Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Tenants’ Association has published the first Rent Index, which stands at 61, placing Montenegro in the housing cost overburden zone.

The Association called on the authorities to urgently introduce systemic measures, including mandatory registration of all lease agreements, establishing a record of actual rent prices, reducing the informal economy in the rental sector, regulating short-term rentals, developing affordable and social housing, and introducing support measures for vulnerable groups.

“Without concrete and measurable policies, the rental market will remain non-transparent and unfavourable for the majority of citizens,” the Association stated in press release. 

They reminded that citizens with a single income are particularly affected, often spending up to 60 percent of their income on rent, while pensioners and socially vulnerable groups are largely excluded from the rental market.

According to estimates, between 80,000 and 120,000 people in Montenegro live as tenants or in conditions of housing insecurity, with renting representing a long-term reality for a significant share of the population.