Floor area of a flat in Croatia: which m² counts for which bill

Why one flat has several m² figures

Each bill tied to a flat uses its own area, and they aren't all the same:

• the m² in a listing: no rule says how it's stated
• net useful areaUseful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary: for the communal feeCommunal fee (komunalna naknada)simplifiedA public charge paid to the City for maintaining communal infrastructure, per m² of useful floor area. The owner pays it unless a written contract moves it to the tenant.Source: Zakon o komunalnom gospodarstvu (NN 68/18 … 145/24), čl. 93. i 94., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and property taxProperty tax (porez na nekretnine)simplifiedA yearly local tax per m² of useful floor area on homes not used for permanent living. In Zagreb it's €8 per m² from 1 January 2027 (€5 in 2026).Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary
• weighted areaWeighted floor area (vrijednosna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area weighted by the usable value of its parts. A building's reserve fund and co-owners' majorities are counted by it or by registered shares.Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 4., 28. i 29., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary or registered co-ownership shares: for the building reserve
• the flat's area in the heating bill, and from 1 September 2028 the heated area from the heating design
• the heated useful area: for the energy classEnergy class (energetski razred)simplifiedA rating from A+ (best) to G (worst) on the energy certificate, based on the yearly energy needed for heating and the primary energy per m².Source: Pravilnik o energetskom pregledu zgrade i energetskom certificiranju (NN 88/17 … 40/25), čl. 17. i Prilog 1., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary in the certificate

The m² in a listing: what we don't know

No rule says how floor area is stated in a listing. So we don't know whether it's net or gross, or whether a balconyBalcony and terrace (balkon, terasa)A balcony projects from the building's façade; a terrace is a level surface on or next to the building, covered or open. Both count only in part in floor-area figures.Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–5., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary, loggiaLoggia (lođa)An outdoor space of a flat set into the body of the building and open on one side. Unlike a balcony, it doesn't project from the façade.Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–6., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary or storeroom is included, and we can't say which figure is "right". Ask the advertiser, and if it matters, ask to see the communal-fee decision, which states the area it's charged on.

Keep this in mind when comparing rent per m²: two flats with the same listed area can differ by a whole balcony. Rents by neighbourhood and per m² are in Rent by neighbourhood.

Net useful area: balcony, loggia and terrace

The protected-rent regulation points to the rulebook for flats in the state-subsidised POS programme (Art. 19), which counts net useful areaUseful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary like this:

• all indoor rooms: in full
• a loggiaLoggia (lođa)An outdoor space of a flat set into the body of the building and open on one side. Unlike a balcony, it doesn't project from the façade.Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–6., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary: 75%
• a covered terraceBalcony and terrace (balkon, terasa)A balcony projects from the building's façade; a terrace is a level surface on or next to the building, covered or open. Both count only in part in floor-area figures.Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–5., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and a storeroom outside the flat: 50%
• a balcony and an open terrace: 25%

Areas are measured from the finished walls and floors. The rulebook on floor areas in building designs (NN 90/10) uses the same coefficients for loggias, terraces and balconies, but it covers gross area in a building design, not a flat's useful area.

The POS rulebook was made under an act repealed on 7 May 2026. The Affordable Housing Act (Art. 98) keeps it in force until a new rulebook (Art. 16), which hadn't been published by 23 October 2026. We'll re-check this section when it is.

Attics and sloped ceilings

In an attic flat or under a sloped ceiling, 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 regulation, Art. 4(2)). In a building design (gross area), attic parts lower than 2 m aren't counted at all (NN 90/10, Art. 7).

The communal fee and property tax

The communal feeCommunal fee (komunalna naknada)simplifiedA public charge paid to the City for maintaining communal infrastructure, per m² of useful floor area. The owner pays it unless a written contract moves it to the tenant.Source: Zakon o komunalnom gospodarstvu (NN 68/18 … 145/24), čl. 93. i 94., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is charged per m² of useful areaUseful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary set under the protected-rent regulation (Communal Services Act, Art. 99), and property taxProperty tax (porez na nekretnine)simplifiedA yearly local tax per m² of useful floor area on homes not used for permanent living. In Zagreb it's €8 per m² from 1 January 2027 (€5 in 2026).Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary per m² of useful area under the same rule (Local Taxes Act, Art. 26). The city sends the tax body the communal-fee records (Art. 49b(3)), so for one flat both use the same area.

The area is in the communal-fee decision. A property-tax payer reports a change of the charged area to the tax body by 31 March (Art. 49a). How the empty-flat tax works from 2027 is in our property tax guide, and who pays the fee in a rental in Who pays what.

The building reserve (pričuva)

The reserve is charged on the weighted areaWeighted floor area (vrijednosna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area weighted by the usable value of its parts. A building's reserve fund and co-owners' majorities are counted by it or by registered shares.Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 4., 28. i 29., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary of the building's units or on the co-ownership shares registered in the land register, and co-owners may agree a different key (Building Management and Maintenance Act, Art. 28). Weighted area is the net floor areaUseful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary under HRN ISO 9836 with usable-value coefficients (Art. 4(19)); the act doesn't list them and we haven't read the standard, so we don't give them.

Heat allocators and heating by area

In a building with heat allocatorsHeat cost allocator (razdjelnik)A device on a radiator that records how much heat a flat uses, so the building's district-heating bill can be split among the flats. It isn't a billing meter.Source: Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o tržištu toplinske energije (NN 67/2025), čl. 2. i 31., checked 21 Oct 2026More in the glossary, part of the heating cost is split by the flat's area. The current rules don't say which area. From 1 September 2028 it's the heated area: the total floor area of the heated part per the central-heating design or the building's technical-system report (NN 140/25, Art. 2; start date per NN 84/26). More in our heat allocators guide.

The energy certificate

The energy classEnergy class (energetski razred)simplifiedA rating from A+ (best) to G (worst) on the energy certificate, based on the yearly energy needed for heating and the primary energy per m².Source: Pravilnik o energetskom pregledu zgrade i energetskom certificiranju (NN 88/17 … 40/25), čl. 17. i Prilog 1., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is worked out per m² of the heated useful areaUseful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary, which is the net floor area of the heated part, without unheated rooms such as storerooms and stairwells (energy certification rulebook, Art. 3(19), NN 40/25). So balconiesBalcony and terrace (balkon, terasa)A balcony projects from the building's façade; a terrace is a level surface on or next to the building, covered or open. Both count only in part in floor-area figures.Source: Pravilnik o načinu obračuna površine i obujma u projektima zgrada (NN 90/10), čl. 4.–5., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and unheated rooms aren't in that figure. More in our energy certificate guide.

Frequently asked questions