Property owners of illegally constructed buildings in Montenegro are required to begin the registration process in the real-estate cadastre by 14 August 2026. This deadline has been extended by six months due to insufficient administrative and surveying resources to meet the original schedule.
This deadline specifically pertains to cadastral registration, and not the completion of the full legalisation process. Buildings that are already classified as illegal do not fall under this registration deadline; however, their owners must still finalize the legalisation process to ensure full transactional certainty.
Failure to initiate the registration process may lead to removal orders, which would hinder the legal sale, mortgage, or commercial use of these properties. This situation is particularly critical along the coast, where numerous properties, including tourism-related assets and converted residential units, often deviate from approved construction plans.
The current framework is effectively dividing the property market into categories of legally secure and administratively compromised assets. Properties with clean titles are expected to attract a liquidity premium due to their ability to facilitate conventional bank financing and notarial transfers. In contrast, properties that remain outside this framework may become unbankable. Buyers of apartments, hotels, and development land will need to assess the legal status of each structure within a parcel rather than relying solely on land ownership.
