Housing in Montenegro

Local terms include stan for an apartment, kuća for a house, stanovanje for housing, zakup for a lease, zakupodavac for a landlord and zakupac or podstanar for a tenant. The 2023 Census recorded 392,909 dwellings: 72.72% were used as permanent residences, 22.67% seasonally and 4.26% for activity-related purposes. Almost 24.92% of dwellings intended for permanent residence were temporarily vacant or abandoned, while coastal areas face strong seasonal pressure and Podgorica has the largest housing stock. Montenegro has no evidenced nationwide series for current market rents, so rent comparisons require municipality, season, property condition and contract-specific checks. A private lease should be written and certified. It should identify the parties, address, cadastral or property reference, area, rent, deposit, utilities, term, repairs, subletting, notice, handover, inventory and building rules. The landlord provides a usable dwelling and normally pays owner-side repair costs; the tenant uses the dwelling properly, reports defects, handles minor repairs and use-related costs, and does not sublet without consent. If the contract, law and local custom provide no different notice period, the default period is eight weeks. A tenant may end the lease without notice when the dwelling creates a danger to health. A landlord may terminate without notice after two consecutive unpaid rent periods, although the tenant can cure the arrears before notice; unauthorized subletting can also justify immediate termination. Buying requires a check of the list nepokretnosti, title, encumbrances, co-owners, parcel and building status, permitted use and legalization status. The katastar nepokretnosti and eKatastar provide the relevant property-record channels. A sale normally uses the required notarial form and becomes secure through registration in the cadastre; possession, an advertisement or an unregistered agreement does not provide the same protection. Electronic filing from a notary to the cadastre is available. Foreign nationals can generally buy apartments and houses, but restrictions may apply to agricultural land, forests, natural resources, common-use goods, culturally protected property and security-restricted areas. The nationality, parcel and property status should be checked before payment. Housing finance may come from a bank mortgage or another consumer-credit product. A mortgage must be created through an agreement, court decision or law and registered in the real-estate register; a written and authenticated mortgage agreement is required where the mortgage is contractual. The Central Bank of Montenegro consumer-credit framework effective from 28 November 2025 sets a maximum permitted consumer-loan interest rate, and housing-loan processing and early-repayment fees have been abolished under that framework. Banks still assess income, credit history, down payment and collateral individually. A borrower can request a report from the CBCG Kreditni registar, but an advertised rate or programme is not a universal entitlement. The 2024 average price for new construction was approximately EUR 1,844 per square metre, with approximately EUR 1,810 in Podgorica, EUR 2,028 in the coastal region, EUR 945 in the central region and EUR 1,306 in the north. These figures describe the construction market and do not provide a current rent quote. Buyers and owners may also face property tax of approximately 0.25% to 1.00% of market value, notary and cadastre charges, agent fees, mortgage costs, legalization expenses, repairs and maintenance. Social housing is available through state or local programmes and published public calls, not as an automatic nationwide entitlement. Montenegrin citizens with residence in Montenegro who lack adequate housing and cannot secure it from their income may qualify; foreign nationals or stateless people may qualify when their status is covered by the relevant law or treaty. Priority can include single parents, people with disabilities, people over 67, young people formerly without parental care, households with children with developmental difficulties, Roma and Egyptian communities, displaced people, eligible displaced foreign nationals and victims of domestic violence. Local authorities assess housing conditions, income and assets, residence duration, household size, disability or health and age. Support can include rented units, construction land, building materials, subsidies or below-market rent. Social leases generally last up to 10 years, may be longer for priority groups, and normally cannot be bought out, inherited, sublet or transferred. State programmes can run for up to three years and local programmes for up to one year; stock and opening dates depend on the responsible authority. Apartment owners share responsibility for common parts through etažna svojina, the owners' assembly and a building manager called upravnik. Regular, urgent and necessary works, reserve contributions, maintenance and lift safety can affect both owners and tenants, so the lease should state how the tenant communicates with the building manager and who pays which charge. Maintenance quality and municipal capacity vary. Unregistered or illegal construction creates risks for sale, mortgage, use and title security. Under the 2025 legalization regime, an owner of an eligible illegal building must initiate registration within six months by submitting the relevant registration request, licensed geodetic survey, notarized builder statement and required fees. Legalization is a housing-security procedure and does not automatically cure every title problem. Foreign property ownership also does not itself create a residence right. Temporary residence based on property use requires the conditions of the Foreign Nationals Law and proof such as a property folio or ownership document. For short stays of up to 90 days, registration and deregistration duties depend on whether accommodation is provided by a host; MUP or police, a tourist organisation or another competent local authority may handle the applicable process. When moving in, record the condition of the dwelling, keys, meters, inventory and existing defects, and notify the landlord or building manager where necessary. When leaving, settle rent, utilities and agreed maintenance, return the dwelling and keys, and document the deposit settlement. A lease may end through expiry, agreement, a valid termination, destruction, demolition, a final decision or a change in permitted use. An ownership transfer requires a notary and cadastre registration, while removing a mortgage requires the creditor's certificate and deletion from the register. Rental regulation, affordable housing supply, institutional capacity and building maintenance remain unresolved policy issues, so published programmes and current local procedures need to be checked for each case.