UNMIK/FR/019/01
FEATURE RELEASE - 2 March, 2001

Illegal Construction
Violators of Regulations are Violating the Rights of Their Neighbours

In the aftermath of the war, putting roofs over peoples' heads was made a top priority. Kosovars rose to the challenge and, with international assistance, are rebuilding Kosovo at a remarkable pace. Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, Kosovo is growing in leaps and bounds with new houses and shops everywhere. Unfortunately, this is not all good news.

In 1963 older residents will remember, an earthquake hit with its epicentre near Skopje. Skopje was destroyed and thousands died from collapsing buildings. In southern Kosovo, many lost their homes and even buildings in Pristina were damaged. Imagine a strong earthquake hitting today, but this time closer to Pristina. Those two extra floors haphazardly built on top of your building-think the building would support them? Not a pleasant thought, is it?

Illegal construction is a major problem. UNMIK officials are constantly battling against those who insist on illegal building. This is not because internationals want to make life difficult for Kosovars. A properly functioning civil society needs regulations to protect the good of the whole, yes, but even more important are the safety of the people and the future of the cities they will raise their children in.

Some people, motivated by greed, violate regulations that were put in place for the good of all Kosovars. UNMIK tries to ensure that they are not successful. On 11 September 2000, Rexhep Luci, respected architect and the Pristina Director of Planning, Reconstruction and Development paid with his life for caring about the future of his city. His tragic death, rather than scaring off UNMIK officials, galvanized UNMIK into firmer action against illegal construction. Regulation 2000/53 "On Construction in Kosovo" is officially known as the Rexhep Luci Regulation in his memory. UNMIK does not want to interfere with people rebuilding their houses, but building on public lands, constructing unsafe buildings and erecting inappropriate structures in an established area will not be tolerated.
 
Municipal Administrators (MAs) have tried different methods to tackle the problem but have largely dealt with the issue intermittently when illegal construction blatantly violated municipal zoning or safety rules. MAs, naturally, all have different views on the issue but most agree that they have bigger concerns than whether or not someone should be allowed to add a room to his house. "I don't want to pull kiosks down if they are a family's only source of income," said one MA. Large-scale violations, however, cannot be ignored. In Pristina, to give examples, one hotel was being built in a public park, while in a different case a house was none-too-cleverly erected within a few meters of train tracks. Another problem is that many builders are attempting to illegally tap into public utility lines and receive electricity, water or sewerage for free thereby often overtaxing the outdated infrastructure.
 
Musa Stavileci, a professor of Dynamic Construction, University of Pristina, with 30 years experience on how earthquakes affect buildings, is very worried about how Pristina would stand up to an earthquake of any real magnitude. Professor Stavileci said that Kosovo could fall victim to an earthquake, and that even seismic movements in neighbouring states could cause significant damage here. Stavaleci said that illegally constructed buildings and additions to existing structures are especially prone to damage. "We are not near catastrophe-we are already in a catastrophe, " he said when talking about dangerous construction practices.
 
Floors being added to existing structures usually are not properly affixed to the foundation of the building, and in many cases the load-bearing capacity of the building is not sufficient to add that additional weight. At the other end, he says, many people are converting cellars and ground floors into shops or homes. "Unfortunately, often, the people remove vital supports for the upper floors to make the space more usable for their purposes and, thus, render the building unstable," he said. An additional concern, he noted, is that many materials are not inspected and may not be of the quality necessary to make a structure safe. Professor Stavileci also fears that walls built around houses in Dragodan to hold soil back would not be able to withstand a significant seismic shift. The Professor would like to see his fellow Kosovars showing more conscience and responsibility for the safety of their families and their neighbours. "I fear that a proper sentence is waiting for us. Right now, God seems to be tolerating us-but someday we may be made to pay." 
 
In the end, the problem of illegal construction, MAs agree, needs to be dealt with by the newly elected Municipal Assemblies. After all, someday internationals will leave. It is Kosovar families that will inhabit the cities and towns, hence, it is the public and their leaders who need to decide if they want unsafe and unpleasant cities without green spaces or whether they want to live in a place they can be proud of.
 
UNMIK, together will local experts, is trying to give the legal framework for all areas related to construction. The Rexhep Luci Regulation issued in September of last year was the first step. In the Regulation, it is clearly indicated that, "all construction shall require a construction permit issued by the competent municipal authority". Those wishing to build any structure need to contact their competent municipal authority (usually the Municipal Urban Planning Department) in order to receive their application. After that, a construction plan must be submitted to that office. The municipal authority then takes into account the urban plan-if one exists for that place.
 
In Pristina, a Municipal Instruction was signed last August regarding building permits for the construction of buildings and structures. The Instruction clearly sets out the requirements for building within Pristina. Those wishing to build may consult with the Municipality Urban Plan, which is open to the public. The Urban Development and Planning and Reconstruction Department will provide information on urban conditions for Construction on any land or parcels of land in Pristina for a fee. The legal owner of the land in question must then submit an application to build.  The application include an explanation of such points as how the land is to be prepared, where building waste will be discharged, the infrastructure and development of the surrounding area and the measures to be taken for environmental and cultural protection. Once approved, building may commence. City inspectors check the site during construction, and when the building is completed, the inspectors must give a final safety approval before use of the building is allowed.  
 
So, when are permits denied? If the authority has reasonable grounds to believe the applicant does not have the right to use the land or building for the proposed construction, it will not issue the construction permit. This denial can, of course, be appealed on several levels. The point of this regulation is to protect landowners in absentia and dwellers in nearby buildings from having their property and safety rights infringed upon. It may seem obvious to most people that you can't build on land that isn't yours or erect an unsafe seven story building in a block of one or two floor homes, but, unfortunately, some people believe that having the bricks and the basic know-how gives sufficient right to build. The vast majority of Kosovars, however, want law and order and that is why such thinking is not, and should not, be tolerated.
 
The harshest penalty for illegal construction is a heavy fine and the tearing down of the building (which the person who built the structure should pay for). The Rexhep Luci Regulation clearly gives the municipality the right to demolish any structure it needs to in order to protect public health or safety.
 
One obstacle to controlling illegal construction is the existence of 77 different Kosovo and Yugoslav Legal Acts dealing with the issue, all in force on 22 March 1989, and still in force in Kosovo. Local expert Lazim Salihu has identified all of these documents, and now a team of experts must make a compendium of these acts and, thus, create a single comprehensive code. Once the time-consuming task is completed the law will be clear-cut.
 
Another obstacle is that some places lost, or never had, clear urban or physical plans. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) has sent in a team of experts to help the municipalities to deal with building regulations, urban planning and land use issues, as well as to provide technical support. Habitat experts hold workshops to assist municipalities in land use planning and construction issues. Members of the Habitat team travel throughout Kosovo assessing the situations in different areas. Habitat's long-term goal is to bring building and land use regulations up to the European standards.  To this end, Habitat is planning to issue a "Construction Handbook" for architects and municipal departments and will also train the trainers for tasks like building inspections.
 
The efforts of international and Kosovar experts are focused on ensuring that reconstruction and construction is done to the benefit of all. The recently elected Municipal Assemblies have to make some difficult decisions on the fate of illegally constructed buildings in their municipality. In some cases, buildings will need to be torn down for the safety and consideration of the community. The message must be made clear by the Assemblies -- public safety is more important than individual wants.

Note for Editors
For a selection of photographs, please contact Mr. Ky Chung at 038 504-604 ext. 5467

Contact: D. Kahrmann
(038) 504 604 Ext. 5589
E-mail: kahrmann@un.org