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The coast is suspending the new reference prices, in some districts the revaluation continues with the 2016 values

2026-07-09 07:30:00, Ekonomi CNA

The coast is suspending the new reference prices, in some districts the

Although about 6 months have passed since the start of the process of revaluation of assets with a reduced 5% tax, the working group at the Ministry of Finance has not yet completed the drafting of new reference prices for the districts.

Unlike Tirana, where citizens who carry out the revaluation through the State Cadastre Agency carry out the process based on reference prices approved in 2023, in all other districts the revaluation continues to be carried out with the prices determined since 2016.

At the end of July 2023, new reference prices came into effect for the 32 cadastral zones of Tirana, while for the rest of the country, the update is still pending.

The General Directorate of Property Tax at the Ministry of Finance explained to Monitor that the group of experts is continuing its work on reviewing the reference prices for apartments in the districts. Currently, market prices are being verified in coastal areas, such as Vlora, Dhërmi and other coastal areas, where in addition to the recently created new zones, the creation of other cadastral zones is also foreseen.

For example, for the Dhërmi area, it is planned to review the proposed prices for cadastral areas near the coastline and the prices away from these areas. The working group will align the new prices that will be proposed with those of the market.

In July 2025, the Ministry of Finance submitted for consultation a draft decision with a new map of reference prices for districts, where in some areas increases of up to 200% were foreseen, with the highest increase in the area near the Port of Durres. According to the draft, the new prices were expected to enter into force on January 1, 2026.

However, the draft decision has not yet been approved.

Meanwhile, during this year, the Ministry of Finance has revised the initial project by adding new cadastral areas and including villages for the first time as separate areas with reference prices.

Currently, rural areas do not have separate reference prices. The reference price of the respective city, reduced by 35%, is applied to them. With the new project, for some villages, it is envisaged that the reference prices will approach or in some cases be equal to those of urban areas, especially in areas with high tourist development.

Based on the territorial division of the country into urban and rural areas, it was proposed that all rural areas, for example Durrës, i.e. villages, have a different reference price than urban areas. For rural areas, a reference price of 67,500 lek per square meter was proposed, i.e. the same as the current reference price for the city of Durrës. This reference price that the government has proposed for the rural area of ??Durrës also includes the area behind the coastline and the area of ??Lalzi or Hamallaj.

The same logic for setting reference prices has been followed for other coastal areas where many residential areas are being developed.

Several coastal areas of the country that are experiencing development for residential buildings have been divided into several cadastral zones with different reference prices, including urban and rural areas.

The reference price for buildings on the Radhima coastline is proposed to be 90 thousand lek per square meter, which in the revised tables is included in the reference prices for the Radhima and Orikum urban areas.

While the rural area of ??Vlora, which is added as new area no. 8, including that of Radhima (without the first coastline), will have a reference price of 61,800 lek per square meter, equal to the current price of the city area for the Municipality of Vlora.

The reference urban price map for Saranda also includes the Ksamil coastline with reference prices that will range from 60 thousand lek to 100 thousand lek per square meter.

With the proposed changes, a new area is added to Saranda that includes villages with a reference price of 56 thousand lek per square meter, equal to the current price of the city of Saranda.

Even this new package of reference prices for the districts has not yet been approved as the proposed prices are being reviewed again based on market values, leaving citizens outside Tirana to continue the revaluation process based on 2016 prices.

Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Petrit Malaj, stated that the process is complex as it also involves municipalities, so the new prices are not yet ready. He explained that this does not prevent citizens who wish to carry out the revaluation according to the real market value, as they can turn to a licensed private expert.

"The working group is working, it is more complex because it also includes municipalities. This process does not prevent the revaluation, but citizens who want to do it according to market prices can do it through a private appraiser," the minister said./ Monitor