Kosovo – Land Tenure and Property Rights Profile

The country has strengthened its basic legal framework and institutional structures, with a view to reinforcing the necessary foundations for a functioning market economy. Economic reforms received new momentum after the 2014 elections, and Kosovo signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in 2015. This milestone marks Kosovo's path towards a European future. Despite progress, economic growth, the rights of women and minorities, democratic governance, environmental protection, and the rule of law are constrained by poorly defined, administered, and enforced property rights. Kosovo ranks high among the poorest countries in Europe, with widespread and persistent poverty affecting nearly 30 percent of the population. Regional differences in poverty incidence exist, with limited progress in privatizing and liquidating publicly owned enterprises contributing to low budget revenues. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has drafted the "Private Sector Development Strategy 2013 – 2017" document, which focuses on developing Small and Medium Enterprises, investment promotion, and improving trade policies. However, weak institutional capacity and unclear property rights continue to create disincentives for formal private sector activities. Extreme poverty disproportionately affects children, the elderly, households with disabled members, female-headed households, and certain ethnic minority households, particularly in the Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. Labor market conditions are challenging, with high unemployment rates, especially among youth. Women's participation in the labor market is limited, with only one in five women of working age active in the labor market and only one in eight employed. Land legislation gives women and men equal rights to property before the law, but Kosovar Albanian and Serb women often waive their rights to inherit property due to social pressure. Displaced persons face difficulties in registering residences in the relevant cadastral offices due to lack of proper documentation. The Government has developed a National Policy addressing reintegration, which aims to support effective integration and repatriation of displaced persons. However, land records have been destroyed, are nonexistent, or unreliable, and the cadastre system is being reconstructed and updated at a slow pace. Kosovo is in the early stages of adapting and implementing environmental standards. The country has developed various strategies and plans for environmental protection and sustainable development, but waste management, air, and water quality remain significant issues. Surface and groundwater resources are polluted by sewage and industrial waste, and air pollution has serious public health impacts. Kosovo has high-quality agricultural land, which comprises more than half of its land use. Agriculture has always been a key sector in Kosovo's economy, but it declined significantly during and after the conflict. The sector is constrained by land fragmentation and the small size of agricultural parcels, leading to lower agricultural production and economic losses. Kosovo possesses an abundance of natural resources, including trees and minerals, but only a small fraction of the harvesting is carried out in accordance with existing forest legislation. Key issues and intervention constraints include improving coordination among Government of Kosovo institutions on property rights, reducing landlessness, regularizing informal settlements, and strengthening women's rights to land. Donors should support efforts to address gaps in current targeted efforts for better coordination and policy priorities related to land, improved court procedures related to property claims, and enhancing women's de facto rights to access and use property. Additionally, support should be provided to reduce land fragmentation through voluntary consolidation, improve the competitiveness of Kosovo's agriculture, and address the needs and strengths of women, youth, and minority communities.