How to rent out your flat in Zagreb

In short: seven steps

1. 1Set the rent by comparing similar listings nearby.
2. 2Get the flat, the energy certificateEnergy certificate (energetski certifikat)simplifiedA document on the energy performance of a building or flat. Before letting, the owner must get one, show it to prospective tenants and hand over it or a copy.Source: Zakon o energetskoj učinkovitosti u zgradarstvu (NN 155/2025), čl. 13., 14. i 70., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and the bills ready.
3. 3Photograph the flat and post a listing.
4. 4Show the flat and choose a tenant.
5. 5Sign a written lease and, at the handover, a record of the flat's condition.
6. 6Report the lease to Porezna uprava (8 days) and a let of over three months to the police (15 days).
7. 7Pay the income taxIncome tax on rent (porez na dohodak)simplifiedThe tax a private landlord pays on rent: 12% of the rent less 30% for expenses, i.e. 8.4% of the rent. It's paid monthly under a Tax Administration decision.Source: Zakon o porezu na dohodak, čl. 57. i 62., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary on the rent.

The same steps with your own dates and deadlines, ticks and a calendar: the letting plan.

How much to ask

Start from the asking rents of similar flats nearby. Our rent estimate does the comparing for you: pick the neighbourhood, the number of rooms and, optionally, the size to see the usual range and the median.

It uses long-term listings in Zagreb seen in the last 90 days, from agencies and owners, with the same number of rooms in the same neighbourhood. With fewer than 12, it widens to the whole district; with too few there, it gives no estimate. The range is the middle half of the listings, and with the size it works per m². From the result, you can start a listing with the details and price filled in.

These are asking rents, not agreed rents. Furnishing, condition, floor and parking move the price, so place your flat within the range by what it offers.

Get the flat and the paperwork ready

Under the Zakon o najmu stanova (the Housing Lease Act), you hand over the flat fit to live in, keep it that way and pay for necessary repairs. Fix any faults before the first viewing.

You also need an energy certificateEnergy certificate (energetski certifikat)simplifiedA document on the energy performance of a building or flat. Before letting, the owner must get one, show it to prospective tenants and hand over it or a copy.Source: Zakon o energetskoj učinkovitosti u zgradarstvu (NN 155/2025), čl. 13., 14. i 70., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary. Under the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Act (NN 155/2025), in force since 1 January 2026, the owner must:

• get the certificate before letting
• show it to prospective tenants
• give the tenant the certificate or a copy
• state 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 listing

A licensed assessor issues it, and it's valid for ten years. How to get one, when the building's shared certificate covers your flat and how to check an existing one are in our guide to energy certificates for renting.

A private owner who doesn't get or hand over the certificate, or leaves the energy class out of the listing, can be fined €1,000 to €2,000 (Art. 70). Art. 13 lists exceptions, such as homes used less than four months a year.

The Housing Lease Act doesn't say who pays which bills, but the lease must state the types of living costs and how they're paid. Keep a few months of bills so you can quote a real average.

• Electricity: with HEP ODS form 8 (Zahtjev 8), filed through the chosen supplier, the grid contract can be transferred to the tenant temporarily. You both sign it, fill in both OIBs (tax numbers) and a meter reading no older than 10 days, and attach the lease.
• Waste: with the lease and the “Zahtjev za promjenom korisnika” form, you can ask for the waste-collection bills to be issued in the tenant's name.
• Reserve fund (pričuva)Reserve fund (pričuva)simplifiedMoney the co-owners pay each month to maintain the building's common parts and run it. The flat's owner owes it to the building, not the tenant.Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 28. i 29., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary: you pay it as a co-owner, and you tell the co-owners' representativeCo-owners' representative (predstavnik suvlasnika)simplifiedThe co-owner whom a building's owners elect to represent them in running it and to work with the manager. An owner must report a change of tenant to them within 15 days.Source: Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (NN 152/24, 47/26), čl. 41. i 42., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary about a change of tenant within 15 days.
• Communal fee (komunalna naknada)Communal 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: the owner pays it unless a written contract passes it to the tenant, and stays jointly liable even then.

At the handover, you and the tenant draw up a record of the flat's condition (zapisnik). Add the furniture and appliances, meter readings and photos, so the depositDeposit (polog)simplifiedMoney the tenant pays as security for unpaid rent, bills or damage, and gets back at the end of the lease. The lease sets the amount and when it's returned.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3. i 17., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is settled fairly later.

Photos and the listing

Photograph the flat tidy, in daylight: every room, the kitchen, bathroom and 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. The first photo becomes the cover. A good listing states up front:

• the rent and what it includes
• which bills the tenant pays, and roughly how much
• the depositDeposit (polog)simplifiedMoney the tenant pays as security for unpaid rent, bills or damage, and gets back at the end of the lease. The lease sets the amount and when it's returned.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3. i 17., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and when it's returned
• when the flat is available and the minimum lease
• whether pets are allowed
• 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, which the law requires

On NajamStanova.com, posting, editing and renewing are free. Paste your existing ad's text and AI fills in the form for you to check, or fill it in by hand: neighbourhood, rent, size, rooms, bills and at least one photo are required, and anything left out shows as “not stated”.

Add up to 15 photos straight from your phone; we strip hidden data such as the location before upload. You sign in only to publish, with Google or an emailed code. The listing runs 30 days on the Croatian and English versions of the site, and renewing takes one click. Your number shows only when a visitor clicks “Show number”, and your email address never does.

In the default “Recommended” order, owners' listings and fuller ones (three or more photos, bills and deposit stated) rank higher.

How to choose a tenant

This is our advice, not a legal rule:

• Show the flat yourself and meet everyone who'll live there; the lease has to name them anyway.
• Ask what matters: from when, for how long, who'll live there, any pets.
• At signing, look at their ID card or passport and check it against the lease.
• Hand over the keys only once the lease is signed and the depositDeposit (polog)simplifiedMoney the tenant pays as security for unpaid rent, bills or damage, and gets back at the end of the lease. The lease sets the amount and when it's returned.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3. i 17., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary and first rent have reached your bank account, so the payments leave a record.

The Anti-Discrimination Act (Zakon o suzbijanju diskriminacije) expressly applies to housing. Decide on what matters for the let, not on traits the Act protects, such as ethnic origin, religion, sex, family status, health or disability.

How to let your flat through an agency

A new Real Estate Brokerage Act (NN 69/2026) has been in force since 7 July 2026. For owners, it means:

• The brokerage contract is written and for a fixed term (12 months if none is agreed). Without one, an agency may not advertise your flat.
• The contract must state the fee and any extra costs, and the agency's price list on the day you sign is part of it.
• Exclusivity must be expressly agreed; if you let through another agency while it runs, you still owe the first one its fee.
• The agency earns its fee only once the brokered lease is signed (or a pre-contract, if that was agreed) and can't ask for it in advance.
• If a lease you sign after the brokerage contract ends results from the agency's earlier work, you owe the full fee unless agreed otherwise.

You can also advertise the flat yourself. On NajamStanova.com that's free.

The lease

A lease must be in writing. Under the Housing Lease Act it names, among other things, the parties, the flat, the rent and its payment, the types of living costs and how they're paid, who else lives there, and the term. Our lease contract checklist goes through it point by point.

• DepositDeposit (polog)simplifiedMoney the tenant pays as security for unpaid rent, bills or damage, and gets back at the end of the lease. The lease sets the amount and when it's returned.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3. i 17., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary: the Act sets no rule or cap, so write down the amount, when it's returned and what may be deducted.
• A fixed-term lease renews for the same term unless either side tells the other in writing, at least 30 days before it ends, that it won't renew.
• You can end it on grounds the Act lists, such as unpaid rent, usually after a written warning giving the tenant 30 days to put it right. Notice is written, with reasons, and runs three months.
• The tenant must let you in for necessary repairs and to check how the flat is used. The Act sets no notice periodNotice to end a lease (otkaz ugovora o najmu)simplifiedA statement by which landlord or tenant ends a lease. A tenant gives at least three months' notice on an open-ended lease; a landlord may only give notice on legal grounds.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 19.–25., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary, so put one in the lease.

The tenant registers their residence at the flat. A Croatian citizen needs your consent: notarised, given in person at the police or through e-Građani. Instead, they can attach a lease certified by a notary. A third-country national (from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland) needs a lease certified by a notary or Porezna uprava; for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens you can instead sign your consent on Obrazac 6b at the police. See our guide for foreigners.

In July 2026 the Government presented a draft new Housing Lease Act and put it to public consultation. It hasn't been passed, so this guide describes the rules in force.

Reporting the lease, and tax

• Porezna uprava: hand the lease to the office for your place of residence within 8 days of the lease being made or the let starting. If a notary certified your signature or the lease itself, the notary sends it for you.
• City of Zagreb: send a copy to the City's responsible department too. Report any change of rent to both the City and Porezna uprava.
• Police: if you let the flat to someone for more than three months, give the police the tenant's details and the flat's address within 15 days. This duty comes from the Residence Act, which governs the residence of Croatian citizens. Whether it also covers a foreign tenant is not confirmed; what applies to foreigners is in our guide to letting to foreign tenants.
• Income taxIncome tax on rent (porez na dohodak)simplifiedThe tax a private landlord pays on rent: 12% of the rent less 30% for expenses, i.e. 8.4% of the rent. It's paid monthly under a Tax Administration decision.Source: Zakon o porezu na dohodak, čl. 57. i 62., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary: 12% on the rent after a 30% allowance for expenses, which is 8.4% of the rent. Porezna uprava sets it in a tax decision, and it's paid monthly, by the last day of each month. If your total receipts in a year pass the threshold for compulsory VAT registration, it's assessed as self-employment income instead. Work out your amount, and see the 8-day report and what applies when a lease ends, in the rental income tax calculator.
• 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: from 2027, an empty flat in Zagreb is taxed at €8 per m² a year. A flat let long-term for at least 10 months of the year is exempt if the lease is reported to Porezna uprava and the tenant has registered residence there.

Steps and deadlines are in our lease-reporting checklist, and what an empty flat would cost is in our guide to Zagreb's 2027 property tax. Porezna uprava explains the official rules (in Croatian).

Frequently asked questions