If you own a flat or a house in Serbia but live elsewhere – in Germany, the UK, the Gulf states or anywhere else – your starting point is different from that of a landlord who lives around the corner. Finding a reliable manager is only one part of the job. The real task is to set up the whole arrangement – legally, for tax purposes and in day-to-day practice – so that it keeps working without you being in the country. This guide covers the decisions that matter for owners abroad, regardless of the Serbian city the property is in, including the tenancy-law basics that many guides only mention in passing.
The legal foundation: a power of attorney instead of being there in person
The key legal instrument for owners who are rarely in Serbia is a power of attorney (punomoćje). It allows a trusted person or a management company to sign contracts, deal with the authorities and handle banking matters related to the property on your behalf.
For a power of attorney issued outside Serbia to be valid there, there are generally two routes.
The first route is a notary in your country of residence plus an apostille. The document is notarised locally and then certified with an apostille by the competent authority. This works because Serbia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention – provided your own country is too. Afterwards, a court-certified translator in Serbia (sudski tumač) translates the document into Serbian. If your country is not part of the convention, the document usually has to go through full legalisation instead, which takes considerably longer.
The second route is a Serbian embassy or consulate. Many Serbian diplomatic missions can certify a power of attorney directly in Serbian. Because the consulate acts as a Serbian authority itself, the apostille step is not needed. It is worth checking in advance which mission is responsible for your place of residence and whether it offers this service.
Which route is faster or cheaper depends on appointment availability. Consular appointments are sometimes booked out weeks ahead, while a local notary is often available at short notice – but translation and apostille then add their own time.
The tenancy agreement: legal basics your manager must know
Residential tenancies in Serbia are governed mainly by the general Serbian law of obligations (Zakon o obligacionim odnosima). For owners who live abroad, a handful of points matter in practice, and your manager should handle each of them deliberately:
- Written form is not mandatory, but strongly advisable. An oral tenancy agreement is valid in principle, yet very hard to enforce in a dispute. If you cannot confirm arrangements in person, a written contract is practically indispensable.
- Notice periods for open-ended tenancies. Unless the contract says otherwise, the statutory minimum notice period is just eight days. That is very short by international standards, so if you want more planning security, extend it deliberately in the contract.
- Who is responsible for which repairs. Major repairs and keeping the property fit for use are the landlord's responsibility, while the tenant pays for minor repairs resulting from ordinary use and for running costs. Spell out this split in the contract to avoid later arguments about who has to pay for a particular repair.
- Deposit and alternative forms of security. Besides a classic cash deposit, other forms of security are common, such as a promissory note (menica) or a bank guarantee – especially with business tenants or higher-value properties.
- Subletting. Unless the contract states otherwise, a tenant can generally sublet. If you do not want that, the contract needs an explicit ban on subletting – without that clause you will have little leverage later on.
Tax obligations do not depend on where you live
A common misconception is that Serbian tax is not your concern as long as you live somewhere else. The opposite is true. Rental income from a Serbian property is subject to Serbian income tax, no matter where the owner is tax-resident. In practice this means:
- You need a Serbian tax identification number (PIB) from the Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) – this applies to non-resident owners as well.
- Rental income is generally taxed at around 20 percent, applied to a base that is first reduced by a flat 25 percent allowance for costs – effectively about 15 percent of the gross rent.
- Tax returns are usually filed through a local representative or tax adviser, because the Tax Administration works mainly in Serbian and through local electronic systems.
One detail deserves attention if you let to a company rather than to a private individual. In certain constellations, the company renting the property is itself obliged to withhold the tax and pay it on the landlord's behalf. For you as the owner, this means the tax handling differs depending on whether the tenant is a private person or a business – a point to raise both when drafting the contract and when choosing a manager.
Your country of residence will usually expect you to declare the rental income as well. Serbia has concluded double taxation agreements with a number of countries, including Germany. Such agreements typically give the country where the property is located – Serbia – the right to tax income from immovable property, while the country of residence either exempts that income (often subject to progression) or credits the Serbian tax. Whether an agreement exists with your country and how it applies to you should be checked with a tax adviser who knows both tax systems.
Getting the rent to you
A practical point that is often underestimated: how does the rental income actually reach you? There are two basic models.
A Serbian bank account in your own name. Many owners abroad open a Serbian account into which the manager pays the net rent, after deducting the management fee and any repair costs. From there, you transfer the money onward yourself via online banking. Several Serbian banks open accounts for non-residents, but this usually requires one personal visit or at least a notarised power of attorney for the account opening.
Direct transfer abroad by the manager. Alternatively, the management company transfers the net income straight to your account in your home country. You save yourself a Serbian account, but you usually pay higher fees per transfer and have less control over the flow of money than with an account of your own.
The two models compared
| Criterion | Own Serbian account | Direct transfer by the manager |
|---|---|---|
| Control over the money | High – access at any time | Lower – depends on the manager's payment schedule |
| Set-up effort | Higher – usually one visit in person | Low – no account of your own needed |
| Ongoing bank charges | Usually lower per transaction | Often higher due to individual international transfers |
| Best suited to | Owners with several properties or frequent ties to Serbia | Owners of a single flat who rarely visit |
What good management should offer owners abroad
- Regular written statements, at least monthly – not only on request
- Clear digital channels such as email, WhatsApp and video calls for property walk-throughs, since meeting in person is rarely possible
- Proactive updates on anything unusual, not just in the next monthly report
- Support with, or at least a clear recommendation for, the PIB registration and the ongoing tax filings
- Willingness to work with a power of attorney instead of insisting on a handwritten signature for every decision
- Contract templates that replace the short eight-day statutory notice period with a longer, agreed period where that is in the owner's interest
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the tenant stops paying and I am not there to act?
A well-drafted power of attorney should explicitly allow the manager to start a formal payment-reminder procedure on your behalf and, as a last resort, to prepare an eviction claim in court. Without that authority in the document, you would first have to issue a separate power of attorney for the specific proceedings – a loss of time you can avoid by making the original power of attorney broad enough from the start.
Do I have to travel to Serbia in person to register for a PIB?
Usually not, provided a suitably worded power of attorney is in place. A local tax adviser or lawyer can complete the registration on your behalf. In individual cases the authorities may still ask for a personal appearance at the very first registration, so clarify this with your representative in advance.
How does letting to a company differ from letting to a private individual for tax purposes?
If you let to a private individual, you as the landlord normally declare and pay the tax on the rental income yourself. If you let to a company, the obligation to withhold and pay the tax can shift to the tenant company. The details depend on the individual case and should be clarified with a local tax adviser before the contract is signed, so that neither party assumes the wrong responsibility.
Conclusion
For owners who live abroad permanently, the real challenge is rarely finding a tenant – practically every rental manager takes care of that. What matters is whether the legal basis (a power of attorney and a well-drafted tenancy agreement with an adjusted notice period), the tax registration (PIB and ongoing filings) and the flow of payments are set up properly from day one. If they are not, the gaps often only show months later: a bank objects to a missing power of attorney, the tax office discovers an unregistered tenancy, or a tenant moves out unexpectedly early, citing the short statutory notice period. Clarify these points upfront, and a Serbian property can be managed reliably, wherever you happen to live.
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