💰 Can I keep money or items I find in the street?

Quick answer

Not automatically — “finders keepers” is not a legal rule in Albania. The myth is that money in the street belongs to whoever picks it up. The Civil Code treats it differently: whoever finds an item that is not theirs has a duty to report it and have it announced at the local unit (municipality or commune). The owner, or the person who lost it, has the right to claim it within 6 months of the announcement, after paying the storage costs and a reward of 10% of the value to the finder. Only if nobody appears within 6 months does the item (or the price from its sale) pass into the finder's ownership, who bears the storage costs. So the finder is rewarded and may even acquire the item — but through the rule, not by quietly pocketing it. Keeping something you know belongs to someone is not “luck”, it is unjust enrichment.

📋 The rules

Under the Civil Code, whoever finds an item that is not theirs must report it and have it announced at the municipality or commune, not keep it quietly.
The owner or loser has the right to claim the item within 6 months of the announcement.
To reclaim it, they pay the storage costs and a 10% reward of the value (or of the sale price) to the finder.
If nobody appears within 6 months, the item or its sale price passes into the finder's ownership, who bears the storage costs.
The rule applies to lost items and money found by chance; keeping something you know belongs to someone is unjust enrichment and exposes you to liability.

🔓 Exceptions

Items found inside private property or an enclosed space (a shop, a means of transport) may have rules for handing them to the owner or the venue's management.
Treasure — long-hidden valuables with no known owner — has a special regime, different from a simply lost item.
Items with a clearly identifiable owner must be handed over at once; keeping them may be read as misappropriation.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

The risk begins exactly when you think “no one will find out”. Keeping an item or money you know belongs to someone is unjust enrichment: the owner can demand the item or its value back, plus any damage. When the circumstances show you took it knowing it was not yours, the matter can go beyond civil law and be read as misappropriation, with consequences that grow with the value. Conversely, a finder who follows the rule does not lose out: they are owed the 10% reward and, after 6 months with no owner, the item itself. So the real “gain” comes from reporting, not from silence. Values are measured in new lek; a sum set in new lek sounds tenfold larger when it is accidentally translated into old lek.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Can I keep money I find in the street?

As a rule no: whoever finds an item that is not theirs must report it and have it announced, not keep it. “Finders keepers” is not a legal principle; keeping something you know belongs to someone is unjust enrichment and exposes you to a claim for its return.

How long does the owner have to reclaim the item?

The owner or the person who lost it has the right to claim it within 6 months of the day of the announcement at the local unit. To reclaim it, they must pay the storage costs and a 10% reward of the value to the finder.

Do I get anything as the finder?

Yes, the finder is owed a reward of 10% of the item's value or of the sale price, where the sale was necessary. Moreover, if nobody appears within 6 months, the item or its price passes into your ownership as the finder.

What happens after 6 months?

If no owner appears within six months of the announcement, the item or its sale price passes to the finder, who bears the storage costs. So the lawful path to acquire the item runs through the announcement and the wait, not through secret keeping from day one.

What if I clearly know whose it is?

Then you must return it or hand it over at once; keeping something with a clearly known owner may be read as misappropriation. In such cases you are not dealing with a “found item”, but with unlawfully keeping something you know is not yours.

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