50 terms

Croatian rental words in English

Words from Croatian ads, leases and bills, explained simply. Each has its source and the date we checked it; legal terms are simplified.

A

Affordable rent (priuštivi najam)simplified: The tenant pays 30% of the household's net monthly income minus €2.50 per m² of the flat, but no less than €2 per m². The owner signs a three- to ten-year contract with APN and is paid by the local median rent: 60% within 30 days of handing over the flat and the rest halfway through. As a rule the flat must have been unused for at least two years. As of 19 October 2026 APN has no open call.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o priuštivom stanovanju (NN 45/2026), čl. 55.–61.; More in the guide
Agency fee (agencijska provizija)simplified: Under the Real Estate Brokerage Act, in force since 7 July 2026, an agency may not charge a tenant who hasn't signed a brokerage contract with it. That contract sets the amount, since the law sets no cap, and the fee can't be demanded in advance. Nor may an agency make a viewing conditional on signing a contract. When a listing says nothing about the fee, we show “not stated”, which doesn't mean there's no fee.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o posredovanju u prometu nekretnina (NN 69/2026), čl. 23., 28. i 29.; More in the guide

B

Balcony and terrace (balkon, terasa): That's how the rulebook on calculating floor areas in building designs (NN 90/10) describes them; for gross area in a design it counts a balcony and an open terrace at 25%, a covered terrace at 50% and a loggia at 75% of their area. The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme, which the communal-fee and property-tax rules point to, uses the same coefficients for a flat's net useful area. Check with the advertiser how they're included in a listing's m².; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–5.; More in the guide
Bedroom (spavaća soba): The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme requires a two-room flat to have one bedroom of at least 8 m², a three-room flat two, and a four-room flat three bedrooms of at least 9 m². We never turn a listing's room count into a number of bedrooms: flats by bedroom count come only from listings that state it.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2.; More in the guide
Benchmark construction price (etalonska cijena građenja)simplified: The latest notice (NN 106/2025, 25 July 2025) gives two prices: €1,315.00/m² for the state-subsidised housing programme and €796.34/m² for use in other regulations, the second unchanged since the end of 2022. The minimum reserve fund is 0.54% of the benchmark price per m² of weighted floor area a year, which the Ministry put at about €0.36 per m² a month using €796.34. The Affordable Housing Act provides for a new benchmark-price decision, which hadn't been published by 19 October 2026.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Podatak o etalonskoj cijeni građenja (NN 106/2025); More in the guide
Building manager (upravitelj zgrade)simplified: The manager runs the building in the co-owners' name and on their account, and spends the reserve fund according to the maintenance programme. As a rule it must arrange an emergency repair within three hours of a report, and if the co-owners don't choose a manager, the mayor appoints one. A flat owner must let the manager in when needed to maintain common parts or deal with a fault that could damage the building or other flats.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 41., 49.–52.; More in the guide

C

Co-owners' representative (predstavnik suvlasnika)simplified: Under the Building Management Act the co-owners elect the representative by a majority counted by floor area or shares, and it can also be a co-owner's close family member living in the building. The representative calls co-owners' meetings, agrees the maintenance programme with the building manager and oversees the manager's work. Under the house-rules rulebook, an owner gives them the name, surname and contact details of their tenants.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 41. i 42.; More in the guide
Communal fee (komunalna naknada)simplified: The amount per m² is the zone coefficient times the purpose coefficient times the point value; in Zagreb the point value is €1.39 per m² a year (since 1 January 2024), which is what a flat in zone I pays. It's paid monthly, by the 15th for the previous month. When a contract moves the charge to the tenant, the change of payer is reported to the City within 15 days and the owner stays jointly liable. If the lease says nothing, in our reading the landlord bears it.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o komunalnom gospodarstvu (NN 68/18 … 145/24), čl. 93. i 94.; More in the guide

D

Deposit (polog)simplified: The Housing Lease Act doesn't mention a deposit, so there's no legal cap or return deadline; if the lease sets none, the general rules of obligations law apply. Ordinary wear isn't damage that can be deducted, unless agreed otherwise. A deposit isn't kapara. The draft new lease law would set a default deposit of one month's rent, but it hasn't been passed (as of 19 October 2026).; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3. i 17.; More in the guide
District heating (centralno grijanje): The Heat Energy Market Act describes a district heating system as a production plant with a distribution network longer than 2,000 m serving more than 500 separate units (flats or business premises). The building's billing meter is in its heat substation, and the allocators in the flats only split the cost. In listings “centralno” sometimes just means the whole flat is heated from one source (as in “centralno etažno plinsko”), so check whether the flat is on the city heating network.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o tržištu toplinske energije (NN 67/2025), čl. 2.; More in the guide

E

Earnest money (kapara)simplified: In everyday speech kapara often means any advance payment, but the legal meaning is narrower: under the Obligations Act, unless agreed otherwise, a contract counts as concluded once kapara is paid. When the contract is performed, the kapara is returned or set against what's owed. If the payer is responsible for the contract not being performed, the recipient may keep it; if the recipient is, the payer may claim double. Our advice: don't pay kapara before you've seen the flat and agreed the terms.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o obveznim odnosima, čl. 303. i 304.; More in the guide
Energy certificate (energetski certifikat)simplified: Under the Building Energy Efficiency Act, in force since 1 January 2026, an authorised person issues the certificate after an energy audit, and it's valid for ten years. For a block of flats one certificate for the whole building is the rule, and in our reading it also covers the flat. A private owner who doesn't get or hand over the certificate, or leaves the energy class out of an ad, faces a fine of €1,000 to €2,000. Exemptions include residential buildings used less than four months a year and detached buildings with under 50 m² of useful floor area.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o energetskoj učinkovitosti u zgradarstvu (NN 155/2025), čl. 13., 14. i 70.; More in the guide
Energy class (energetski razred)simplified: The certification rulebook has eight classes, calculated for reference climate data; continental Croatia uses the Zagreb-Maksimir station. By heating energy need, A+ means at most 15 kWh per m² a year, B at most 50, D at most 150 and G more than 250. Owners and agencies must state the class in their ads. When a listing doesn't, we show “not stated”.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik o energetskom pregledu zgrade i energetskom certificiranju (NN 88/17 … 40/25), čl. 17. i Prilog 1.; More in the guide
Enforcement (ovrha)simplified: Enforcement titles include final court decisions and settlements and enforceable notarial documents, such as a solemnised lease with the debtor's consent to direct enforcement. An authentic document, such as an invoice, serves only for money claims, and a notary decides on the application. Enforcement to evict is handled by the court for the area where the flat is, and courts act urgently in enforcement.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Ovršni zakon (NN 112/12 … 06/24), čl. 13., 23., 31. i 255.; More in the guide

F

Furnished flat (namješten stan): The lease must describe the flat, and at handover the landlord and tenant draw up a record of its condition together. In our reading, furniture and appliances let with the flat are part of what's let, so it helps to list them in that record. On our site “not stated” means the listing says nothing about furniture, and “unfurnished” flats are only those whose listing says so.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 5. i 12.; More in the guide

H

Handover record (zapisnik o primopredaji): The Housing Lease Act requires the record but doesn't set its contents. Our advice: note every meter reading and list the furniture and appliances, take dated photos of every room, and draw up a second record when you move out. The draft new lease law would require all meter readings and photos of every room, but it hasn't been passed.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 12.; More in the guide
Heat cost allocator (razdjelnik): The Heat Energy Market Act defines it as a device for the local distribution of heat measured on the building's common meter. Flat owners must install allocators or separate heat meters by 1 January 2027. Under the cost-sharing rulebook (NN 140/2025), which applies from 1 September 2028 (NN 84/2026), a flat without allocators in a building that has them pays its consumption raised by a correction factor, plus an extra charge per m². Until then the current rulebook applies, with a correction factor of 2 and no charge.; Checked 21 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o tržištu toplinske energije (NN 67/2025), čl. 2. i 31.; More in the guide
House rules (kućni red)simplified: House rules are general and special. The general ones are set by the Pravilnik o kućnom redu u zgradama (NN 86/2025), in force since 12 June 2025 in every building with at least four flats. The co-owners adopt special rules by majority to add to them, for example on pets in shared spaces or where bikes go.; Checked 20 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik o kućnom redu u zgradama (NN 86/2025); More in the guide
HRT licence fee (HRT pristojba): According to HRT's page the fee is €10.62 a month. That amount was set for 2025, and HRT's financial plan for 2026 uses the same figure (checked 19 October 2026). The HRT Act caps it at 1.5% of the average net monthly wage, and once the set is deregistered, no fee is due.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: HRT: Pristojba; More in the guide

I

Income tax on rent (porez na dohodak)simplified: The landlord reports the lease to the Tax Administration office for their permanent or habitual address within eight days; if a notary certified the landlord's signature or solemnised the lease, the notary sends it. The tax is paid by the last day of each month for that month. On €100 of monthly rent it comes to €100.80 a year. Letting to tourists is taxed differently, at a flat rate per bed.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o porezu na dohodak, čl. 57. i 62.; More in the guide
Individual heating (etažno grijanje): It isn't a legal term: the Heat Energy Market Act covers systems that heat a whole building (a stand-alone heating system) or several buildings (closed and district systems). Listings often say “etažno plinsko”, which usually means the flat has its own gas boiler, so heating is paid through the gas bill. When a listing says only “etažno”, we mark the heating type as “not stated”.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o tržištu toplinske energije (NN 67/2025), čl. 2.; More in the guide

L

Landlord (najmodavac)simplified: Under the Housing Lease Act the landlord hands over the flat for the agreed rent and draws up a record of its condition with the tenant. The landlord sends the lease and every rent change to the City and the Tax Administration, and reports the lease to the Tax Administration within eight days unless a notary does it. They may enter the flat for necessary repairs and to check how it's used, and may give notice only on legal grounds. The Housing Lease Act says “najmodavac”, not “najmodavatelj”.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3., 12.–16. i 26.; More in the guide
Lease (ugovor o najmu stana)simplified: The Housing Lease Act lists what a lease contains in particular: the parties, a description of the flat, the rent and how it's paid, housing costs, who lives with the tenant, the duration, maintenance, use of the building's common parts, and handover. The landlord sends the lease and every rent change to the City and the Tax Administration, to the latter within eight days. Terms the Act doesn't regulate are agreed freely.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3.–5. i 26.; More in the guide
Loggia (lođa): That's how the rulebook on calculating floor areas in building designs (NN 90/10) describes it, counting a loggia at 75% in the gross floor area. A loggia also counts at 75% in a flat's useful floor area, on which property tax and the communal fee are charged. Any part that projects beyond the façade counts as a balcony.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–6.; More in the guide
Long-term letting (dugoročni najam)simplified: The Housing Lease Act doesn't apply to temporary accommodation, such as for tourists or pupils. Under the Local Taxes Act, no property tax is due on a flat let under a lease for permanent living for at least ten months of the tax year. The Tax Administration also requires the lease to be reported and the tenant to have a registered permanent or temporary address there. The building management law treats a let of less than 30 days as short-term.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 27.; More in the guide

M

Moving out and eviction (iseljenje)simplified: Under the Housing Lease Act, once the notice period has run out the landlord can file a claim for eviction, and the case is urgent. In enforcement a court officer removes the people and things and hands the flat to the landlord, at the earliest eight days after the enforcement order is served. If the lease was solemnised with the tenant's consent to direct enforcement, a lawsuit may not be needed. Changing the locks or removing belongings isn't a legal route: the tenant is the flat's possessor and can ask a court to protect that possession. In everyday Croatian a forced eviction by a court officer is called “deložacija”; the law doesn't use the word.; Checked 24 Oct 2026 · Source: Ovršni zakon (NN 112/12 … 06/24), čl. 255.–258.; More in the guide

A cutaway building model with an entrance, stairs, balcony, attic space and meter cabinet.

N

Notice to end a lease (otkaz ugovora o najmu)simplified: A landlord's notice is written, gives reasons and is handed over against the tenant's signature or sent by registered post. The notice period is three months, or six when the landlord needs the flat for themselves or family (and offers the tenant another suitable flat), and runs from the first day of the month after the notice is received. Before giving notice for a breach, the landlord as a rule warns in writing and allows 30 days to put it right. A fixed-term lease renews tacitly unless one side says in writing, at least 30 days before it ends, that it won't renew.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 19.–25.; More in the guide

O

OIB (personal identification number): The police assign a foreigner an OIB when they register a temporary address; otherwise it's requested from the Tax Administration, for example to open a bank account. The OIB certificate proves the number but isn't an identity document, and the OIB doesn't change even if your name or address does. The Housing Lease Act doesn't list the OIB among a lease's contents, but HEP's form for transferring the electricity network contract to a tenant asks for both parties' OIBs.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Porezna uprava: Osobni identifikacijski broj (OIB); More in the guide
One-and-a-half-room flat (jednoiposoban stan): The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme describes it as an entrance area, a living room with a dining area, a room of at least 8 m², a kitchen and a bathroom. It doesn't say what the smaller room is for, so look at the floor plan. In our search one-and-a-half-room flats are counted with one-room flats.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2.; More in the guide
One-room flat (jednosoban stan): The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme requires a one-room flat to have an entrance area, a living room with a dining area, a kitchen and a bathroom, but no separate bedroom. A flat with one bedroom is usually advertised in Croatian as dvosoban (two-room). Listings that state the number of bedrooms are collected separately.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2.; More in the guide

P

Permanent address (prebivalište)simplified: At a rented flat you attach the owner's certified consent (or that of all co-owners), consent given at the police or through e-Građani, or a lease certified by a notary. Registering a new address deregisters the old one automatically, and you must change your ID card within 15 days. A permanent address in Zagreb affects, among other things, city kindergarten subsidies, city social benefits and the free annual ZET pass for people up to 18 and over 65. The Residence Act covers Croatian citizens.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2.–4. i 10.; More in the guide
Property tax (porez na nekretnine)simplified: The Local Taxes Act lets cities charge €0.60 to €8.00 per m², and Zagreb set the maximum in a decision published on 19 October 2026 (SGGZ 32/2026). No tax is due on a flat someone lives in permanently, or on one let for permanent living for at least ten months of the year; the Tax Administration also requires a reported lease and the tenant's registered address. A flat let to tourists that no one lives in permanently is, as a rule, taxed. The tax decision follows the situation on 31 March.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49.; More in the guide
Protected tenant (zaštićeni najmoprimac)simplified: Under the act passed after the Statileo judgment (NN 36/2024), in a private flat entered in the Register the protected tenant pays the owner half of an “average rent” and the state pays the other half; in Zagreb in 2026 that rent is about €9.66 per m² a month for a flat on a regular floor. The arrangement lasts until one of five measures is carried out: a settlement, a payout, a move to a state flat, a swap, or a sale of the flat to the state. In our reading nobody can become a protected tenant today, and for the roughly 4,000 protected tenants in formerly socially owned flats the draft new lease law proposes separate rules.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o načinu izvršenja presuda ESLJP u skupini predmeta Statileo (NN 36/2024), čl. 4., 17., 18. i 20.; More in the guide

R

Receipt (priznanica)simplified: Under the Obligations Act, whoever pays can ask the creditor for a receipt; after paying through a bank or the post, only with a good reason. A receipt for a later periodic payment, such as a month's rent, means earlier ones are presumed paid.; Checked 20 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o obveznim odnosima, čl. 180. i 181.; More in the guide
Rent (najamnina)simplified: The Housing Lease Act distinguishes protected rent from freely agreed rent; anyone not entitled to a protected rent pays a freely agreed one. In an open-ended lease the rent can't change in the first year, and after that it can be agreed at most 20% above the average freely agreed rent for a comparable flat. For a fixed-term lease the Act doesn't regulate changes, so the lease applies, and a landlord can offer a higher rent for a renewal. Rent claims expire after three years.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3., 6., 9. i 10.; More in the guide
Reserve fund (pričuva)simplified: The co-owners set the amount, which can't be below the legal minimum: 0.54% of the benchmark construction price per m² of weighted floor area a year, about €0.36 per m² a month at the latest published price. A lease can make the tenant repay the reserve to the landlord, but the debt to the building stays the owner's; if the lease is silent, in our reading the tenant doesn't pay it. For a flat in short-term letting, the co-ownership agreement may set a double reserve.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 28. i 29.; More in the guide

S

Short-term letting (kratkoročni najam)simplified: The Building Management Act requires prior written consent from co-owners holding more than two-thirds of the shares, plus every neighbour whose walls, floors or ceilings adjoin the flat. Consent is given for at least five years, and a private co-owner who lets without it faces a fine of €1,000 to €5,500. The co-ownership agreement may set a double reserve fund for such flats. Tourist letting also brings flat-rate income tax, tourist tax and property tax.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 4., 34. i 58.; More in the guide
Signature certification (ovjera potpisa)simplified: Certifying signatures doesn't make a lease an enforcement title; only solemnisation does. If the notary certified the landlord's signature, the notary sends the lease to the Tax Administration within 30 days, so the landlord doesn't have to. According to gov.hr, a lease certified by a notary replaces the owner's consent for registering a permanent address; whether certified signatures alone are enough, check with the police.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 77.; More in the guide
Solemnisation (solemnizacija)simplified: If a solemnised lease contains the tenant's consent to direct enforcement, a debt can be enforced without a lawsuit; where an obligation depends on a condition or an undated term, proof that it has arisen is also needed (this can apply to eviction after notice). The fee is half the tariff for a notarial deed: €85 for a €700 monthly rent and a lease of a year or longer, before VAT and the state fee. The notary sends the lease to the Tax Administration. Solemnisation isn't compulsory today; the draft new lease law would require it for every lease, but it hasn't been passed.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 54. i 59.; More in the guide
Stanarina (rent, dorm fee): The Housing Lease Act calls what a tenant pays for a flat najamnina, and uses stanarina for the payment from the occupancy-right era before 1996 (Art. 34). The Croatian Language Portal lists stanarina as another word for the rent of a flat. Studentski centar in Zagreb calls the monthly fee for a dorm place stanarina: it's paid by the 10th of the month for the previous month.; Checked 20 Oct 2026 · Source: SC Zagreb: Pravilnik o domskom redu i uvjetima boravka studenata (2023.), čl. 20.; More in the guide
Studio flat (garsonijera): The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme describes it as an entrance area, a living room with space for sleeping and cooking, and a bathroom with a toilet. For other flats it's a common listing label rather than a legal category. In our search studios are a group of their own, separate from one-room flats.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2.; More in the guide
Subletting (podnajam)simplified: The Housing Lease Act sets no form for the consent, but the tenant must send the sublease and every change of the subtenant's rent to the Tax Administration and to the landlord. Under the Obligations Act the tenant answers for the subtenant using the flat properly, and a sublease ends when the lease does. Short-term letting to tourists in a block of flats also needs the co-owners' consent.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 19. i 28.; More in the guide

T

Temporary address (boravište)simplified: A temporary address is registered for up to a year and then extended within 15 days, and as a rule it can't last longer than two years; for studies or work that isn't permanent it lasts as long as they do. At a rented flat you need the owner's consent (certified, given at the police or through e-Građani) or a lease certified by a notary. The Residence Act covers Croatian citizens; foreigners register their address under their own rules.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2., 4. i 10.; More in the guide
Tenant (najmoprimac)simplified: The tenant protects the flat from damage, tells the landlord about necessary repairs and makes no alterations without the landlord's written consent. They must let the landlord in for necessary repairs and to check how the flat is used, and at the end hand it back as received, allowing for ordinary wear. Under the Property Act the tenant is the flat's possessor, so not even the landlord may evict them on their own authority.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 4. i 14.–17.; More in the guide
Tenant (podstanar, everyday word): The Housing Lease Act uses “najmoprimac”; “podstanar” appears in that Act only as “zaštićeni podstanar”, a separate category of people who acquired that status under the rules in force before November 1996 and use part of a flat; that chapter of the Act (Art. 47) has not applied since 1 January 2025. Those rules don't apply to ordinary market leases. In our guides both words mean the same thing: someone who rents a flat under a lease.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20); More in the guide
Two-room flat (dvosoban stan): Croatian listings count rooms including the living room, but not the kitchen or bathroom. The rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme requires a two-room flat to have a living room with a dining area, a bedroom of at least 8 m², a kitchen and a bathroom. Some two-room flats do have two bedrooms and a kitchen with a dining area, so look at the floor plan. We only show the number of bedrooms when a listing states it.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2.; More in the guide

U

Useful floor area (korisna površina)simplified: Under the rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme, the inside of the flat counts in full, a loggia at 75%, a covered terrace and a storeroom outside the flat at 50%, and an open terrace or balcony at 25%. For property tax and the communal fee the laws refer to the protected-rent regulation, and the tax body gets the area from the communal-fee records. In an attic, floor where the height is up to 1 m doesn't count, 1 to 2 m counts at 50%, and over 2 m in full (the protected-rent regulation, Art. 4(2)). Useful floor area isn't the gross floor area from a building design, nor the weighted floor area on which the reserve fund may be charged.; Checked 23 Oct 2026 · Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19.; More in the guide
Utilities (režije): The Housing Lease Act requires a lease to state the types of housing costs and how they're paid. Different companies send the bills: in Zagreb HEP for electricity, HEP Toplinarstvo for district heating, Vodoopskrba i odvodnja for water and Čistoća for waste. By law the owner owes the reserve fund and the communal fee, and the tenant pays them only if agreed. When a listing doesn't say whether bills are included, we show “utilities not stated”.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 5.; More in the guide

W

Water charges (vodne naknade): According to the Vodoopskrba i odvodnja price list for Zagreb, from 1 March 2026 the water-use charge is €0.30 and the water-protection charge €0.039 per m³. A development charge is added on top. All are included in the price of €2.04 per m³ for a household connected to drainage and the treatment plant, which also pays a fixed monthly part.; Checked 19 Oct 2026 · Source: Vodoopskrba i odvodnja: cijena vodne usluge za Grad Zagreb od 1. 3. 2026.; More in the guide
Weighted floor area (vrijednosna površina)simplified: The Building Management Act defines it as the net floor area under point 5.1.7 of the HRN ISO 9836 standard, with coefficients for usable value. The reserve fund is charged on weighted floor area or on the co-ownership shares registered in the land register, and co-owners may agree a different key (Art. 28). Majorities in co-owners' decisions are counted the same way, not by head count. It isn't necessarily the m² figure in a listing.; Checked 23 Oct 2026 · Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 4., 28. i 29.; More in the guide

Common questions

What is 'landlord' in Croatian?

Najmodavac, the word laws and leases use, or stanodavac in everyday speech and ads. The tenant is the najmoprimac, or podstanar in everyday speech; a subtenant is a podnajmoprimac.

What does režije mean?

Utilities: electricity, gas or heating, water, waste collection and the other monthly bills of a flat. The reserve fund (pričuva) is owed by the owner by law and is the tenant's only if the lease says so. An ad saying “režije nisu uključene” means you pay the bills separately, on top of the rent; the lease should say which ones.

What is a polog?

The deposit: money paid at the start of a lease as security and returned at the end, minus debts that are due, such as unpaid rent, bills or damage you caused (not ordinary wear, unless the lease says otherwise). The lease sets the amount and when it's returned. It isn't a kapara, which under Croatian law is a sign that a contract has been made.