The Parliament adopted a new law for legalization of unlawfully built homes, which will also allow the legalization of houses built in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas, even including the vicinity of major water sources.

The only exception is the Ohrid area, which is considered a protected World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO.

The law was supported by the 72 votes in Parliament. This is the second such law, after a broad law adopted in 2010. Macedonia had a rampant problem with houses built without permits, which is due to the often arcane municipal zoning laws. But the 2010 law was supposed to be a one-off, and all subsequent illegal builds were supposed to be torn down. The decision to have another round of legalization is likely to lead to more unlawful construction, in the anticipation of a new legalization push in the future.