Agency fees when renting a flat in Croatia (2026)

Who pays: the tenant, the owner or both

An agency may advertise a flat only under a brokerage contract with the owner (Art. 22). The owner is its client (nalogodavac); as a tenant, you're a “third person” until you sign a contract yourself (Art. 4). The Act calls the fee posrednička naknada.

• No contract, no fee: an agency can't charge a tenant who hasn't signed a brokerage contract (Art. 29(7)).
• It may charge both the owner and you, but only with a separate contract with each (Art. 30(1)). The law doesn't say which side pays.

According to the Ministry of Economy, a viewing, an enquiry or information about the flat creates no duty to pay. You sign a contract if you want the agency to work for you, say to find you a flat or negotiate for you.

How to rent without an agency, and what to watch for, is in our guide to renting without an agency.

The brokerage contract: what it must say

The contract is written and for a fixed term, 12 months if none is agreed. It must state both parties' details, what is brokered and the type of deal, the fee, any extra services and costs with who pays them, and the agency's register number (Art. 17).

The agency's dated price list is part of the contract, and you sign it too. The Ministry says you must be able to see it and the general terms before signing. The contract can't exclude or limit the Act, unless the Act expressly allows it or it's clearly in your interest.

When the fee is due

• The agency earns its fee only once the lease it brokered is signed, unless a pre-contract was agreed as the trigger (Art. 29(1)).
• It can't ask for any part of the fee in advance (Art. 29(2)).
• If the brokerage contract ends and you later sign a lease that results from the agency's work while it ran, you owe the full fee (Art. 19(3)). The Act sets no time limit; the agency must prove the link, the Ministry says.

Viewings and the viewing confirmation

An agency can't make a viewing depend on signing a contract first; the fine is €3,000 to €6,000 (Arts. 23 and 36). At the viewing you sign a confirmation proving to the owner that the agency showed you the flat. It isn't a contract and can't oblige you to pay.

In the Ministry's reading, an agency may refuse the viewing if you won't sign it. It may record that you learned of the flat through the agency, but can't oblige you to sign a contract, pay a fee or go through the agency for everything, or bar you from contacting the owner.

What listings on NajamStanova.com ask

The law sets no amount: it's agreed under the agency's price list (Arts. 17 and 28). When the agency has contracts with both sides, the law caps the total (Art. 30): together they can't pay more than the price list's highest fee, and a sole payer can be charged at most half. If that fee is, say, one month's rent, the cap is one rent for both together or half a rent for one.

The table shows the fees active listings on NajamStanova.com state, and how many say nothing. It updates itself.

For agency listings we count only explicit statements, such as “provizija: jedna najamninaRent (najamnina)simplifiedWhat the tenant pays the landlord for the use of the flat. In market leases it's agreed freely; the lease and the law limit changes during the tenancy.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3., 6., 9. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary” (fee: one month's rent). A listing that doesn't mention a fee isn't a no-fee listing: it shows “not stated”. The “No agency feeAgency fee (agencijska provizija)simplifiedThe fee for an agency's brokerage. Only someone who has signed a written brokerage contract with the agency pays it, as a rule once the lease is signed.Source: Zakon o posredovanju u prometu nekretnina (NN 69/2026), čl. 23., 28. i 29., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary” row includes flats owners posted with us themselves. A listing shows what the agency asks; only the contract you sign binds you.

You can also show only listings with no agency fee or listings from owners.

If you let your flat through an agency

• The agency may advertise your flat only under a signed contract, and the ad must show its company name and address (Art. 22).
• Exclusive brokerage must be expressly agreed (Art. 18). If you let the flat through another agency while it runs, you owe the first one the agreed fee. The Ministry says exclusivity can't stop you letting the flat yourself.
• You don't have to let the flat to the person the agency found. Acting in bad faith makes you liable for damage and for costs of a third up to the full agreed fee (Art. 25).
• The agency must tell you the average market price of similar flats, check the ownership documents and tell you everything important for the letting (Art. 24). It owes the same to a tenant who signed a contract with it. Our rent estimate shows what similar flats ask.

The fee covers connecting you with a tenant, checking the property's state and the preparatory steps for signing the lease (Art. 20). The Ministry says that excludes a handover recordHandover record (zapisnik o primopredaji)A record of the flat's condition that landlord and tenant draw up together at handover. It's the evidence if damage or the deposit is disputed when the lease ends.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 12., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and meter readings unless agreed separately. You can draw up the record yourself with our handover form.

How to check an agency, and where to complain

• Only companies and sole traders (obrti) with a Ministry of Economy decision, entered in the register of brokers kept by the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), may broker for a fee (Arts. 5, 8 and 9).
• The register is public and online (Art. 12), on the Digitalna komora portal. Check the agency's register number against your contract.
• An agent must have passed the professional exam and be listed in the directory of agents (Art. 4).
• The agency must be insured for damage to its client or third persons, for at least €100,000 per incident (Art. 6).

Market inspectors of the Državni inspektorat (State Inspectorate) enforce the Act (Art. 34); report a breach with their online form or through e-Građani. Our rental scams guide covers fake listings, and you can check a listing you saw elsewhere with us.

What the new Act changed

The new Act replaced the 2007 one, which ceased to apply on 7 July 2026 (Arts. 44 and 45). A written contract, a fee only after the deal is signed and a ban on partial payment in advance all existed before. What's new:

• An explicit ban on charging a tenant without a contract (Art. 29). The Government said the fee had been left to the parties' agreement, so the cost sometimes fell on a buyer or tenant the agency had no contract with.
• A viewing can't depend on a contract, and the viewing confirmation isn't one (Art. 23).
• A ceiling from the price list when the agency charges both sides (Art. 30).
• Ads only with the owner's contract, and with the agency's address (Art. 22).
• The advance ban now covers full payment too, not only partial payment (Art. 29). The right to a fee after a contract ends is no longer limited to 12 months (Art. 19).

Brokerage contracts signed before 7 July 2026 remain valid. The Ministry's answers differ on which rules govern them: one says the rules in force when they were signed, another says the new Act for what the agency does after that date. A viewing confirmation signed before 7 July 2026 can't, the Ministry says, be the basis for charging someone without a contract. Other moving-in costs are in our cost guide, and what to check in a lease in our lease checklist.

Frequently asked questions