Viewing checklist
Viewing a flat: what to check and what to ask
35 questions and checks, in the order you walk through a flat. Your ticks stay in this browser, and you can print the list to take along.
Address:
Date and time:
Owner or agency:
Before the viewing
72 % of listings don't say
Estimate the bills58 % of listings don't say
Deposit guide70 % of agency listings don't sayYou owe a fee only under your own written brokerage contract with the agency, and an agency may not make a viewing conditional on signing one. A viewing confirmation isn't such a contract.
Agency fee guide91 % of listings don't say
80 % of listings don't say
100 % of listings don't say
How address registration worksAn unofficial extract is free on the Uređena zemlja (OSS) portal, without signing in. You search by cadastral municipality and parcel or folio number (for a flat in the book of deposited contracts, KPU, by sub-folio), not by name, so ask the owner for the numbers. The owner in the extract should be whoever signs the lease, or the person the agency acts for.
How to spot a scam
In the flat
34 % of listings don't sayAsk to see an old bill.
That decides how the bills are split.
41 % of listings don't say
Only 5 % of listings mention it
The building
Only 18 % of listings mention it
The national Rulebook on house rules in buildings (NN 86/2025, Art. 6) sets quiet hours: on working days 3–5 pm and 10 pm–7 am, at weekends and on holidays 1–5 pm and 10 pm–9 am. The co-owners can set other hours by majority vote.
Money
A bank transfer leaves a record. For cash, ask for a receipt.
The law sets neither the amount of a deposit nor how it's returned, so put both in the lease.
Deposit guide
Papers
78 % of listings don't sayThe owner must show it to a prospective tenant and give the tenant the certificate or a photocopy. The law doesn't say when, so ask at the viewing.
Energy certificate guideThe Housing Lease Act has the landlord and the tenant draw up a record of the flat's condition together (Art. 12). It doesn't ask for meter readings, but they show from when the bills are yours.
Handover record
After the viewing
Notes
Your ticks stay in this browser only. We don't send or store which items you've ticked.
What they can ask you for
What to bring to sign the lease, and what you don't need to give anyone before a viewing. Each line shows its source and when we checked it.
Bring to the signing
- Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu, čl. 60. i 77. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12), čl. 9. (checked 23 Oct 2026); HEP ODS, obrazac 8 (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Source: Zakon o najmu stanova, čl. 5. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Source: Zakon o obveznim odnosima, čl. 180. (checked 23 Oct 2026) · Payment receipt
- Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12), čl. 9. i 10. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Source: Zakon o najmu stanova, čl. 12. st. 2. (checked 23 Oct 2026) · Handover record
- Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu, čl. 60. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
What nobody needs before a viewing
- A copy or photo of your ID card or passport. AZOP, the data protection agency, recommends not handing over a copy whenever you can, and only showing the document.Source: AZOP, česta pitanja građana (checked 23 Oct 2026); PU brodsko-posavska, 8. 5. 2026. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Bank statements, payslips or an employment contract. None of the rules we checked asks for them for a viewing.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (checked 23 Oct 2026); AZOP, česta pitanja građana (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- A deposit, a holding fee or rent. The police advise paying nothing before you've seen the flat and met the person renting it out.Source: PU bjelovarsko-bilogorska, 30. 9. 2025. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- The agency fee. An agency may not ask for it in advance.Source: Zakon o posredovanju u prometu nekretnina (NN 69/26), čl. 29. st. 2. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Card details, a PIN or codes.Source: PU brodsko-posavska, 8. 5. 2026. (checked 23 Oct 2026)
Not legal advice. If someone asks for more, ask why and on what basis; questions about personal data can go to AZOP, the data protection agency. Ticks stay in this browser only.
Questions
What should I ask the owner at a viewing?
First, what the listing doesn't state: in Zagreb 72 % of listings don't state the bills and 58 % don't state the deposit. Then how the flat is heated and what the bills were, when it's available, whether pets are allowed and whether you can register your address there.
Can an agency make me sign a contract before a viewing?
Not as a condition. An agency may not make a viewing conditional on you first signing a brokerage contract. At the viewing you usually sign a viewing confirmation, which isn't a contract and doesn't commit you to a fee. You owe a fee only under your own written brokerage contract with the agency.
What should I bring to a viewing?
This list, printed or on your phone, and enough time: run the taps, try the appliances and check the signal in every room. Don't pay anything before you've seen the flat and signed the lease.
Next steps
We checked the rules this list mentions on 20 Oct 2026. The sources are in the guides it links to.