The Montenegrin parliament has passed the Law on Building Structures, officially reinstating the building permit as the main consent for construction from the state or municipality. The Law on Spatial Planning was also adopted.
Marina Izgarević, State Secretary at the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism, and State Property, highlighted that decentralization refers to planning at both the state and local levels, as it was before 2017. The decentralization of construction-related tasks allows local governments to issue building permits, use permits, and technical acceptances for projects up to 3,000 square meters, while projects over that size fall under the ministry’s jurisdiction.
Ana Novaković Đurović, a former minister and current MP, expressed pride that the government addressed long-standing issues with centralization in spatial planning. She emphasized the importance of decentralizing these responsibilities and returning authority to municipalities.
Dejan Đurović, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Tourism, Agriculture, and Spatial Planning, noted that the 2017 law caused chaos in urbanism and extensive illegal construction. He said that the law had to be reformed.
Dušan Raičević, Mayor of Bar, called the new law a step forward in decentralization, but acknowledged that it did not go far enough, with many issues still unresolved.
The spatial plan is now in the proposal stage and will soon be sent to parliament for adoption. Novaković Đurović criticized the delays in the process, pointing out that the 44th government had done little to advance the plan. Izgarević clarified that the spatial plan is not yet a draft but is in the proposal stage and will be presented to parliament soon.
Architect Borislav Vukićević criticized the inability of the profession to deliver the general regulation plan under the 2017 law, stressing that serious studies should have preceded the law’s creation.
