Interior Fit-Out in Belgrade: Taking a New-Build Apartment from Shell to Move-In Ready

Not every new-build apartment in Belgrade is handed over ready to move into. Some projects deliberately sell units without the final fit-out, and other buyers take over a finished apartment and replace almost all of the developer's standard fittings. Either way, the starting point is the same: an empty shell has to become an apartment you can live in or let, with the trades in the right order, with reliable tradespeople and ideally without you having to fly to Belgrade every week.

This article covers the interior fit-out of an apartment delivered as a shell. Renovating an existing apartment in an older building is covered in Commissioning an Apartment Renovation in Belgrade Remotely.

Fit-out levels: what "siva faza" and "ključ u ruke" mean

Two terms come up again and again on the Belgrade new-build market.

Siva faza (grey phase) describes the shell condition. The term is used in two senses: for construction progress, when buyers purchase at an early stage, and for the handover condition, when an apartment is sold without the final fit-out. What exactly a particular "siva faza" apartment includes varies from project to project. Sometimes the interior walls, windows and first-fix services are already in place, sometimes only the external walls, floor slabs and risers.

Ključ u ruke (key in hand) means turnkey: floors, tiling, bathroom, interior doors, paintwork and usually radiators or underfloor heating are finished. In Belgrade a kitchen is normally not included.

There are mixed forms in between. Before you buy, ask for a written specification showing which trades the developer delivers and which you take on yourself. This list is the basis for planning your fit-out and for establishing who is responsible for which defect.

Planning before the first tradesperson arrives

The most common mistake in an interior fit-out is starting the first trade before the planning is settled. Sockets moved later, a washbasin in a different position or underfloor heating requested as an afterthought mean chasing walls, breaking out and waiting.

The following decisions should be made before work starts:

• Layout and furniture: Where will the bed, the dining table and the TV go? This determines the sockets, lighting points and aerial or network outlets.
• Kitchen planning: The position of the sink, hob, extractor hood and appliances determines the water, drainage and electrical connections. The kitchen itself has its own article, Buying a Kitchen in Belgrade.
• Bathroom: level-access shower or bathtub, wall-hung WC with a concealed frame, and the position of the water heater if there is no central hot water supply.
• Heating and cooling: district heating, underfloor heating or radiators, and where the indoor units of the air conditioning should go. Conduits for the air conditioning lines must be in place before plastering.
• Floor coverings: parquet, vinyl or tiles affect the build-up height and therefore the door frames.
• Use: living there yourself, long-term letting or short-term letting. For rental apartments, durable materials matter more than exclusive ones.

A simple dimensioned plan showing these points saves a lot of back-and-forth later. It is also the basis for obtaining comparable quotes.

The sequence of trades

The sequence follows a simple logic: whatever disappears into the wall or floor comes first. Whatever is delicate comes last.

On the electrical work, just this much: planning the circuits and having them tested by a qualified electrical contractor are strongly recommended for a safe apartment. When the work is finished, ask for the electrical test report and keep the photos of the cable runs.

Screed sets the pace

No trade determines the schedule as much as the screed. Cement screed has to dry out before parquet or vinyl may be laid. A common rule of thumb for cement screed is about one week of drying time per centimetre of thickness for the first four centimetres, and longer beyond that, depending on room climate and ventilation. With underfloor heating, a heating-up programme is also required.

Floor layers in Belgrade sometimes start earlier than they should because the client is pushing. The consequences often only show months later as buckled parquet or open joints. Insist on a moisture test before the floor is laid, and ask for the result to be sent to you with a photo of the meter.

A realistic schedule

How long an interior fit-out takes depends on size, specification and the availability of tradespeople. For a typical one- to two-bedroom apartment (two to three rooms), the process can be roughly broken down as follows:

• Planning, quotes, choice of materials: several weeks, depending on how quickly you make decisions.
• First fix, walls, plastering: a few weeks.
• Screed and drying: several weeks to over a month, depending on thickness and season.
• Tiling, floors, doors, second fix: a few weeks.

Overall, think in months rather than weeks, and build in a buffer for delivery times. Imported tiles, parquet and interior doors sometimes take several weeks to arrive. In high summer and around holidays such as Orthodox Christmas in January, many crews work reduced hours.

Budget per square metre: how to arrive at reliable figures

Reliable, up-to-date average prices per square metre for interior fit-out in Belgrade are hard to find, because the range between a simple rental specification and a high-end finish for your own use is wide. The price gap between shell and finished apartments gives an indication of market value: according to Kurir Biznis (July 2026), it is between roughly 300 and 800 euros per square metre in Belgrade, depending on location. However, this is a difference in purchase prices, not a contractor's estimate.

For your own budget, it is better to proceed as follows:

1. Draw up a bill of quantities: square metres of flooring, wall areas for tiling, number of sockets, doors and sanitary fittings.
2. Obtain at least two, ideally three quotes per trade, or a single quote from a general contractor for comparison.
3. Separate labour from materials. You can compare materials yourself at large DIY stores and builders' merchants in Belgrade.
4. Set aside a contingency for the unexpected, around ten to fifteen per cent.

This gives you a figure that fits your apartment and your standard, rather than an average that may apply to a completely different specification.

General contractor or separate trades?

You can award the fit-out to a general contractor who provides and coordinates all trades, or hire individual tradespeople and coordinate them yourself or have someone coordinate them for you. With a general contractor you have one point of contact and one party with overall responsibility, but you pay a mark-up. With separate trades you save that mark-up, but you carry the interface risk: if the tiler is waiting for the plumber, the site stands still.

For owners who do not live in Belgrade, the second option only makes sense with a reliable person on site who manages the process. How such coordination is organised is described in Coordinating Tradespeople for a Second Home in Belgrade.

Remote coordination: what is different with an interior fit-out

Fitting out a new-build apartment involves particular issues that play no role in a simple repair:

House rules and the developer. As long as the building has not been fully handed over, the developer's rules on working hours, material deliveries and use of the lift often apply. Clarify this before the first pallet of tiles is at the door.

The developer's warranty. If your tradespeople work on components supplied by the developer, such as risers or waterproofing, this can affect the developer's liability for those components. Document the condition before work begins.

Documenting concealed work. Photos of all pipes and cables before plastering and before the screed are worth their weight in gold later, when a picture needs hanging or a fault has to be traced.

Stage payments. Pay tradespeople in instalments for completed and inspected stages, not in advance for the whole job.

Ready to move in, and then?

After the fit-out come acceptance, cleaning, registering with the utility providers and, if needed, furnishing. If you want to let the apartment, match the fittings to your target tenants from the outset. The whole route from buying a new build to handover is described in Buying a New-Build Apartment in Belgrade: Why a German-Speaking Contact Makes the Difference.

Exgentum coordinates the interior fit-out on site for English-speaking owners: Marin obtains quotes, agrees the sequence of trades, checks progress with photos and inspects the work before anything is paid.

Frequently asked questions

Is it worth buying an apartment in shell condition?

It can be, if you want to implement your own standard and would replace the developer's fittings anyway. In return, you take on the coordination and the time risk of the fit-out. Compare the price difference with your calculated fit-out budget and the extra time until you can move in.

Do I need a permit for the interior fit-out?

For pure fit-out work inside the apartment that does not touch load-bearing elements, the facade or shared services, a building permit is generally not required. As soon as load-bearing walls, risers or the facade are affected, the situation is different. If in doubt, clarify this locally.

How long does the screed need to dry?

For cement screed, the rule of thumb is about one week per centimetre for the first four centimetres, and considerably longer beyond that. What counts, however, is not the calendar but a moisture test before the floor covering is laid.

Can I bring materials from Germany?

In principle yes, but transport, customs and possible coordination problems with the local tradespeople often argue against it. Belgrade has a wide choice of tiles, parquet and sanitary products, including from well-known European manufacturers.

Who is liable if a defect appears after the fit-out?

That depends on who supplied the affected component. The developer is liable for its own work, and the respective tradesperson or general contractor for your fit-out work. Clear documentation of the condition at handover and before each trade starts is what makes this distinction possible in the first place.