Young people in Serbia will be able to obtain state-supported housing loans for building a house on land with a construction permit or for constructing a prefabricated house. Under the new amendments, guarantors for certain groups of young borrowers may include non-family members. These changes address problems encountered in applying previous regulations and aim to clarify and improve legal provisions supporting young people.
The amendments do not introduce fundamental legal changes but enhance existing rules to ensure continued effective implementation of measures helping young people buy their first home. The definition of residential property now explicitly includes ancillary buildings, as banks have previously refused to finance homes with such additional structures.
Regarding guarantors, banks may accept guarantees from third parties in cases where young borrowers lack family members who qualify as guarantors or where bank policies require one. Additionally, borrowers will be required to provide new collateral if the original guarantee, such as from a family member, ceases to exist before the loan is fully repaid.
This requirement arises because banks often focus on repayment periods beyond the state guarantee duration, and borrowers may be able to offer better security over time.
The amendments also introduce changes to fees paid to the Republic Geodetic Institute (RGZ) and notaries. For loans approved under this law, no fees will be charged for registering mortgages, issuing real estate certificates, or changes in property ownership at the RGZ. Notaries will not charge fees for preparing pledge statements, confirming pre-contracts and sale contracts, or consenting to registrations for such loans.
The law takes effect eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.
