Serbia and Montenegro: Information on the general state of, access to and availability of housing in Kosovo (January 2003-February 2005)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 25 February 2005 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SCG43390.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Serbia and Montenegro: Information on the general state of, access to and availability of housing in Kosovo (January 2003-February 2005), 25 February 2005, SCG43390.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/42df618720.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Housing Conditions and Availability
In a 2003 report based on data collected between June 2002 and May 2003, government statistics indicated that 98.6 per cent of households in Kosovo privately own their house/dwelling (Kosovo Dec. 2003). While electricity is accessible to almost all (99.3 per cent) households, access to piped water is considerably more common in urban areas (ibid.). Flush toilets are used by 90 per cent of urban households, as opposed to 48 per cent in rural areas, where the majority of households use latrines (ibid.). More recent information on housing conditions could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Access to Housing
"[A]ccess to housing and all other forms of property (both movable and immovable)" is among the rights of Kosovo citizens that are protected under the Anti-Discrimination Law No 2004/3 (Kosovo 19 Feb. 2004, Art. 4). However, the law does not define the precise nature of this right.
Country Reports 2003 indicated that property disputes "stemming from the 1999 conflict continued to be among the most serious obstacles to ethnic reconciliation" (25 Feb. 2004). There were indications that violence against Kosovo Serbs might have been used to force the sale of their properties, and that a fund of the Serbia and Montenegro government was used to buy targeted Albanian properties in Serb enclaves of North Mitrovica (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004). The ICG stated that part of the hostility toward returnees might originate in the fact that some Kosovo Albanians have usurped property belonging to Kosovo Serbs and are therefore reluctant to see them return (ICG 24 Jan. 2005; see also The Chartered Institute of Housing 12 Oct. 2004 and IHF 24 June 2003).
Between 1999 and 2002, the Assembly of Kosovo (AoK) and the U.N. Interim Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) adopted regulations to combat intimidation and to protect property rights (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004; Norwegian Refugee Council 11 Mar 2004; OSCE n.d.). However, Country Reports 2003 reported that these regulations had not been fully implemented (25 Feb. 2004). In a report on property rights, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo stated that "concerns (remained) regarding the government's ability to fully protect property rights" (n.d.).
The Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) and the Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) were established by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General in November 1999, to address problems related to the return to their original owners properties illegally occupied during the conflict (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004; IHF 24 June 2004; Norwegian Refugee Council 11 Mar. 2004; OSCE n.d.). Sources reported that the ability of these two organizations to resolve property claims remained limited for their first three years of existence, mainly because of lack of funding, but that their performance had improved significantly by 2003 (IHF 24 June 2004; Norwegian Refugee Council 11 Mar. 2004; OSCE n.d.). In 2003, the HPD processed "approximately 227 claims per week and carried out an average of 12 evictions of illegal occupants per week" (Country Reports 2003 25 Feb. 2004; see also IHF 23 June 2004, 21).
Various sources reported on the initiatives undertaken by the government of Kosovo, with the financial assistance of international donors, to rebuild destroyed or damaged houses belonging to internally displaced persons and to put in place social housing projects (Kosova Live 11 Aug. 2004; Koha Ditore 4 June 2004; Canadian Press 27 March 2004; Property People Magazine Jan. 2004; UNECE Nov. 2004; UNDP Kosovo n.d.). However, sources reported that housing conditions and access to housing were still problematic for minority groups (International Herald Tribune 25 Oct. 2004; UK May 2003, Sec 3.12.6).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Canadian Press [Toronto]. 27 March 2004. "Reconstruction of Serb Homes Starts in Kosovo After Recent Rioting." (Dialog)
The Chartered Institute of Housing. 12 October 2004. London Branch Annual Conference and Exhibition 2004 – Keeping an Eye on London. Draper, Tony and Ximi Osmani. "Housing in Kosovo."
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003. 25 February 2004. United States Department of State. Washington, DC.
International Crisis Group (ICG). 24 January 2005. Crisis Group Europe Report No. 161. "Kosovo: Toward Final Status."
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 24 June 2003. Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003). "Serbia Montenegro."
International Herald Tribune (IHT) [Neuilly-sur-Seine]. 25 October 2004. Nicholas Wood. "Serb Bollat Boycott Snags UN Plans for Kosovo." (Dialog)
Koha Ditore [Pristina, in Albanian]. 4 June 2004. "UNMIK Rejects Kosovo Serb's Request to Halt Reconstruction of Houses." (BBC International Reports/Dialog)
Kosova Live [Pristina]. 11 August 2004. "Kosovo Government Funds Reconstruction of houses of Serbs, Albanians." (BBC International Reports/Dialog)
Kosovo. 19 February 2004. Law No. 2004/3. The Anti-Discrimination Law.
_____. December 2003. Statistical Office of Kosovo (SOK). Housing in Kosovo.
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) [Geneva]. 11 March 2004. Global IDP Project. "As Prospects for Return to Kosovo Remain Slim, Serbia and Montenegro Must Do More to Assist the Displaced."
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE). Department of Human Rights and Rule of Law. Mission in Kosovo. Property rights in Kosovo 2002-2003.
Property People Magazine. 15 January 2004. No. 417. "Social Housing: Kosovo After the War."
United Kingdom (UK). May 2003. Home Office. Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Operations Guidance Notes: Kosovo."
United Nations Development Programme Albania (UNDP Kosovo). n.d. "Support for Crisis Response Follwowing the Events of 17-18 March 2004. Project Overview."
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). November 2004. Conference on Social Housing. Boorer, Malcolm. "Starting from Scratch in Kosovo."
Additional Sources Consulted
Internet sites, including: Le Courrier des Balkans, Comité de liaison pour la solidarité avec l'Europe de l'Est (COLISEE), Freedom House, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, UNHCR.
