UNMIK/PR/879
Thursday 28 November 2002

HPD extends claims deadline to June 2003

Pristina - The Housing and Property Directorate has extended its claims intake deadline from December 1 to June 1, 2003.

The Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) and the Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) were established by UNMIK in November 1999 (Regulation 1999/23 and 2000/60) to restore housing and property rights in Kosovo.

HPD/HPCC's jurisdiction overrides that of the Kosovo judiciary in the following three categories of cases involving residential property:

(a) claims by individuals who lost property as a result of discriminatory laws after 23 March 1989;

(b) claims by individuals who entered into informal transactions on the basis of free will of the parties between 23 March 1989 and 13 October 1999; and

(c) claims by owners, possessors and property right holders who, as a result of the conflict, lost possession of their properties after 24 March 1999.

Kosovo residents who have residential property problems falling into any of the above categories should go an HPD office to file a claim before June 1, 2003.