Svoj na svome: 600,000 Certificates, 30 Days to Pay

The Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism has issued more than 600,000 certificates under the Svoj na svome program, according to an RTS report from September 28. The Republic Geodetic Authority (RGZ) is entering those certificates into the cadastre gradually, and the program covers more than two and a half million illegally built properties. Anyone who owes a fee receives a notice with the amount along with the certificate, and the 30-day payment period runs from that notice.

How does the 30-day payment deadline work?

Along with the certificate, citizens receive a notice stating the fee, and they have 30 days to pay it. The Agency forwards the documentation to the RGZ only after payment. If the money does not arrive in time, the certificate is not sent to the cadastre until the obligation is settled.

Lawyers warn that payment notices arrive by text message or email, so the deadline can pass unnoticed, which is a particular problem in rural areas. Nikola Terzic, an attorney from Loznica, points to another problem: the certificate cannot be appealed.

A certificate is issued that cannot be appealed, regardless of whether it is an unhappy third party or the applicant themselves. The question is how practice will deal with possible errors or entries that do not match the actual state of affairs on the ground.

Citizens who have already filed an application can check the status of their certificate free of charge by entering the application number in a dedicated RGZ service.

Who pays more for houses over 400 square meters?

For the first 400 square meters, the more favorable regime set out in the law remains. For floor area beyond that limit, a per-square-meter fee is introduced, based on the contribution for developing construction land. Local governments set that contribution and pass it to the Agency. The owner of a 450-square-meter house therefore does not pay the new fee on all 450 square meters, but on the 50 above the limit.

The National Assembly adopted the amendments to the law in late August. Even so, some citizens received a larger bill than expected. Agency director Djordje Milic explains that these are family houses with four or more separate units, which are treated as residential buildings for collective housing:

And there were a few cases where they say “a family lives here” - yes, but it is physically divided, so the children live here, each with a separate apartment, then the parents live here, then they have business space, and we end up with one small residential building where five or six families live. The legislator prescribed that every property being registered comes with the appropriate construction land, so this law realizes the principle of a single real estate unit. And the legislator prescribed a period of five years to form the land for regular use of the buildings.

A house where one family lives can thus end up in the same category as a building with several tenants, if it is physically divided into four or more separate units.

What changes for apartment building residents and unfinished properties?

Residents of apartment buildings can register in the cadastre even when the developer has not settled its obligations. For unfinished and specific properties, applicants submit a report on the existing state and sketches. Licensed surveyors still prepare the geodetic survey study, but civil engineers and architects can now also prepare the sketches of unregistered separate units and their specifications. Architect Danijela Rabrenovic sees this as a possible path to a faster procedure:

Citizens practically have a new option to turn to architects and civil engineers as well, in addition to geodetic organizations themselves. That may be a solution to speed up the process itself.

For properties whose structure is complete but which lack a facade, joinery or interior installations, the amendments allow the work to be finished under set conditions and with professional supervision.

Once the Agency processes an application, the RGZ takes over. Acting director Dalibor Babic says they have brought in colleagues from other jobs:

“Svoj na svome” is an absolute priority at the Republic Geodetic Authority, we have engaged colleagues who also work on other tasks to join the process of carrying out and registering the certificate, that is, the property and ownership rights, for citizens who exercised that right by obtaining a certificate.

What stays outside the program, and until when can a late application be filed?

The state has kept a cutoff for new illegal construction: buildings put up after the 2025 satellite survey cannot be registered through this procedure.

The law took effect on October 24, 2025, and applications opened on December 8. The official deadline, extended because of public interest, expired on February 8, 2026. Anyone who missed it can file a late application until October 24, 2026, but only with a justified reason, explained in a written statement and backed by evidence.

Families with three or more children, social assistance recipients, people with disabilities, veterans and single parents may be exempt from the fee, but their status must be proven in the procedure. The exemption applies only to a family home or an apartment where the applicant lives with their household. Srpske Novine also reported on the surcharge for houses over 400 square meters on August 18.