.
"Notaries will not be able to conclude contracts with buyers and sellers who intend to sell an illegal building until a decision on legalization is made for the building that is the subject of the sale," explains Nikola Ražnatović from the Directorate for Legalization of Illegal Buildings.
This applies to buildings built both before and after the new legal solution came into force.
Notaries were, logically, not happy about this and consider it a restrictive interpretation that will slow down the sale of real estate, but they have no other choice but to respect the letter of the law.
"The consequences will be truly great, there is a huge number of real estate that has been built without a permit. The number of real estate transaction contracts will decrease by a significant percentage because, according to statistical data, there are around 100-150 thousand properties in Montenegro for which a request for legalization has been submitted under the old law, and there are probably more for which a request for legalization has not been submitted. All of these properties are now out of circulation, this will be a huge percentage reduction in our business, but there will be a bigger problem with those people who own such properties that they will not be able to alienate," points out Darko Ćurić, President of the Notary Chamber.
And that's not the end of it. Illegal facilities will no longer be allowed to carry out any economic activity, but business owners will have more time to legalize their businesses.
"All those business entities, all those who carry out economic activities in illegal facilities, must legalize their facilities within three years. After that deadline, they will no longer be able to carry out that activity in that facility," says Ražnatović.
And while companies have a three-year deadline for legalization, and ordinary citizens have a six-month deadline, the only thing that remains is what has repeatedly proven to be the most difficult in Montenegro - ensuring that the law is not a dead letter on paper and is equal for everyone.
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