The wall of a building with a characteristic façade on "Marin Barleti" street in Prizren has collapsed, months after the Municipal Commission for the Evaluation of Buildings for posing a danger to citizens had addressed the comment that measures should be taken and interventions should be made as soon as possible by the relevant institutions to prevent any potential disaster.

On September 26, 2024, this commission was on site at the building on cadastral plot no. 03338-1, where after assessing the scene, they stated that due to construction work on the neighboring plot for basement excavation, damage occurred to the foundation of the building, which shifted, resulting in cracks and loss of stability.

The commission had stated at the time that the building was at risk of collapsing and posed a permanent danger to the owner and pedestrians frequenting the area around the building. They called for immediate measures and intervention.

After this report, on October 10, 2024, QRTK-Prizren also requested DES to take action regarding this building.

“After verification on the site, during the work on the plot mentioned above, excavation with an excavator damaged the neighboring building. After the damage was confirmed, no protective measures were taken by the inspection authorities to secure the structural integrity or prevent the complete destruction of the building and the risk to passing pedestrians. Therefore, according to your competencies and responsibilities, we request that emergency protective measures be taken for the building on cadastral plot P-71813068-03338-1,” reads the letter from QRTK-Prizren.

After part of the building collapsed during the previous week, QRTK-Prizren, on January 30, 2025, sent another letter to DES stating that no action had been taken. After the incident, municipal inspectors secured the area by setting up barriers to prevent the movement of people in that space.

According to QRTK, the area where this building is located is within the Historical Center of Prizren, which has cultural heritage protection status. QRTK has also provided guidelines for taking preventive measures to avoid risk, so that standards for the effective preservation of cultural heritage can be applied.

The Municipal Commission for the Evaluation of Buildings posing a danger to citizens, on January 30, 2025, visited the site to inspect the building and found that the situation had worsened further, “as one of the building's walls has completely collapsed, significantly increasing the danger to residents and passersby.”

Once again, the commission assessed that emergency intervention was essential to prevent major material and human damage.

Regarding this case, EC requested information from DI, but has not yet received any response.

For EC, the negligence of the relevant institutions to take emergency protective measures in such cases is unacceptable as it could endanger people's lives.

EC reiterates its longstanding stance that citizen safety is a priority, and stresses that the responsible institutions, in cooperation with the community, must take timely and appropriate actions so that old buildings do not deteriorate to the point of posing a risk to the safety of their owners and other citizens. In this case, the development of works by investors and contractors must also be cautious to avoid damaging the structures of old buildings in the Historical Center.

For this reason, EC calls on the relevant institutions to increase vigilance in monitoring the situation and the works, and to take appropriate legal actions in a timely manner so that old buildings in the Historical Center do not become a danger to citizens but rather remain valuable assets for the city and contribute to sustainable development.