For many people, buying property in Croatia is the dream behind the move: a stone house near the sea, a flat in Zagreb, a place in Istria. The rules are clearer than the reputation of Balkan paperwork suggests, especially for EU buyers. They are also stricter than you may think for non-EU buyers and for some kinds of land. This guide follows the gov.hr pages and EURES.
Can foreigners buy property in Croatia?
Citizens and companies of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can acquire property on the same terms as Croatian citizens and Croatian companies, with no consent from the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation. The exception named on the gov.hr page is agricultural land under a special law, so check with a notary before you pay a deposit on any land. Swiss buyers attach a confirmation of their temporary-stay registration to the land registry application.
Other foreign buyers need administrative consent, available only if their country grants reciprocity to Croatia. The ministry publishes the list of reciprocal countries. For British buyers this is a real step; do not sign anything binding before consent is granted. See moving to Croatia from the UK.
What are the steps for buying property in Croatia?
- Get your OIB. You will need it for the contract, the tax and the bank. See the Croatia OIB number guide.
- Check the property. Ask for an extract from the land registry (zemljišna knjiga) and the planning status.
- Sign the sale contract with signatures certified by a notary (javni bilježnik). The notary reports the sale to the tax administration.
- Receive the tax decision and pay. The transfer tax is due within 15 days of the decision, and an appeal does not postpone payment.
- Register your ownership at the land registry court (zemljišnoknjižni sud).
Buying property in Croatia is a sequence in which the notary plays the central role: the notary certifies the signatures and reports the sale, and the tax administration then sends the decision on which the 15 days run. Do not pay the tax before the decision arrives, and keep the payment proof for the land registry court.
For a non-EU buyer, add the written request for consent to the ministry, with the contract, proof of the seller's ownership, an urban-planning certificate and proof of your citizenship, plus a recipient for documents with an address in Croatia if you live abroad.
Between notary, tax decision, land registry and, for some buyers, a ministry consent, the order matters more than any single step. Moovy can lay out the sequence for your nationality and the list of documents to ask the notary for. It is not a lawyer or a notary and does not check a contract.
How much is the transfer tax?
The real estate transfer tax (porez na promet nekretnina) is 3% of the market value at the time of acquisition, paid by the buyer, when the sale is not subject to VAT. Most second-hand homes fall into this category. A new home sold by a professional is generally subject to VAT instead; the notary tells you which applies. The tax applies, for example, to buildings when more than two years have passed since first use. There is no general exemption for a first home.
If the declared price is below market value, the tax administration can set the value by appraisal, so do not understate it. If the contract is not notarised, you must report it to the local tax office within 30 days.
What does buying property in Croatia cost?
EURES gives an average of about 2,861 euros per square metre for a new apartment in the second half of 2025, about 2,998 euros in Zagreb, often under 1,500 euros in rural eastern Croatia and 3,000 to 4,000 euros on much of the coast. An agency commission of about 3% is common. See the cost of living in Croatia. These are averages, not quotes for a particular flat.
What annual taxes follow?
Since 1 January 2025, a property tax of 0.60 to 8.00 euros per square metre of living space a year applies to homes that are not your permanent residence, including short-term tourist lets, depending on the municipality (0.60 by default). Your permanent residence is exempt, as is a home let to a tenant as their permanent residence for at least ten months of the year, with a declared lease. The communal fee (komunalna naknada) is separate. The Porezna uprava property-tax page gives the current rules and the municipality's rate.
Financing your purchase
Ask the bank, before you make an offer, what it requires from a foreign buyer. Some banks lend to non-residents, others do not, and the deposit and term vary. A Croatian mortgage comes with the standard European information sheet and at least 7 days to study the offer; conditions for non-residents vary by bank. See opening a bank account in Croatia.
Which kinds of property need extra care?
Some properties carry more risk than an ordinary flat in a town. Agricultural land is covered by a special law, and the gov.hr page says that EU citizens and companies could not acquire it until 30 June 2023; ask the notary what applies today before you pay a deposit. Land in protected or coastal zones can have building limits. A house with unclear ownership, for instance after an inheritance with many heirs, can take a long time to register. In every case the land registry extract and the urban-planning certificate tell you what is possible, and the notary can check them before you commit.
Also be sure of the VAT position. A new home sold by a professional developer is generally subject to VAT instead of the 3% tax, and the notary tells you which applies. A second-hand home sold more than two years after first use is in the 3% category. The difference matters for your budget, so ask early.
Finally, think about the cost of owning. Beyond the purchase tax, the property tax from 2025, utilities and the communal fee all recur every year. For the monthly picture, see the cost of living in Croatia.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Signing before consent if you are a non-EU buyer.
- Buying farmland or land in a protected zone without checking it with the notary.
- Understating the price.
- Leaving a second home empty and forgetting the annual tax.
- Not checking the land registry for debts and the true owner.
Use a lawyer and a notary you chose yourself, not only the seller's. GOV.UK recommends an English-speaking lawyer. Rules on foreign buyers and land change, so confirm them with the ministry and your notary before you pay a deposit.