The KPCVA was established under the Law 05/L-010 on Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo on 9 June 2016, which entered into force in November 2016, and the Law No.08/L052 on Amending and Supplementing the Law 05/L-010, which entered into force on 26 January 2023. The KPCVA is an independent Agency established under Article 142 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, with a mandate to receive, compare, verify, and through the Property Verification and Adjudication Commission (PVAC) resolve gaps and discrepancies between the original pre June 1999 cadastral records that were taken from Kosovo by Serbian authorities and the current cadastral records in the Republic of Kosovo in respect of private property, including agricultural property and private commercial property, and receive claims submitted for uncontested and legitimate property rights on immovable property that were transferred between parties through informal transactions prior to 24 June, 1999, for which the formal transfer was prohibited by the discriminatory legislation or for which the required documentation for registration in the Kosovo cadastral system does not exist.

As a result of the talks between Kosovo and Serbia, the agreement for the return to Kosovo the displaced cadastral records taken by the Serbian authorities in 1999 was reached. An integral element of this Agreement was the establishment of an Agency, which would implement it. In this regard, the Kosovo Assembly adopted the Law on the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency (KPCVA) on 9 June 2016. In the meantime, the Law initiated by the “Serbian List” Parliamentary Group, was subject of an appeal to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. The procedure of decreeing this law by the President and its entry into force was suspended during the review period in the Court. The Constitutional Court declared the appeal inadmissible with its decision dated 25 October 2016, which paved the way for the decree of the law by the President and its entry into force in November 2016. The Government of Kosovo, following the recommendations of the Ombudsperson No. 551/2017, initiated the amendment and supplement of the Law on the Agency, and in the meeting held on 3 September 2018 with Decision 02/06 approved the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Law No. 05/L-010 on the the Kosovo Property Comparison and Verification Agency, which was subsequently adopted by the Assembly, entering into force on 26 January 2023. The mandate of the KPCVA is of great importance, which, inter alia, shall help the current cadastral registry to be more complete and accurate. The total number of cadastral documents scanned and indexed in Serbia and expected to be returned to Kosovo, is 4,037,264. All these cadastral documents for private property, private commercial property and private property of religious communities taken from Serbia pre June 1999 shall be received and compared with the current cadastral documents in the Republic of Kosovo, and through the PVAC, gaps and discrepancies between these two sets of documents shall be resolved. With the approval of the Law No.08/L-052 on Amending and Supplementing the Law No.05/L-010 on the KPCVA, the Agency’s powers have been extended. The Agency is now responsible for receiving, registering and responding to requests related to legal recognition of informal property rights that were uncontested and legitimate on immovable properties, being transferred between parties through informal transactions prior to 24 March 1999, the formal transfer of which was prohibited by the discriminatory legislation or for which the documentation required for registration in the Kosovo cadastral system does not exist. Additionally, the Agency is responsible for notifying the parties and processing claims for review by the Commission.

Pursuant to the Law 05/L-010, the KPCVA will also inherit the mandate of the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA). Consequently, the KPCVA, will be mandated, through the Property Claims Commission (PCC), to resolve ownership and right of use claims (subject to the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of Kosovo) in respect of private immovable property, including agricultural and commercial property (claims related to the war in Kosovo, involving circumstances directly related to or resulting from the war in Kosovo that occurred between 27 February 1998 and 20 June 1999), which were previously filed to the KPA. The mandate inherited from the KPA includes the executive authority to implement the decisions of the KPA and Housing and Property Directorate (HPD), which was established under UNMIK Regulation 1999/23 (the closure of which coincided with the establishment of the KPA). Therefore, the KPCVA, in addition to adjudication of property claims, is also vested with the mandate to implement the final decisions of the PVAC, PCC, the Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) as well as the judgments of the Supreme Court’s Appeals Panel. The implementation of claims shall be carried out through remedies provided for in Article 12 of the Law No.08/L-052 on Amending and Supplementing the Law No.05/L-010 on the KPCVA, including but not limited to the registration of PVAC decisions into cadastral registers, placing property under the KPA administration, eviction, demolition of unlawful structures and lease agreements. Additionally, mediation as a remedy to implement decisions can be used prior to utilizing the legal remedy of demolition of unlawful structures. The KPA inherited some responsibilities from its predecessor, the Housing and Property Directorate (HPD) that was established under UNMIK Regulation 1999/93. These responsibilities include the implementation of remaining decisions of the Housing and Property Claims Commission (HPCC) that were pending enforcement and the management of properties under the HPD administration. In exercising this aspect of its mandate, the KPA was vested with the rights, obligations, responsibilities and powers of the HPD. Furthermore, the physical assets of the HPD were transferred to KPA and a number of its personnel was reassigned to perform similar duties within the KPA.

Upon the establishment of the KPCVA, the KPA ceased to exist. The Law on KPCVA provides that in addition to the new mandate, all KPA competencies, including budget, contractual liabilities, and physical assets shall be transferred to the Agency. Thus, with the entry into force of the law, the Agency entered the transition phase and in this respect it is worth noting that the Agency had already started various preparatory, planning and evaluation activities. Therefore, the entry into force of the law found the Agency prepared to begin the implementation of its mandate. The Agency has undertaken many actions in preparations for the implementation of the new mandate and in fulfilling all obligations arising from the abovementioned law, with some of these actions completed and some still in progress. The Agency has been carrying out the necessary activities for the transition process, and so far, everything that depends on the Agency is being fulfilled according to the plan.