Excessive Construction in Belgrade – Prosperity or Problem?

We are witnesses to an increasing number of residential and office facilities which are being raised both in Belgrade and throughout Serbia. Although the estimates of the actual number of illegal buildings in Serbia are very “flexible”, depending on the data source, the current calculations of the competent institutions agree at least about the fact that they number in millions. Decades of tolerating illegal construction in order to get election votes sends a message to potential investors that the implementation of the regulations is also “very adaptable”, so instead of being reduced, this kind of construction has become increasingly pronounced in the past two years.

– The factors that influence this state of things are the will and lack of action of all authorities in the sense of regulation and prevention of illegal construction, corrupt motives (on one hand) related to local subjects and giving others’ (the people’s) land, providing favorable conditions, with corrupt and criminal acts of the authorities regarding foreign subjects and quasi-investors. The investor which is building on land that they got for free is not a true investor, but part of the plan for stealing and criminal activities – points out Zeljko Simic, a lawyer.

Following the big construction endeavors in the era of Josip Broz Tito, there was stagnation in dealing with the infrastructure. For years, they have not been reconstructed, having been neglected in favor of the construction of new facilities, and according to experts, the waterworks and the sewer in Dorcol have not been renewed in over 70 years. In the socialism era, apartments would be built for workers who would move in to work, and now apartments are built because it is profitable. The apartment market is regulated by the city, and in such a fast market, we don’t see the consequences that such construction could have on the overall functioning of the city.

Nobody is surprised anymore if an investor decides to build a floor or two more than allowed by the building permit. There are countless such examples in Belgrade alone. Looking to earn as much as possible, the investors harm the old urban tissue of the city, without regard for the number of floors, racing to gain as much as possible on the project. The lack of suitable sanctions gradually leads to the acceptance of the situation in which the investors no longer fear potential consequences. Serbia has laws which regulate this field, but in certain segments they are fully non-harmonized and, as such, lead to confusion in practical implementation. Their proper interpretation becomes absurd, considering that regulations are mostly not enforced. Such circumstances, in addition to an urban chaos and great losses in the state budget due to uncollected fees and taxes, also lead to serious environmental problems.

The city is developing much faster than ever before, so there’s the question of the quality of the new buildings and to what extent that quality is primary compared to the quickness of construction and the profit, which is the motive behind the whole endeavor. What became apparent in 2022 is that the prices of apartments in old buildings are growing at a greater rate, as a growth rate of 16.1% was recorded. The differences between new and old buildings are reflected primarily in regulations, but also the quality and the manner of construction, and it is often easy to spot the problem of the very functionality of new facilities. However, civil engineer Jelena Babic says that the quality of the new facilities compared to the old ones is higher and that those buildings are therefore safer.

– The quality of new buildings is considerably improved compared to old ones, beginning with the safety and energy efficiency protection. Old buildings are “competitive” due to their prices and the finished paperwork compared to the new ones. New buildings entail the meeting of the latest regulations and standards through the use of entirely new materials, which are energy efficient, which considerably reduces the building maintenance costs. The space is designed for a modern lifestyle, the floor area is better used, there are no so-called “lost square meters”. In new buildings, everything is new, the waterworks, the sewer installations, the weak and strong electrical current installations, the elevators… with a guarantee for the works and the equipment. Safety comes first, so a safety door is mandatory, as is building access control – she explains.

All the problems that Belgrade has today have already been experienced by numerous large cities of the world at a higher degree. From air pollution, through major traffic jams, the lack of parking spaces, all the way to the low quality of apartment construction. In order to be able to solve the current problems, we first need to recognize that it is important to us. In addition to that, it is very important for the highest authorities to also recognize that this is important, so we have tried to check this with the head urban planner of Belgrade, Marko Stojcic, but received no response. In any case, the situation could only improve through interinstitutional cooperation and joint cooperation of a large number of experts and scientists. What remains for the citizens is to develop responsibility toward the space they live in and to form a shared tendency toward preserving the resources, of which there are fewer and fewer due to such reckless activities.

Andrea Adamovic
Nikola Bojcevic

Simić Željko

Jelena Babić

Dorćol

illegal construction

construction in Belgrade

construction quality

quality of new buildings

lack of parking spaces