Following Monday’s attempts to change the locks on several apartments in a residential building intended for displaced families, officials from the Municipality of Leposavic have now issued formal eviction notices to three families accused of unlawfully occupying the units.
Previously, four families received verbal warnings by the municipality to vacate, with the explanation that they already owned property and therefore did not qualify for the new housing. On Monday, officials changed the locks on Slobodan Spasić’s apartment and attempted to do the same at Aleksandra Subotić’s, but were unsuccessful.
According to the new documents signed by Mayor Lulzim Hetemi and bearing the municipal stamp, the families are required to vacate the premises by June 27. The justification: the apartments had allegedly already been allocated to other individuals.
One of the recipients, Aleksandra Subotić, told KoSSev that no one from the municipality rang the doorbell or made contact—papers were simply left at the door.
She added that her neighbor, Slobodan Spasić, did not receive a written notice because, she claims, his apartment was already taken from him earlier this week when municipal officials changed the locks.
“We’re trying to figure out what to do. Honestly, we don’t know. In the end, they’ll just come with the police, as Marina [Bogojević] told us the first time we went to ask why we didn’t get an apartment,” said Subotić.
Subotić insists she owns no property, contradicting the municipality’s claim that she and the other families do not meet the criteria for social housing due to alleged property ownership.
“When we submitted applications for the apartments, we provided documents from the cadastre proving we had no property in our name. If I did, it would be registered.”
Deputy Mayor Marina Bogojević confirmed to KoSSev that the eviction notices were issued, reiterating the municipality’s stance that the apartments were unlawfully occupied. She claims the commission overseeing housing allocation conducted on-site inspections and determined that the families in question owned property.
“They’ve usurped the apartments, and I now have to house the people who have been legally awarded the units,” Bogojević stated. She also said that the municipality followed protocol in issuing the notices.
When asked what action the municipality would take if the families do not vacate the apartments by June 27, Bogojević replied: “Call me then and ask.”
The situation has been developing over the past month, after the municipality—led by Mayor Hetemi under Kosovo’s system—announced it had closed six collective centers in the area and provided new housing for 36 families, including displaced persons and other socially vulnerable groups. The municipality claims the housing allocation followed a transparent process in line with formal criteria.
However, Nenad Radosavljević, a former official within the municipal administration, recently told KoSSev that the apartments in question had previously been allocated to displaced persons through Serbia’s Commissariat for Refugees.
Apartments for the Displaced in Leposavic: Construction, Allocation, and Eviction Disputes
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