MONTENEGRO Law and Practice Contributed by: Milan Keker, Aleksandra Bujkovic, Ivan Pejovic and Iva Rolovic, Keker, Bujkovic & Pejovic
2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination
by law, based on the law or by special decision by the government. The expropriated party is entitled to fair and adequate compensation, which may be provided either in mon - etary form or by granting ownership or co-ownership of another suitable property. The process begins with a proposal for expropriation submitted by a state or municipal authority (or another authorised ben - eficiary), after the public interest for expropriation is determined. The competent administrative authority conducts the expropriation proceedings and issues a decision. Once finalised, the beneficiary of the expro - priation obtains the right to use or acquire ownership of the property strictly for the purpose stated in the expropriation decision. In addition, issues relating to illegally constructed buildings may arise in practice. The Law on the Legali - sation of Illegal Structures regulates the conditions and procedure under which buildings constructed without the required permits may be legalised. If the statutory requirements are met – including compliance with planning documents and resolution of property rights over the land – the competent authority may issue a legalisation decision, after which the building can be registered in the cadastre and lawfully used. Conversely, if the conditions for legalisation are not satisfied or an application for legalisation is reject - ed, the competent authority may order the removal (demolition) of the illegal structure in accordance with the law. 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transaction In asset deal transactions, the real estate transfer tax (RETT) is applied progressively, depending on the val - ue of the property being transferred. The applicable rates are the following: • for property values up to EUR150,000, the transfer tax is levied at a rate of 3%; • for property values between EUR150,000 and EUR500000 the tax is calculated as a fixed amount of EUR4,500, plus 5% on the portion of the value exceeding EUR150,000; • for property values exceeding EUR500,000, the tax is calculated as a fixed amount of EUR22,000,
Environmental liability generally follows the “polluter pays” principle, meaning that the person or entity responsible for causing environmental damage, or creating an imminent risk of such damage, is obligated to bear the costs of implementing both preventive and remedial measures to address and rectify the harm. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law The permitted use of a parcel of real estate is gov - erned by the applicable urban planning documen - tation, which includes the spatial plan, the detailed urban plan or local urban plan and the urban-technical conditions (UTC) issued for specific plots. To deter - mine the permitted use of a specific parcel, a buyer may submit a request for an extract from the planning document to the competent municipal authority to obtain information on the spatial planning parameters applicable to the parcel, including land use designa - tion, construction limits and any applicable restric - tions or obligations. The UTC go further by detailing the specific design, construction and infrastructural requirements for the intended development, serving as a foundation for obtaining building permits. For larger or strategically significant projects, investors may potentially enter into development agreements with public authorities – typically the local municipality or the government, depending on the location and scale of the project. These agreements can facilitate project implementa - tion by addressing zoning adjustments, infrastructure obligations and administrative support, often stream - lining the permitting process and aligning public and private development interests. 2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase Expropriation (ie, the compulsory acquisition of pri - vate real estate by the state or public entities) is gov - erned by the Law on Expropriation and is permitted when required for a lawfully established public interest – such as infrastructure projects, utilities, urban plan - ning or other purposes expressly defined by the law. The public interest must be established either directly
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