A series of four informative sessions on the process of property compensation and registration kicked off from Tirana, in close co-operation with the Tirana Legal Aid Society (TLAS). This activity marks the beginning of the awareness raising initiative supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe to inform citizens about their property rights, and will continue in Shkozë, Durrës and Shkodër, until 31 May. The informative sessions are targeting and reaching mainly ownership title holders involved in the process of compensation, representatives of the title holders, as well as citizens receiving information on registration of land property and the completion of transitory ownership processes.

The activities are providing to local communities and citizens detailed information on the process of application for compensation of property, methods of financial evaluation according to Law 133/2015 "On the treatment of property and completion of the property compensation process”, presentation of recent legal changes and its effects on the property title holders.

The first session on 8 May was held at the Multifunctional Centre of Tirana Municipality where experts in the field shared with the participants key information and resources while discussed on various matters surrounding  property compensation and registration of property titles. This initiative has a two folded approach: it aims to reach out to local communities with important information on property rights challenges, and on the other hand to promote the Helpline, run by TLAS with the support of “Improving the protection of the right to property and facilitating execution of ECtHR judgments in Albania” (D-REX III) action, which provides legal advice on specific matters related to registration of land property titles. The Helpline +355692093731 is now available from Monday to Friday, at 09:00 - 15:00, to answer relevant questions and requests from all interested citizens.

The initiative comes in the context of the continuous support of the  action on Improving the protection of the right to property and facilitating execution of ECtHR judgments in Albania (D-REX III) to empower Albanian citizens by improving their ability to seek and protect their property rights, and to guarantee that related European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) judgments are properly enforced, ultimately leading to greater respect for human rights in Albania.

This action is part of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint programme, the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, a cooperation initiative that enables the beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.

Key resources

• Publication 1: Information booklet on property compensation_in Albanian
• Publication 2: Informative brochure - Property registration and completion of transitional ownership processes_in Albanian