Housing

Steps

Renting

1. Get your OIB (personal identification number, see HR-NIF-TOUS-001): it is required for the lease, the bank and energy contracts.
2. Sign a written lease stating the rent, service charges, duration and notice. The landlord must show you the energy performance certificate and give you a copy.
3. Declare your address to the police (prijava boravišta) with the lease (see HR-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
4. During the lease: the landlord carries out necessary repairs at their own expense; you make no alterations without their written consent; you pay the rent on the agreed dates.
5. To leave (open-ended lease): give the landlord at least 3 months' notice before you leave (in writing, so you can prove it).

Buying

1. Check the property in the land register (zemljišna knjiga, register extract) and its planning status.
2. Sign the sale contract and have the signatures certified by a notary (javni bilježnik): it is then the notary who reports the sale to the tax administration.
3. Receive the tax decision and pay the transfer tax within 15 days.
4. Have your ownership registered at the land registry court (zemljišnoknjižni sud).

Documents

• Renting: identity document, OIB, signed lease, copy of the energy certificate.
• Buying: identity document, OIB, sale contract with certified signatures, land register extract; for a Swiss citizen, the certificate of registration of temporary residence is to be attached to the application for registration in the land register.

Costs and timelines

• Deposit: generally one month's rent, returned on departure; agency fee: about one month's rent (EURES).
• Average rents (EURES, page updated on 03/07/2026; the year of the figures is not specified): Zagreb €923, Split €904, Rijeka €763, Osijek €487 per month; service charges (excluding rent) of about €120 to €240 per month, more in winter.
• Notice: 3 months for the tenant (open-ended lease). If the landlord terminates, you have 3 months to leave, counted from the 1st day of the month following receipt of the termination; at least 15 days in case of unrepaired damage or unauthorised works.
• Grounds for termination by the landlord (after a written formal notice of 30 days): unpaid rent or service charges, subletting without consent, disturbance, accommodating an unplanned person for more than 30 days (except spouse, child or parent), non-residential use. Without formal notice: two consecutive late rent payments, or more than two breaches. For an open-ended lease, the law as amended in 2018 (NN 68/2018, art. 21) adds the case of the landlord who wants to house themselves, their descendants, their parents or persons in their care, but only if they provide you with another suitable open-ended home (consolidated version of the law not reread).
• Transfer tax: 3% of market value at the time of purchase, borne by the buyer, for sales without VAT (most older homes: VAT does not apply to the supply of a building more than two years after its first occupation); a new home sold by a professional is generally subject to VAT instead (the notary tells you whether your sale is subject to VAT or to transfer tax). The official list of exemptions (gov.hr) provides no scheme for buying a first home.
• Contract not certified by a notary: the deed must be reported to the tax office of the place of the property within 30 days of being drawn up (gov.hr: by the person who drew it up).
• Prices (EURES, second half of 2025): about €2,861 per m² for a new home on the national average, €2,998 in Zagreb; often under €1,500 per m² in the rural east; agency commission of about 3%.
• Property tax (since 2025): €0.60 to €8 per m² per year for a home that is not your permanent residence (see HR-IMPOTS-TOUS-001).

Common pitfalls

• An oral lease. gov.hr asks for the lease to be concluded in writing: without a contract, you can hardly prove your rights, or your home to the police (the text of the law on the writing requirement was not reread: to be confirmed).
• Paying without a receipt. Keep a record of every rent payment and of the deposit.
• A disguised seasonal let. On the coast, many homes are let to tourists in summer: check that the lease covers the whole year.
• Declaring an undervalued price. The tax administration can itself set the market value by estimate.
• Buying agricultural land. Agricultural land defined by a special law is excluded from equal treatment of Europeans; gov.hr still mentions a ban there "until 30 June 2023": check the current situation with the notary.
• Leaving a home empty. A second home has paid property tax since 2025.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Swiss citizens: purchase on the same terms as Croatians, without ministry authorisation, except for agricultural land defined by a special law (gov.hr still indicates a ban there "until 30 June 2023": current situation to be confirmed with the notary).
• British citizens (Scots included) and other non-Europeans: prior authorisation from the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation, granted in an administrative procedure, for nationals of a country with which there is reciprocity (list published by the ministry). Do not sign anything final before the authorisation (a prudent piece of advice, not a rule written by gov.hr). Written application to the ministry, with the contract, proof of the seller's ownership, a planning certificate on the legal status of the property and your proof of nationality; if you are abroad without a representative, you must appoint a person domiciled in Croatia to receive mail.