After completing his studies at the Collegio di Sant'Adriano (the college of Saint Adrian) in the Arbëreshë town of San Demetrio Corone, Calabria, he returned to Durrës where he joined the patriotic circles of the city.
After overcoming resistance by the Young Turks, he opened in Durrës in 1909 a club called "Bashkimi" ("The Union"), of which he elected president.
In Jahja Ballhysa's house and with his financial support it was opened the first Albanian language school in Durrës.
Jahja Ballhysa signed on behalf of the elite of the city Durrës the petition, which all the Albania's cities elites addressed to the President of the US, Woodrow Wilson, on July 12, 1918, to request his intervention in the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 to rectify the injustice of the Treaty of London (1915) on the Albanian territories.
During 1922-1923 Jahja Ballhysa led the progressive forces of the city of Durrës and he was elected Mayor by the opposition.