Nearly 30 Years of Free Water in Kosovo’s Serb-Majority North Set to End, Leaving Questions over €20m Debt and Transparency

After almost three decades in which households and businesses in four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo largely consumed water without being billed, authorities say a regular metering and payment system will be introduced — but important questions remain about timing, transparency and how the accumulated debt will be treated.

The change affects residents of North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić, where water distribution has been provided by Regionalno vodovodno preduzeće Mitrovica since the end of the 1999 conflict. According to the water company’s figures reviewed by Radio Slobodna Evropa, the long absence of local billing created unpaid receivables of roughly €20 million. From 2016 to 2025, the company estimates the value of supplied water averaged about €900,000 per year, and in some periods exceeded €1 million.

The lack of household billing in the north has been attributed to a mix of political and administrative factors. For years the area largely operated with parallel institutions and closer ties to Serbian authorities than to Pristina, while local institutional control and on-the-ground administration within Kosovo’s systems were incomplete. In practice, the costs of supply were partially covered by Kosovo’s state budget through subsidies rather than by direct charges to consumers.

Early last year the Regional Water Company Mitrovica and the then-mayors of the four northern municipalities signed an agreement to start formal accounting and collection of water charges. The Regulatory Office for Water Services set uniform tariffs for the entire region served by the Mitrovica utility — €0.53 per cubic metre for households and €0.69 per cubic metre for commercial and institutional users, excluding VAT. The regulator initially expected billing to begin in the first quarter of the current year.

Implementation has been delayed, however, and the company now says it expects the process to start at the end of 2026. The firm cited staff shortages and organizational issues as the primary obstacles. In a written response to RSE, the company said: "Kompanija je raspisala konkurse na kojima se prijavilo 500 osoba. Zaposlena su 44 građana srpske nacionalnosti, koji su već u procesu integracije u tehnički, komercijalni i finansijski sistem". Once staff are in place, the utility plans to register consumers, run an informational campaign and install meters.

On the ground, residents’ reactions have been mixed but not openly hostile. Some interviewed by Radio Free Europe said they accept that payments are normal and necessary. "Normalno je da se plaća. U svakoj normalnoj zemlji, računi moraju da se plaćaju," said Andrija Todorović, who added that he pays electricity through the Serbian-licensed company Elektrosever and holds a Kosovar ID. "Mi imamo i kosovske lične karte, pa je zato normalno da plaćamo i račune," he said. Olga Nikolić said simply, "Vreme je da počnemo da plaćamo." Others voiced concern about transparency and want clearer information about the billing process and the entity that will collect payments. "Ništa nije transparentno. Nismo protiv plaćanja, ali neko bi trebalo da nas obavesti kome treba da plaćamo," said a resident identified only as Dragan.

Experts on water supply and governance argue that charging users could help normalize services and improve equality. Afrim Lajči told RSE that integrating the north into the regular payment system would bring "jednakost i poboljšanje usluga," while Skender Bubljaku said new revenues could strengthen the regional utility and allow investments in infrastructure and service expansion. Political analyst Bekim Saljihu cautioned that the long-standing subsidies may have discouraged a culture of payment and stressed the need for a transparent approach to outstanding liabilities. He urged the government to "objavi realne brojke i pronađe prelaznu, umerenu i funkcionalnu šemu za rešavanje tog duga."

How the accumulated debt will be handled remains one of the most contentious and unclear aspects of the transition. The Regional Water Company has said billing will start from zero and that the question of the approximately €20 million in old receivables will be "decided in the future." The Kosovo government did not respond to RSE requests on whether it plans to seek repayment of the accumulated debt. The ombudsman’s office said it has not received complaints about the change so far but framed the issue as sensitive from the standpoint of equality and non-discrimination and said it would act if substantive complaints are filed.

Observers note a precedent in the region: electricity supplied to the north was likewise not paid for years and was subsidized through institutions and other Kosovo residents. As Pristina moves to bring water billing into a formalized system, authorities will face political, administrative and social challenges tied to minority rights, service equality and public accountability. How those challenges are addressed — particularly the handling of the long-accumulated debt and the transparency of the roll-out — will likely shape public trust and the future of public services in the north of Kosovo.