Anyone who buys an apartment off-plan in Belgrade pays for something that does not exist yet. The price advantage can be considerable: according to a market overview by Kurir Biznis (July 2026), the price per square metre in early construction phases in Novi Beograd is around 800 euros below that of completed apartments in the same area, and in Voždovac between 300 and 600 euros. The same report also names the downside: delays of 18 months are not unusual, and if you keep paying rent during that time, you lose part of the advantage again.
This article focuses on the checks before you sign. How developer payment plans work and what the pre-registration (predbeležba) in the cadastre means is explained in our article Buying a New-Build Apartment in Belgrade. The route from the preliminary contract to the notarised purchase contract is described in our guide to the property purchase contract in Serbia (in German), and the overall purchase process in Buying an Apartment in Belgrade Step by Step. Here the question is: how do you find out whether the project and the developer are worth the risk?
The four risks of buying off-plan
When you buy off-plan, you carry four risks that do not exist, or exist only in a weaker form, when you buy a finished apartment:
| Risk | What can happen | How to check or limit it |
|---|---|---|
| Permit risk | Construction without a valid permit, deviation from the approved project, no occupancy permit | Check the building permit in the register, compare with the project |
| Developer risk | Insolvency, construction halt, the company disappears | APR extract, annual accounts, account freezes, reference projects |
| Delay risk | Completion months or years later | Binding date, contractual penalty, right of withdrawal |
| Land and encumbrance risk | The investor has no rights to the plot, mortgages on the plot or the project | Cadastre extract, encumbrance check |
Step 1: Check the building permit in the register
In Serbia, building permits are issued through the electronic procedure known as the unified procedure (objedinjena procedura). Data on issued permits can be viewed publicly via the Central Register of Unified Procedures (Centralna evidencija objedinjenih procedura, CEOP) at the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR), as Serbian buyer guides such as Kurir Biznis also point out.
Check in particular:
- whether a building permit (građevinska dozvola) has been issued for the plot and the project, and in whose name,
- whether the investor named in the permit is the same as your contracting party,
- whether the number of floors and units matches what the sales brochure states,
- whether a notice of commencement of works (prijava radova) has been filed,
- whether the permit has been amended, for example for an additional floor.
A particular warning applies to projects that advertise more floors than have been approved. Apartments on an unapproved floor cannot later obtain an occupancy permit (upotrebna dozvola) and therefore cannot be registered as property in the cadastre. Ask specifically which floor your apartment is on and whether that floor is covered by the permit.
The portal is in Serbian. The search terms are the cadastral plot (katastarska parcela) and the cadastral municipality (katastarska opština). These details are in the preliminary contract or can be requested from the developer. A reputable developer will show you the building permit on request without hesitation.
Step 2: Scrutinise the developer
Many Belgrade projects are built by project companies set up for a single building. That is not automatically a warning sign, but it changes what you need to look at.
APR extract. In the register of the Serbian Business Registers Agency (Agencija za privredne registre), you can look up the company's status by company name or registration number (matični broj). The status must be active. You will also see the date of incorporation, shareholders, managing director and share capital.
Annual accounts. Published annual accounts are available via the APR. A project company with only a few months of history naturally has little to show. In that case, what matters is who is behind it: are the shareholders or managing directors known from other, completed projects?
Account freezes. At the National Bank of Serbia (NBS), you can check whether a company's accounts are frozen because of enforcement proceedings. A current or frequent freeze is a clear warning sign.
Reference projects. Visit two or three completed buildings by the same developer. Were they finished on time? Do they have an occupancy permit? Talk to residents about defects and how the developer responded. These conversations are often more revealing than any brochure.
Court proceedings. Pending lawsuits against the investor over delays or defects can partly be researched via Serbian court portals. For a reliable check, we recommend a Serbian lawyer.
Step 3: Check the plot and encumbrances
The investor must have rights to the building plot, meaning ownership, a right of use or a contractual basis such as a joint development agreement with the landowner. Whether this is the case is shown by the extract from the cadastre of the Republic Geodetic Authority (Republički geodetski zavod, RGZ). Also look for registered mortgages there. Many projects are financed with bank loans secured by a mortgage on the plot and the building. This is common, but you should know how your apartment will be released from this encumbrance when it is transferred. Ask to see the bank's deletion or release arrangement in writing.
Step 4: Check the contract for protective clauses
Most risks cannot be avoided entirely, but they can be limited contractually. In the preliminary contract (predugovor) and the purchase contract, look for the following clauses:
Completion date. A specific handover date, not just "expected in autumn". In addition, a date by which the occupancy permit must have been applied for.
Penalty for delay. A provision under which the developer pays a fixed amount or percentage for each month of delay. Without this clause, you will later have to prove any loss individually.
Right of withdrawal with repayment. From what length of delay may you withdraw, and within what period will you get your payments back, ideally with interest?
Force majeure. Many contracts contain broadly worded clauses that excuse practically any delay. Make sure that delays by authorities or material shortages do not automatically count as force majeure.
Specification list. A detailed construction specification listing materials and brands, so that cheaper products are not installed in the end.
Floor area and tolerance. How will the area be measured, and what happens if it deviates?
Whether your version of the contract covers these points can only be checked against the Serbian original. Translations are helpful, but in a dispute the Serbian version usually prevails.
Bank guarantee, escrow and securing your payments
In some countries, developers are legally required to secure down payments through bank guarantees or escrow accounts. In our research, we did not find a comparable general obligation covering all Belgrade projects. Please have the current legal position confirmed by a lawyer locally. In practice, this means: security is a matter of negotiation.
Possible instruments include:
- Bank guarantee for down payments (garancija za povraćaj avansa): a bank guarantees repayment if the developer does not deliver. Larger developers sometimes offer this, smaller ones rarely.
- Notarial custody of partial amounts that are only released once a certain stage of construction is reached. Whether and on what terms a Serbian notary will take this on has to be clarified case by case.
- Payment by construction progress instead of a large advance payment, with proof of progress through photos or confirmation from the site manager.
- Loan-financed projects, where a bank monitors construction progress anyway. This does not protect you, but it is an additional control mechanism.
The higher the share you pay before completion, the more important one of these safeguards becomes.
What happens if the developer becomes insolvent?
This is the scenario off-plan buyers fear most, and rightly so. If a developer becomes insolvent before your apartment has been transferred, your position depends heavily on what is registered in the cadastre. A pre-registration of your purchase claim entered in the cadastre considerably improves your standing against other creditors, but it does not replace a finished building. Without registration, you may be no more than an ordinary creditor with a monetary claim.
Exactly how Serbian insolvency proceedings deal with pre-registered buyers and half-finished buildings depends on the individual case and should be discussed with a Serbian lawyer. For your decision, a simple rule is enough: pay in advance only as much as you could cope with losing in the worst case, and insist that your claim is pre-registered in the cadastre as early as possible.
Checklist before signing
- Building permit found in the CEOP register, investor and number of floors match
- Commencement of works filed, construction site actually active (on-site visit)
- APR status active, shareholders and managing directors known
- No current account freeze at the NBS
- At least two reference projects visited, occupancy permit in place there
- Cadastre extract: investor's rights to the plot, mortgages and release arrangement known
- Contract with a fixed handover date, contractual penalty and right of withdrawal
- Detailed construction specification attached to the contract
- Security for the down payment arranged, or consciously waived
- Pre-registration in the cadastre agreed, timing fixed
Whether off-plan fits your strategy at all, or whether a finished new-build or older apartment is the better choice, is compared in our article New Build vs Older Apartment in Belgrade. And if you want to combine the purchase with a residence permit: what lies behind the supposed golden visa is explained in our article on the golden visa myth in Serbia (in German).
Support on the ground
Many of these checks require Serbian language skills, access to registers and an appointment on the construction site. Exgentum supports English-speaking buyers with this preliminary check: Marin inspects the construction site and reference projects in Belgrade, obtains register and cadastre extracts and prepares the questions for your lawyer, so that you can decide on a sound basis.
Frequently asked questions
Are foreigners allowed to buy off-plan in Belgrade?
Yes, citizens of Germany, Austria and Switzerland can buy apartments in Serbia. Details on reciprocity and the process can be found in our guide to the purchase contract (in German). There are no special rules for foreigners when buying off-plan, but the checks described here apply.
Where can I find a project's building permit?
In the Central Register of Unified Procedures (CEOP) at the APR, searched by cadastral plot and cadastral municipality. Alternatively, ask the developer for a copy and compare it with the register.
How much of a price advantage is realistic when buying off-plan?
That depends on the location and construction phase. In July 2026, Kurir Biznis reported gaps of around 300 to 800 euros per square metre in Belgrade between early construction phases and finished apartments. Weigh this against what a delay would cost you in rent or lost rental income.
Do I need a lawyer if I check the registers myself?
You can prepare the register check with support. The contract review, particularly regarding delay, withdrawal, security and insolvency, should be handled by a Serbian lawyer.
What is a warning sign that means I should not buy?
No building permit can be found, floors are advertised above the permit, the developer has account freezes or no verifiable references, and the contract has no fixed handover date. Even one of these signals justifies walking away from the purchase or demanding considerably better safeguards.
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