Amendments to the Law on Registration Procedure with the Cadaster of Real Estate and Utilities (now the Law on Registration Procedure with the Cadaster of Real Estate and Infrastructure), among other changes, introduced the obligation that the citizens, starting from November 4^th, 2023, can submit requests to the real estate cadaster exclusively through professional users, i.e., attorneys at law and geodetic organisations. The implementation of this system aims to improve the operation of the real estate cadaster, making it more efficient, as well as to enable faster access to relevant information.

The idea for implementing such a system arose from the positive experience with a system implemented by public notaries. Since July 2018, after certification of each agreement (or other document) by which the transfer of ownership rights was conducted, public notaries were required to automatically submit a request for the registration of the rights of new property owners to the competent real estate cadaster. This system proved to be highly efficient because public notaries, before the certification of every agreement, were obligated to check in detail the current status in the real estate cadaster records, as well as to ensure the presence of complete and accurate documents for the registration of rights.

On the other hand, there is a significant number of real estates in Serbia on which ownership rights have been changed before July 2018 (in some situations even decades ago), with these changes not being registered in the real estate cadaster for various reasons. Therefore, there was a need to introduce a new form of digitization and professionalization of the registration procedure that would be applied to those situations. Additionally, it was necessary to solve a number of problems that arose from the traditional system – including long queues, overcrowding at the counters, incomplete requests, extensive documentation in paper form, frequent problems with the rejection of requests due to the instructions of non-professionals, as well as prolonged registration procedures which, due to disputed documentation, lasted for several years. The introduction of a digital system represents the solution to these challenges, offering a more efficient alternative that will improve the experience of the citizens in the registration process.

It should be noted that submitting requests electronically through attorneys, as professional users, is not a novelty, as such a system has been operating successfully in practice for several years. This system allows citizens whose rights are not registered in the real estate cadaster to address the attorneys who will be obligated to review the entire documentation before submitting a request and identify any potential issues or deficiencies in the documentation required for the registration of rights. Citizens will also have the opportunity, in case of any formal or other deficiencies regarding the documentation, to receive expert advice from attorneys on how to overcome these deficiencies.

Communication between the competent real estate cadaster and attorneys is also far more efficient, especially since the Republic Geodetic Authority canceled the option for citizens to schedule meetings with heads of real estate cadasters, heads of legal departments, or officials processing their cases.

In this manner, not only will the possibility of requests for registration of rights being dismissed or rejected be minimized, but the procedure of registration of rights will also be conducted significantly faster than when citizens did it themselves. For this reason, we strongly believe that these changes represent a significant step not only for citizens but also for the entire administration in Serbia, improving transparency and efficiency in the management of real estate and the entire infrastructure.

For more information regarding the novelties in terms of registration of rights, as well as comprehensive legal assistance related to it, feel free to contact our attorneys at law Uroš Đorđević (uros.djordjevic@zslaw.rs), Srđan Zerdo (srdjan.zerdo@zslaw.rs), and Miroslav Živanović (miroslav.zivanovic@zslaw.rs).

---

UPIS PRAVA U KATASTAR NEPOKRETNOSTI UZ POMOĆ ADVOKATA I GEODETSKIH ORGANIZACIJA

Izmenama i dopunama Zakona o postupku upisa u katastar nepokretnosti i vodova (sada Zakona o postupku upisa u katastar nepokretnosti i katastar infrastrukture), između ostalog, uvedena je obaveza da od 4. novembra 2023. godine, građani mogu podnositi zahteve katastru isključivo preko profesionalnih korisnika, tj. preko advokata i geodetskih organizacija. Implementacija ovog sistema ima za svrhu da unapredi rad katastra, čineći ga jednostavnijim i efikasnijim, te da omogući brži pristup relevantnim informacijama.

Sama ideja za implementaciju ovakvog sistema proistekla je iz pozitivnog iskustva sa sistemom koji su sprovodili javni beležnici. Naime, od jula 2018. godine, javni beležnici su bili obavezni da nakon svake overe ugovora ili drugog dokumenta za prenos vlasništva automatski podnesu zahtev za upis prava novih vlasnika nadležnom katastru nepokretnosti. Ovaj sistem se pokazao izuzetno efikasan jer je svaki javni beležnik pre same overe ugovora bio dužan da detaljno proveri trenutno stanje u evidenciji katastra nepokretnosti, kao i da osigura prisustvo kompletnih dokumenata i ispravnost istih za upis prava.

S druge strane, u Srbiji postoji jako veliki broj nepokretnost koje su menjale vlasnika pre jula 2018. godine (u nekim slučajevima čak i decenijama unazad), a da te promene nisu bile evidentirane u katastru iz različitih razloga. Iz tog razloga, javila se potreba da se uvede novi oblik digitalizacije i profesionalizacije postupka za uknjižbu koji bi se primenio na te slučajeve. Osim toga, bilo je neophodno rešiti niz problema koji su proistekli iz tradicionalnog sistema – dugotrajna čekanja u redovima, gužve na šalterima, nepotpuni zahtevi, obimna dokumentacija u papirnom obliku, česti problemi sa odbacivanjem ili odbijanjem zahteva usled instrukcija nestručnih lica, kao i postupci uknjižbe koji su, zbog sporne dokumentacije, trajali i po nekoliko godina. Uvođenje digitalnog sistema predstavlja odgovor na ove izazove, pružajući efikasniju alternativu koja će unaprediti iskustvo građana u procesu uknjižbe.

Treba imati u vidu da podnošenje zahteva elektronskim putem preko advokata, kao profesionalnih korisnika ne predstavlja novinu, jer takav sistem postoji i uspešno funkcioniše u praksi već nekoliko godina. Ovaj sistem omogućava da se građani, čije pravo nije upisano u registru katastra nepokretnosti, obrate advokatima koji će biti u obavezi da pre podnošenja svakog zahteva pregledaju celokupnu dokumentaciju i ukažu na eventualna sporna pitanja ili nedostatke u dokumentaciji koja je potrebna za upis prava. Građani će takođe imati mogućnosti da u slučaju postojanja bilo kakvih formalnih ili drugih nedostataka u dokumentaciji dobiju stručan savet od advokata kako te nedostatke da otklone. 

Komunikacija između nadležnog katastra i advokata je takođe daleko efikasnija nego da to vrše sami građani, naročito jer je Republički Geodetski Zavod ukinuo mogućnost da građani zakažu sastanak sa načelnicima, šefovima pravnih službi ili referentima koji obrađuju te predmete.

Na navedeni način, ne samo da će se minimizovati mogućnost da zahtevi za uknjižbu budu odbačeni ili odbijeni, već će i sam postupak upisa prava biti sprovođen znatno brže nego kada su to činili građani samostalno. Iz tog razloga smatramo da ove izmene predstavljaju značajan korak ne samo za građane, već i za kompletnu administraciju u Srbiji, unapređujući transparentnost i efikasnost u upravljanju nepokretnostima i celokupnom infrastrukturom.

Za detaljnije informacije u vezi sa novinama u pogledu uknjižbe, kao i kompletnu pravnu pomoć u vezi sa tim, budite slobodni da kontaktirate naše advokate Uroša Đorđevića (uros.djordjevic@zslaw.rs), Srđana Zerda (srdjan.zerdo@zslaw.rs) i Miroslava Živanovića (miroslav.zivanovic@zslaw.rs).