Do I Need a Heritage Permit?

Pick a job on your old-town house and see whether it needs full restoration approval, a lighter heritage sign-off, or none — with where to confirm for your building.

Gjirokastër's old town is a UNESCO-listed monument, and the stone houses, cobbled streets and Bazaar are protected by law. That means ordinary repairs — a new roof, a repainted facade, a replaced window — are not a builder's decision but a permit question, decided by the national heritage bodies, not the municipality. This tool orients you: pick the job you have in mind and see whether it generally needs full restoration approval, a lighter heritage sign-off, or none. It never decides your case — the protected-zone map and your building's monument category do that.

Two zones sit on top of each other. The historic centre — the Bazaar and the stone-house neighbourhoods (Palorto, Dunavat, Manalat and the streets below the castle) — is under an effective construction ban: only conservation, repair, road and disaster works are allowed, all supervised. The wider protected zone allows limited new building on designated vacant plots only, capped at 3 storeys / 10 m, roof pitch 26°–31°, volume additions of at most 10%, and no closer than 50 m to a first-category monument. Gjirokastër has about 50 first-category and 500 second-category cultural monuments, so most of the old town is directly affected.

Gjirokastër's old town is a UNESCO-listed monument, and the stone houses, cobbled streets and Bazaar are protected by law. That means ordinary repairs — a new roof, a repainted facade, a replaced window — are not a builder's decision but a permit question, decided by the national heritage bodies, not the municipality. This tool orients you: pick the job you have in mind and see whether it generally needs full restoration approval, a lighter heritage sign-off, or none. It never decides your case — the protected-zone map and your building's monument category do that.

Two zones sit on top of each other. The historic centre — the Bazaar and the stone-house neighbourhoods (Palorto, Dunavat, Manalat and the streets below the castle) — is under an effective construction ban: only conservation, repair, road and disaster works are allowed, all supervised. The wider protected zone allows limited new building on designated vacant plots only, capped at 3 storeys / 10 m, roof pitch 26°–31°, volume additions of at most 10%, and no closer than 50 m to a first-category monument. Gjirokastër has about 50 first-category and 500 second-category cultural monuments, so most of the old town is directly affected.

First, check your property

Before anything else, find out which zone your house is in and its monument category — a first-category monument, a second-category building, or an ordinary house inside the protected zone. That single fact changes every answer below. The Regional Directorate of National Culture (DRTK Gjirokastër) holds the protected-zone map and the monument register; the GCDO (gjirokastra.org) can help you read it and has done so for hundreds of owners.

Gjirokastra Conservation & Development Organization (GCDO)

What kind of job is it?

Which one is closest?

Pick a job above to see whether it needs a permit.

Common exemptions

Emergency works to make a dangerous building safe can be done first — but tell the Regional Directorate of National Culture (DRTK) at once, and the permanent repair still needs approval.
Routine interior decoration that touches no structure, no protected ceiling or painted room, and nothing visible from the street does not need a heritage permit.
Cleaning gutters, clearing drains and other maintenance that keeps a building as-is is fine — and letting water sit is what damages these roofs.

Confirm before you start

Regional Directorate of National Culture, Gjirokastër (DRTK)

The state heritage office for the protected zone — start here to confirm your building

Website: gjirokastra.org/

The GCDO / Gjirokastra Conservation & Development Organization (gjirokastra.org) is an independent charity that helps owners through the process, runs restoration camps, and has advised hundreds of households.

This tool orients you; it does not decide your case. Whether your specific building needs a permit depends on the protected-zone map and your monument category, and only the Regional Directorate of National Culture and the National Restoration Council (KKR) can give a determination. Always confirm with them before starting work — unauthorised work in the protected zone carries penalties and a mandatory restoration order.

Official pages

Protected-zone building rules for Gjirokastër (acp.al)The regulation setting the construction ban, the 3-storey / 10 m and 26°–31° roof limits, and the IMK → KKR approval chain.
Gjirokastra Conservation & Development Organization (GCDO)Owner support, restoration know-how and the local charity behind the protected-zone work.
Bashkia Gjirokastër (municipality)For the separate municipal steps — business licences, local services.

Town Tools

About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Gjirokastër and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

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