The government has opened for public consultation a draft law affecting one of the most problematic areas for citizens and businesses: property. According to the official version, the Cadastre and the Property Treatment Agency will be merged into a single institution, while in parallel a new unified national map for private and state-owned properties is also envisaged.
A single agency for property
The draft law provides for the creation of the State Property Agency through the merger and reorganization of the State Cadastre Agency and the Property Treatment Agency.
According to the government, the main reason is the fragmentation of competencies among different institutions. In the rationale presented, the separation between property treatment and its registration has led to delays and difficulties in completing ownership processes.
What functions the new structure will have
According to the draft law, the new agency will cover three main pillars: cadastral registration of properties, administration and inventory of state assets, as well as the completion of legalization processes, the transfer of agricultural land, and compensation of former owners.
The Ministry of Justice claims the reorganization is intended to close legal gaps and overlaps in competencies which, according to it, create room for different interpretations and administrative practices.
Unified map and 45-day deadline for claims
One of the most important changes envisaged is the creation of a unified national property map. The government aims for data on private and state-owned assets to be administered in an integrated and digitalized system.
For citizens and interested entities, the draft law sets a 45-day deadline during the initial registration process. After the maps and preliminary data are published, appeals and claims may be submitted within this period.
New powers for the administration and financial burden
The package also gives the administration a new preventive power: in cases of suspicion of fraud or legal violations, temporary restrictions may be imposed on cadastral actions. This expands the administration’s role in a sector where property disputes have for years produced challenges and blockages.
On the other hand, the new agency is expected to begin operating with a financial burden inherited from the institutions that will be incorporated into it, amounting to billions of lek.
New law and two other property initiatives
The draft law consists of 74 articles and 8 chapters and provides for the repeal of the current legal framework on cadastre, replacing it with a new integrated law.
As part of the same reform, the government has also opened for public consultation two other draft laws: one on immovable property and one on the completion of transitional ownership processes.
The package comes with the promise of institutional simplification and greater coordination, but it remains to be seen whether the merger of the structures will actually bring solutions for the backlog of property files, or only another administrative reorganization on top of an old problem.
For citizens, the most concrete point at this stage remains the 45-day deadline for appeals after the publication of the preliminary data, in a process that directly affects property rights.