Registering ownership of land and buildings in Republika Srpska: steps, fees, Trebinje

Anyone who bought, inherited or was given land or a house and has not reported the change to the Republička uprava za geodetske i imovinsko-pravne poslove (RUGIPP, Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs) often lacks the document that the bank, the municipality and, for some subsidy measures, the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja (Agency for Agrarian Payments) ask for. You register at the RUGIPP regional unit for the area where the property is located. In Trebinje, the unit is at Vuka Karadžića 12 A.

In short

• When property is acquired under a contract, ownership passes on entry (uknjižba) in the public property register, not on signing the contract (Law on Property Rights, art. 53). The public register is the land register or, where it has been set up, the real estate cadastre.
• A contract transferring real estate must be drawn up by a notary, otherwise it is void. The notary files the registration request on your behalf, by law, immediately after the contract is concluded (Law on the Notarial Service, art. 57 and 59).
• The RUGIPP fee for registering a sale, gift or exchange is 50 KM plus 0.2% of the contract value. For registration based on an inheritance decision or a final court decision, the fee is 50 KM.
• Under the Law on Surveying and Cadastre, the holder of the right must report any change to the property within 30 days. An individual who does not can be fined 500 to 1,000 KM (art. 124 and 183).
• A possession sheet (posjedovni list) is not proof of ownership. Ownership is proved by a land register extract or a property sheet (list nepokretnosti).

Who it applies to

Anyone who acquired land, a house, a farm building or a flat by purchase, gift, exchange, partition, inheritance or a court decision. It also applies where an old change was never registered, for example when a deceased father is still listed as the owner, or land that was sold is still in the seller's name.

Why registration matters

• Subsidies. The Agency does not ask for proof of ownership for every measure. Under the self-employment incentive for unemployed graduate engineers up to age 40, you need proof of ownership of the land where facilities are built or perennial crops are planted (Rulebook on incentives for agriculture and rural development, Sl. glasnik RS 16/26, art. 42). For adapting a cooperative's business premises, the Agency requires proof of ownership or a lease of at least ten years (art. 45). For building permanent irrigation infrastructure, a natural person gives the parcel number and proof of the right of use, and a possession sheet or a lease is enough (Rulebook on incentives for capital investments for 2026, 29/26, art. 16).
• Permits. For a livestock building, the capital investment rulebook requires a building permit no older than three years, or the application for one (29/26, art. 11). To get the building permit, the investor must prove that property relations are resolved: an extract from the public property register and the contract or decision on which the right is based (Law on Spatial Planning and Construction, art. 128 and 129).
• Loans. A contractual mortgage on real estate is created by entry in the public property register (Law on Property Rights, art. 149), so the owner must be registered first.

What to do

1. Find out which register holds your parcel: the land register and the land cadastre, or an already established real estate cadastre. The regional unit can tell you. Data on the e-Katastar web portal is not official and may not be used for personal or business purposes.
2. For a purchase, gift or exchange, you conclude the contract with a notary, and the notary files the request in your name. RUGIPP then tells you the amount of the fee. You must pay it within eight days and send proof of payment straight away.
3. For an inheritance or a court decision, you file the request yourself, on form KN-1 (real estate cadastre), ZK-1 (land register) or KZ-1 (change of possessor in the land cadastre). The forms are on the RUGIPP website.
4. Attach the document of acquisition (contract in the original, decision in the original or a certified copy), a power of attorney if someone represents you, and proof of payment of the fee. For a purchase, also attach the questionnaire for the Real Estate Price Register and, if the contract makes registration conditional on payment of the price, the seller's confirmation that the price was paid.
5. A new or extended building also needs a geodetic survey (form OK-1, report of changes). A building counts as built once it is under a roof or in use.
6. Do not postpone registering an inheritance. A right acquired by inheritance cannot be enforced against a third party acting in good faith who applied for registration before you (Law on Property Rights, art. 52).
7. The decision must be issued and delivered within 30 days of filing a complete request, or within 60 days if a special examination procedure is needed (Law on General Administrative Procedure, art. 206).

Deadlines and amounts

• Fee for registration based on a contract: 50 KM plus 0.2% of the value of the transaction. For a 40,000 KM contract, that is 130 KM. The RUGIPP website has a fee calculator.
• Registration based on an inheritance decision, a court decision or a RUGIPP decision: 50 KM.
• Companies do not pay the 0.2% part.
• These amounts are taken from the RUGIPP form. Confirm them with the regional unit before paying.

Where to go

• Područna jedinica Trebinje (Trebinje regional unit), Vuka Karadžića 12 A, 89101 Trebinje, tel. 059 245 340, kattrebinje@rgurs.org.
• The units in Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje and Nevesinje and the office in Berkovići are listed on the contacts page. The RUGIPP website gives different opening hours on different pages, so confirm them by phone.

Laws and sources

• RUGIPP request forms (KN-1, ZK-1, KZ-1, OK-1) and fee calculator
• RUGIPP contacts and regional units
• Laws applied by RUGIPP, with gazette references
• RUGIPP frequently asked questions
• Law on Surveying and Cadastre of Republika Srpska (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 6/12, 110/16, 22/18, 62/18, 95/19 and 90/23), art. 124 and 183
• Law on Property Rights (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 124/08, 3/09, 58/09, 95/11, 60/15, 18/16, 107/19, 1/21, 119/21 and 21/26), art. 52, 53 and 149
• Law on the Notarial Service in Republika Srpska (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 28/21), art. 57 and 59
• Law on General Administrative Procedure (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 13/02, 87/07, 50/10 and 66/18), art. 206
• Law on Spatial Planning and Construction (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 40/13, 106/15, 3/16 and 84/19), art. 128 and 129
• Rulebook on conditions and manner of paying cash incentives for agriculture and rural development (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 16/26)
• Rulebook on conditions and manner of paying cash incentives for capital investments in agricultural production in 2026 (Službeni glasnik RS, no. 29/26)