We present to you the results of the research on joint property and inheritance. The analysis was prepared within the project implemented by the citizen association NEŠTO VIŠE called “Empowering Women: Right to Joint Property/Inheritance and Political Engagement”, supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
According to property records, only 34% of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are property owners. These are official data from the CILAP project, which was conducted together with the Geodetic Administrations of the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the title “Capacity Building for the Improvement of Land Administration and Procedures in Bosnia and Herzegovina” during the period 2013–2021.
In the Republika Srpska, only 33% of women are registered in the land books as owners (co-owners) of real estate, while in the Federation this percentage is slightly higher at 35%. This percentage is not uniform between rural and urban areas: in rural areas of the Republika Srpska, 30% of registered property owners are women, while in urban areas, 36.5% of women are property owners. These seriously low percentages indicate that women are generally not the owners of the homes they live in, and often not of other family property either. Very often, men (husbands) are registered in the land books even if the property was acquired during marriage. Although by law women have the right to joint ownership of marital property, that property is commonly recorded as the husband’s.
In practice, it often happens that after the death of a housewife who was not registered in the land books as a property owner (because ownership of the house and land was registered under the husband’s name, although acquired during marriage) and who did not own any other movable property (car, bank account), no inheritance proceedings are initiated. This discriminates the descendants, who are thus deprived of their inheritance share from the mother’s part of the property.
You can download and view the full analysis HERE.
We thank all individuals who helped us understand the current situation through surveys and interviews and contributed to the preparation of this document.
The project is supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives – Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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“The opinions contained in presented publications do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.”
We are grateful for Canada’s contribution to this project through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
