National Baseline Survey for Property Rights in Kosovo

To achieve this goal, a national baseline survey was conducted in June 2015 to gain insights into public opinions on property rights, women's right to inherit, and satisfaction with court services on resolving property disputes. The survey was conducted by UBO Consulting and involved a representative sample of 1,250 adults living in Kosovo. The survey found that 78% of respondents reported that there are no female members in their household registered as property owners. In comparison to male respondents, female respondents were more likely to believe that property created during marriage belongs to them, while male respondents were more likely to report that inherited property from parents belongs to them. The survey also found that 59% of respondents believed that women should inherit property from their birth families, compared to 35% who believed that women should not inherit property from birth families. The survey revealed a general lack of knowledge about property rights, particularly among women. Only 39.3% of Albanian respondents, 42% of non-Serb minority ethnicities, and 23.9% of Serb respondents claimed to have knowledge of basic documents needed to make a real estate transaction. The survey also found that respondents in Ferizaj region had very low knowledge of inheritance and real estate transactions, with only 6.2% knowing the documents for a real estate transaction and 15.6% knowing the documents for an inheritance proceeding. The survey found that respondents believe that fathers are the household members who can make real estate transactions, with 73% of respondents answering that the "father" is the household member who can make a real estate transaction. The survey also found that Serb respondents were more likely to report that they have at least one registered household member who is female, indicating that the Albanian community may have stronger cultural attitudes against women's ownership of property. The survey revealed that female respondents are the majority of those who said they are unaware of basic documents needed to request an inheritance, with 66% of female respondents saying they do not know of these documents. The survey also found that Albanian and non-Serb minority respondents were more aware of which basic documents are needed to request an inheritance compared to Serb respondents. The survey found that the percentage of female respondents who said they had renounced their property/inheritance rights was considerably higher than the percentage of male respondents who stated the same. However, it is worth noting that these percentages come from the smaller group of those who have been through an inheritance proceeding. The survey also found that respondents in Ferizaj region had strong opinions on inheritance, with 98.4% agreeing that inheritance between sons and daughters should be equal and 84.5% believing that women should inherit from their birth families.