Thursday, 1 November 2007

More than 30,000 alleged property disputes still unresolved in Kosovo

Today claim number 30,000 was submitted to the Kosovo Property Agency. The KPA has thus far received some 30,637 claims for private immovable property where the claimant alleges loss of property as a result of the armed conflict in 1998-1999. This means that the KPA has received more claims than its predecessor Housing and Property Directorate, which in total adjudicated some 29,160 claims.

The 30,637 claims submitted to the KPA includes claims for:
2,097 residential properties;
894 commercial properties ; and
27,646 agricultural properties

The number of claims submitted shows that a significant number of properties in Kosovo are still being illegally occupied, more than eight years after the armed conflict ended.  Even though the claims submitted  to KPA are related to properties spread all around Kosovo, almost half of the total claims are for properties located in the five municipalities Istog/Istok, Klinë/Klina, Ferisaj/Urosevac, Prizren and Pejë/Pec.

On a press conference in Pristina today the KPA director Knut Rosandhaug called upon both illegal occupants and municipal authorities to cooperate with KPA in resolving the property disputes. –Everyone who is illegally occupying a property is fully aware that the property does not legally belong to them.  My advice for usurpers is therefore to vacate the properties voluntarily or to enter into agreements with the lawful property right holder in order to avoid being evicted by the KPA, Mr. Rosandhaug said.
 
The Kosovo Property Agency was established on 4 March 2006 and has, subject to appeal to the Supreme Court of Kosovo, exclusive jurisdiction to resolve claims for private immovable property arising from the armed conflict in 1998-1999.

For more detailed statistics on the claims submitted to KPA:

Total claims by property type:
http://www.kpaonline.org/claimProp.asp

Total claimed properties by region and municipality:
http://www.kpaonline.org/ClaimsTotal.asp