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Serbian Housing and Building Maintenance Act in brief: manager, costs, deadlines

Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada: scope, Official Gazette numbers, residential community, building manager, assembly, maintenance costs, deadlines.

INFO
Short answer. The Housing and Building Maintenance Act (Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada) governs the management of residential buildings, the residential community (stambena zajednica) and the building manager, maintenance of common parts and the sharing of costs, house rules, eviction and housing support. The current text is published in Sl. glasnik RS, Nos. 104/2016 and 9/2020 (other statute). In 2016 this Act replaced the old Housing Act (Zakon o stanovanju) of 1992. This page explains the Act in plain language and does not replace the official text.

What the Housing and Building Maintenance Act (Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada) covers and whom it applies to

Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada governs sustainable housing development, building management, the use and maintenance of buildings and their common and separate parts, eviction and resettlement, housing support, registers and supervision (Art. 1). People often search for it as "zakon o stanovanju", the title of the old 1992 Act that this Act replaced.

It applies to owners of apartments and business premises in residential and mixed-use buildings, to residential communities, managers and professional managers, to tenants when they take part in the assembly, and to municipalities and cities, which prescribe minimum maintenance amounts and house rules. It does not cover apartments and buildings used for the needs of the ministry of defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. Ownership of an apartment and registration in the cadastre are governed by other statutes.

Official citation: Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada (Sl. glasnik RS, Nos. 104/2016 and 9/2020 - other statute). The Act was published in December 2016. The only change to date came in 2020 through another statute (No. 9/2020): Art. 53 of the Act Amending the Planning and Construction Act repealed Art. 140, which governed indefinite-term tenants in apartments owned by citizens, endowments and foundations.

There is no separate "Residential Communities Act" (zakon o stambenim zajednicama). The residential community, its registration, the assembly and the manager are all governed by this Act, in the chapter on building management (Art. 15-57).

Is there a new housing law in 2025 or 2026?

No. The 2016 Housing and Building Maintenance Act is still in force, and as of September 2026 the consolidated text shows no amendment after 2020 (No. 9/2020 - other statute). If you come across an article about a "new housing law 2025" (novi zakon o stanovanju 2025), check whether it refers to an act actually published in the Official Gazette or only to a draft. What does change in practice are city and municipal decisions on the minimum maintenance amount and on the fee for compulsory administration, so check those for your city. Before relying on a rule, check the date of the last amendment in the Legal Information System.

How the Act is structured

The Act has 158 articles in ten chapters:

  • I Basic provisions (principles, definitions)
  • II Parts of a building (separate, common and independent parts, ownership, pre-emptive right of transfer, owners' duties)
  • III Building management (residential community, register, assembly, manager, professional manager, compulsory administration)
  • IV Building maintenance (duty to maintain, urgent interventions, costs and method of payment)
  • V Use of apartments and eviction (house rules, unlawful occupation, eviction and resettlement)
  • VI Housing support (non-profit lease, subsidies, beneficiaries)
  • VII Housing policy documents and funds
  • VIII Supervision
  • IX Penal provisions
  • X Transitional and final provisions

The most searched provisions

Pre-emptive right of transfer (Art. 13). When a common part of the building, for example an attic or laundry room, is transferred in order to be annexed or converted into an apartment, the unit owners have priority on the same terms.

Duties of the apartment owner (Art. 14). The owner must not disturb others through the use of the apartment, keeps their unit in a condition that does not harm others, shares in the costs of the common parts and allows passage and works when necessary for repairs.

Residential community (Art. 16). It consists of all unit owners. It has legal personality, a registration number, a tax ID (PIB) and a bank account. A building with several entrances may form a residential community per entrance.

Owners' rules (Art. 17). By unanimous decision, owners may regulate their mutual relations differently from the Act, including the majorities needed for decisions.

Assembly (Art. 41-46). The assembly elects the manager, sets the monthly amount, adopts the maintenance programme, and decides on loans and on the common parts. A household member or a tenant may vote instead of the owner, except on matters the Act expressly reserves for the owner.

Manager (Art. 49 and 50). Represents the residential community, keeps records of owners, carries out the assembly's decisions, proposes the maintenance programme, organises works and urgent interventions, and reports to the assembly.

Building manager or professional manager (Art. 51-56). Under the Act, the building manager is an apartment owner elected by the assembly. A professional manager must have at least four-year secondary education, pass an exam, hold a licence, be entered in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce register and carry professional liability insurance. On top of the manager's duties, a professional manager takes fault reports 24 hours a day, arranges urgent interventions and reports to the assembly at least twice a year unless agreed otherwise (Art. 52 and 53). The contract with the professional management organiser is made in writing (Art. 56).

Professional manager and compulsory administration (Art. 55-57). A professional manager is a licensed person engaged through a professional management organiser. Compulsory administration is introduced by the municipality when the building does not elect a manager itself.

Duty to maintain (Art. 60 and 61). The building must be maintained so that it poses no risk of damage. If the owners do not carry out necessary works and there is a threat to life, health or property, the local self-government unit may take over the works at the owners' expense.

Costs (Art. 63-65). Every owner may ask the manager for access to the balance and transactions on the residential community's account.

House rules and unlawful occupation (Art. 76 and 77). General house rules, including the permitted noise level, are prescribed by the local self-government unit. The procedure for evicting a person who moved in without a legal basis is urgent.

Where to read the official text

The official consolidated text is available in the Legal Information System of the Republic of Serbia: Zakon o stanovanju i održavanju zgrada at pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs. Alongside the Act, read your city's or municipality's decisions on the minimum amount for routine and capital maintenance and on house rules, as well as the owners' rules if your building has adopted them. Data on a registered residential community and its manager are publicly available in the Register of Residential Communities.

Sources

What to do

  • A residential community acquires legal personality as soon as at least two persons become owners of two separate units in the building (Art. 16). The first assembly meeting, at which the manager is elected, is held within 60 days of acquiring that status (Art. 40).
  • The application to register the residential community, the manager or a change of data is filed with the Register within 15 days of the assembly meeting or of the change (Art. 27 and 40).
  • The manager's term is four years, unless the election decision sets a shorter term; after the term ends, the manager continues in office for a further 30 days if no new manager has been elected (Art. 49).
  • If a new manager is not elected within 30 days, any unit owner may request compulsory administration, meaning the appointment of a professional manager (Art. 49 and 57).
  • The quorum for a meeting is a simple majority of the total number of votes. If there is no quorum, a repeat meeting is convened no sooner than three and no later than 30 days afterwards, and one third of the votes is sufficient for it (Art. 45).
  • Disposing of common parts, entrusting management to a professional manager and taking on a loan require a majority of two thirds of the total number of votes (Art. 44).
  • The monthly amount for routine maintenance and management is paid by the last day of the month for the current month (Art. 65).
  • The pre-emptive right of transfer over a common part of the building is exercised by written notice to the assembly within 15 days of receiving the offer (Art. 13).
  • An appeal against a decision evicting a person who moved in unlawfully is filed with the municipal or city council within 15 days of service (Art. 77).

FAQ

Is the old Housing Act (Zakon o stanovanju) still in force?

The Housing Act of 1992 ceased to be valid when the Housing and Building Maintenance Act entered into force, at the end of 2016. Only certain provisions of the old Act remained in force, above all those on the purchase of socially owned apartments (Art. 16-28), as well as Art. 34-38 on indefinite-term leases and Art. 45a and 45b. Art. 32 of the old Act ceased to apply two years after the new Act entered into force (Art. 157 of the Housing and Building Maintenance Act).

Does every building have to have a manager?

Yes. The mandatory bodies of a residential community are the assembly and the manager (Art. 40). The assembly elects the manager from among the unit owners (Art. 49), and may at any time decide to entrust management to a professional manager (Art. 56). If a building does not elect a manager or does not register the residential community, the municipality appoints a professional manager by decision, through compulsory administration (Art. 57).

Who pays for building maintenance, and how much?

All owners of separate units. The costs of routine maintenance and management are shared in proportion to the number of units, and the costs of capital maintenance in proportion to floor area (Art. 63). The assembly sets the amount, but it cannot be lower than the minimum prescribed by the local self-government unit (Art. 64). That is why amounts differ from city to city.

Does a tenant pay building maintenance costs?

The person liable to the residential community is the owner of the apartment. The owner and tenant may agree that the tenant pays those costs, and the owner must then inform the building manager within 30 days of letting the apartment (Art. 41). The lease of an apartment between private persons is itself governed by Zakon o obligacionim odnosima (Law on Contracts and Torts), not by this Act.

How are decisions made at the owners' assembly?

Each unit owner has one vote per unit; a garage or parking space as a rule gives no additional vote (Art. 43). Decisions are made by a simple majority of the votes of those present, except decisions for which the Act requires a two-thirds majority of all votes (Art. 44). Voting in writing or electronically is also possible. Every decision is entered in the minutes (Art. 46).

What if a neighbour does not pay for maintenance?

The residential community, through the manager, may start collection proceedings. The Act regulates the assembly's decision on costs and the certified extract from the minutes signed by the manager (Art. 64). The owner pays the amount by the last day of each month for the current month, and whoever maintains or manages the building must send each owner an invoice where payment does not go through a unified billing system (Art. 65). According to Supreme Court case law, such an invoice, with proof that the owner was notified of the obligation, can serve as an authentic document for enforcement (Art. 52 of the Enforcement and Security Act), so a lawsuit is filed where collection through enforcement is not possible. On 1 July 2025 the same court took the position that this claim is not a claim from an activity similar to utility services.

What does the building manager (upravnik zgrade) do under the Act, and who pays them?

The building manager is elected by the residential community's assembly from among the unit owners, for four years, and is entered in the Register of Residential Communities (Art. 49). The manager represents the community, keeps the register of owners, uses the funds on the community's account as the assembly decides, proposes the maintenance programme, organises urgent interventions and reports to the assembly on income and expenditure (Art. 50). Instead, the assembly may engage a professional manager (profesionalni upravnik), who is licensed and entered in the register kept by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, through a professional management organiser (Art. 51, 52 and 56). A professional manager's fee is set by contract, or by a city or municipal decision under compulsory administration (Art. 53). The Act sets no fee for a manager elected from among the owners; the costs of the community's bodies are covered from the monthly amount the assembly sets (Art. 42).