The Supreme State Audit Office highlights a series of problems in the legalization process and administration of public property by the Local Directorate of the State Cadastre Agency, Tirana North.
According to the audit report, this directorate has issued a total of 5,771 legalization permits for informal buildings, while 2,629 of them were granted for construction plots with a total area of 602,019 square meters, with the note that the transfer of ownership for the plot will be approved by decision of the Council of Ministers.
From the calculations made according to the land prices determined in the VKM no. 89, dated 03.02.2016 for the land value map, the beneficiary entities had to pay a total of about 1.17 billion lek. However, the audit found that for plots with an area of 198,282 square meters, a value of 385 million lek was not paid, in violation of the law on legalization and the law on the completion of transitional ownership processes. The SAI had recommended to the Tirana North ASCA, in cooperation with the General Directorate of Cadastre, to follow the procedures for the transfer of ownership and the collection of this value by 30 June 2023, but the verification resulted in the recommendation not being implemented.
The audit has also identified other cases related to evasion of financial obligations and ineffective administration of public property. The SAI requests that the local directorate of ASHK Tirana North impose a restriction order on several properties registered with permits and legalization decisions, until the financial obligations totaling 15,942,935 lekë, created by evading the treatment of buildings as second constructions, are settled.
Likewise, the SAI recommends imposing a restriction on assets registered in the name of the entity "F." sh.a., until the presentation of documentation proving the repayment of the obligation for the use of state-owned land for the period 2010–2020, in the amount of 4,782,000 lek.
The Supreme State Audit also requests that ASHK Tirana North exercise administrative control over several legalization procedures and impose restrictions on the relevant assets until the liquidation of unpaid liabilities.
The report also highlights the issue related to unpaid obligations to the local government for urban taxes in the total amount of 51,185,500 lekë, resulting from the obtaining of construction permits by several entities.
At the conclusion of the audit, the SAI has given the Tirana North Local Directorate of the Albanian Property Agency a deadline of June 30, 2026 to take the appropriate measures to impose restrictions on assets, settle financial obligations, and complete the missing documentation in the legalization and registration procedures for properties./ekofin.al/
