The Law on Amendments to the Law on Enforcement and Security (the “Amending Law”) entered into force on 31st of October 2025 and applies to all enforcement proceedings initiated after its entry into force.

In the explanation accompanying the proposal for adopting the Amending Law, it is stated that the purpose of the amendments is to ensure more effective protection of the enforcement debtor’s right to family life and the family home, as well as the rights of family members living with the debtor.

At the same time, the amendments introduce certain limitations to the application of the new provisions in order to prevent abuses aimed at obstructing the satisfaction of claims and jeopardising the rights of enforcement creditors.

Thus, the amendments seek to achieve a balance between the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and by ratified international treaties, primarily the European Convention on Human Rights. On one side is the enforcement creditor’s right to peaceful enjoyment of property pursuant to Article 58 of the Constitution and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention, in conjunction with Article 18 of the Constitution, and on the other side is the enforcement debtor’s right to family life and the family home under Article 40 of the Constitution and Article 8 of the European Convention.

New Provisions

The Amending Law supplements Article 55 of the Law on Enforcement and Security (“LES”) by adding a new paragraph stipulating that the sole immovable property in the exclusive ownership of the enforcement debtor, which serves to satisfy his/her housing needs, may not be subject to enforcement for the purpose of satisfying a monetary claim, under conditions prescribed by the law.

Furthermore, the Amending Law introduces new articles regulating:

  • the conditions under which an immovable property may not be subject to enforcement – Article 151b;
  • the duties of the court when deciding on a motion for enforcement – Article 151v;
  • the duties of the court and the public enforcement officer during the enforcement procedure – Article 151g;
  • the conditions under which the immovable property referred to in Article 151b may nevertheless be subject to enforcement – Article 151d.

Five conditions that must be met cumulatively for the immovable property not to be subject to enforcement to satisfy a monetary claim (Article 151b)

  1. The immovable is the enforcement debtor’s sole immovable property.
  2. The enforcement debtor has had permanent residence at that immovable for at least five years.
  3. The surface area of the immovable does not exceed 60 m².
  4. The principal amount of the claim does not exceed one-half of the market value of the immovable.
  5. During the three years prior to the filing of the motion for enforcement, the enforcement debtor has not sold or gifted another immovable property, has not renounced inheritance of immovable property, and has not concluded a lifetime support agreement.

Three cases in which the immovable property may be subject to enforcement even if all five conditions under Article 151b are met

  1. The enforcement debtor has given consent, in the form of a public or otherwise legally certified statement, for enforcement to be carried out on the immovable property.
  2. An enforceable extrajudicial mortgage has been registered over the immovable property.
  3. The claim to be satisfied arises from a criminal offence, statutory maintenance (alimony), compensation for bodily injury, a monetary annuity due to total or partial incapacity for work, or a maintenance annuity lost due to the death of the maintenance debtor.

Pre-existing protection of the debtor’s sole immovable property

Certain protection of the enforcement debtor’s right to family life and the family home already existed under Article 394 paragraph 2 of the LES.

This provision stipulates that the enforcement debtor’s sole immovable property, if the debtor is a natural person, may not be subject to enforcement if the value of the claim does not exceed EUR 5,000. This rule protects the debtor from losing any immovable property he or she owns (regardless of its value and regardless of whether the debtor resides in it), provided it is the debtor’s only immovable property.

The aim of this provision is to safeguard the principles of proportionality and fairness during enforcement proceedings, preventing the sale of a debtor’s immovable property for the satisfaction of a relatively low-value claim, which could ordinarily be recovered from other assets (bank accounts, wages, pensions, movable property, etc.).

The Amending Law does not alter this provision, meaning that where the claim does not exceed EUR 5,000, the debtor’s sole immovable property remains exempt from enforcement.

Conclusion

The legislative intent behind the amendments to the LES is to strengthen the protection of the enforcement debtor’s and his family’s rights to family life and the family home. However, this protection is not and cannot be absolute. The strictly prescribed conditions for applying the new provisions, together with the broadly formulated exceptions, indicate that in practice these rules will apply only to specific situations in which additional protection of the fundamental rights of the debtor and his family is genuinely necessary, without significantly affecting the overall position of enforcement creditors or the stability of the housing loan market.

Although differing opinions exist within the professional community as to whether the chosen legislative solution is optimal, most commentators agree that the amendments to the LES are justified and represent a necessary corrective – especially in economically vulnerable societies, where the loss of the only home may have disproportionately severe consequences for the debtor and his family.