Serbia has 123,584 abandoned apartments: Who inherits the property when there is no heir?
There are apartments that, after the death of the owner, there is no one to argue about during probate hearings. Heirs do not exist even in the most distant family ties. Such apartments are empty, but it does not mean that it will be like that for a long time.
According to the 2022 Census, there are 123,584 abandoned apartments in Serbia today.
When there is no legal heir, movable or immovable property passes into the hands of the Republic of Serbia. Such a procedure is long, multi-year, so often these properties are empty for years and left to the ravages of time.
Lawyer Brane Krunić says that such cases are extremely rare, because the law provides a very broad principle of legal and even testamentary inheritance.
Everything according to the letter of the law
“The Inheritance Law of the RS, in Article 8, prescribes the circle of legal heirs and these can be the descendants of the deceased, his adopted children or their descendants, his spouse, his parents, adoptive parents, brothers and sisters and their descendants, his grandparents and their descendants and others ancestors”, says lawyer Krunić.
The circle is very wide and is inherited by hereditary lines. As lawyer Krunić explains, closer heirs exclude those further away.
“However, in the event that there are no heirs behind the deceased, the Republic of Serbia is the last legal heir and it cannot renounce the inheritance, and the inheritance that the country inherits becomes state property.
However, it does not often happen that Serbia inherits property from the deceased, because the law provides a very broad principle of inheritance.
“For example, in the fourth line of succession, the decedent’s great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers inherit, so even if one of these ancestors cannot or will not inherit, his spouse can get that part, if he is the ancestor of the deceased,” explains lawyer Krunić.
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As he adds, according to this system, the court, that is, the public notary, will find one of the heirs, no matter where he is. Only if all possibilities are exhausted, only then will the property be acquired by the Republic of Serbia.
Census data from 2022 show that there are a total of 33,771 abandoned apartments in the northern part of the country, of which 10,021 are in the Belgrade region, and 23,750 in Vojvodina. In the south of the country, there are a total of 89,813 abandoned apartments.
“The reasons for abandoned apartments are different, most often it is about unresolved property relations, about inheritance where the owners do not live in the country, or about apartments that are not in functional condition and require renovation. Those apartments may be empty, but they have owners, says Aleksandra Mihajlović from the portal 4zida.rs. Although there are cases of empty ones apartments in new constructionthey are usually in the process of being sold, or the owners use them occasionally, as weekend apartments or real estate for short-term rental (e.g. for an apartment for the day), and there are those people who have invested in real estate in which they do not live, do not use it but they don’t even want to betray her, explains Mihajlović.
The website 4zida.rs advertises properties sold by owners, real estate agencies, investors or companies. The sale of real estate, which is owned by the state, is a process that is not typical for classic advertising platforms,” says Mihajlović.
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A long process from the deceased to the state
When the real estate is inherited by the state, the property is then formally legally registered as the property of the Republic of Serbia, explains lawyer Krunić.
“Local self-government units, i.e. the city, do not acquire the right of public ownership of such immovable properties. When it is not known if there are any heirs, the court will invite the persons claiming the inheritance to report to the court within one year from the date of publication of the ad,” says the lawyer.
As he says, if there are hints that the residence or residence of the heir is abroad, the advertisement will be published in the appropriate foreign means of public information.
“After the expiry of the one-year deadline, no heirs report, the court will issue a decision handing over the inheritance to the Republic of Serbia for enjoyment,” adds lawyer Krunić.
Serbia acquires ownership of surrendered property within three years for movable property and 10 for immovable property, starting from the opening of the inheritance.
The state as the last heir in line
Lawyer Krunić emphasizes that the position of the Supreme Court of Cassation from 2016 indicates that the state’s right to inherit must be interpreted restrictively and that it can be an heir only when there is no legal one.
The goal of establishing the State as a legal heir is to prevent the creation of property without an owner and the so-called dormant inheritance, which would lead to legal uncertainty.
“The appearance of a legal heir at any time creates a basis for him to claim his own inheritance from the state, which has become the formal owner.
“Such a conclusion stems from the provisions of Article 221, paragraph 1 of the Law on Inheritance, according to which the heir’s right to claim inheritance does not expire. This position is not contrary to paragraph 2 of Article 221 of the Law on Inheritance, according to which the rules on the maintenance of acquisition from non-owners and the statute of limitations on claims cannot be affected,” says lawyer Krunić.
What does the state do with inherited real estate?
When it comes into possession of real estate, the Republic of Serbia, in practice, does not sell its own property.
“It often happens that the state is in a co-ownership relationship with other persons or companies, so only then is there a possibility to buy the co-ownership share from the state, and this is done through the public sale procedure,” says Krunić.
The Department for Property Proceedings at the Republic Directorate for Property of the RS performs tasks related to the disposal of state-owned items, acquisition, alienation, letting for use, leasing, transfer of public property rights to another holder with or without compensation, exchange, capital investment , establishing a mortgage on real estate…
Source: BIZLife
Photo: Freepik/Unsplash
Source: bizlife.rs
