The Municipality of Prishtina began demolishing a house on Thursday in the area known as “Rruga A,” an object that, according to municipal authorities, posed a risk of collapse.
Municipal teams arrived at the scene with machinery to enforce the decision, while units of the Kosovo Police and Firefighters were also present.
According to reports from the scene, the building had remained in the same condition for years and had recently sustained damage that, according to the municipality, made it dangerous for residents in the area, while the owner was taken to the emergency department.
A neighbor of the owning family, Fadil Krasniqi, said the building should have been assessed by experts before a decision was made to demolish it.
“I am not the owner of that house, I am a neighbor. The owner said: ‘Come and measure it. Assess it, demolish it, I don’t want anyone to be at risk.’ They came without… This matter is in court, the court has summoned them, and the woman, the owner of the house, is afraid like this. She is ill and cannot go. The court notified them not to touch the house. They came and demolished it. The owner said, ‘Demolish it, just measure the land, I have evidence. The house is dangerous.’ Because of the danger it posed, that’s why,” he said.
He claimed that the family had previously been informed that the matter was under judicial proceedings and that there was a request for the building not to be touched until the proceedings were completed.
The neighbor also disputed claims that the property belongs to the municipality, saying that according to documents held by the family, the building is not municipal property.
Speaking to the media, he also raised concerns about urban development plans in the area, claiming that residential buildings could be constructed there in the future.
Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama has responded to the case involving the demolition of a house on Rruga A, explaining that it was built without a permit and is located on municipal property.
In a Facebook post, he wrote that “the families living in this building were evacuated two years ago due to construction works on Rruga A and the risk of landslides.”
