A lease in English in Croatia: is it valid, and what do the notary, police and Porezna uprava need?

Is a lease in English valid in Croatia?

The Housing Lease Act requires a written lease and lists what it contains (Arts. 4 and 5), but sets no language. What the Act doesn't set, the parties agree freely (Art. 3). So a lease in English or in two languages isn't invalid because of its language.

The Croatian Language Act binds public bodies and public notices and expressly leaves private communication alone (Art. 6). In our reading a lease between private people isn't covered.

What the law asks of a lease: writing and contents

In any language, a lease contains in particular (Housing Lease Act, Art. 5):

• the parties and the flat,
• the rent and how it's paid,
• housing costs and who pays them,
• the people living with the tenant,
• how long the lease runs,
• upkeep of the flat and the building's common parts, and the handover.

What else to check before you sign is in the Lease contract checklist.

A bilingual lease: what the rules say, and what they don't

No regulation says which language version of a bilingual lease prevails. Since the parties agree freely on what the Act doesn't set (Art. 3), we suggest writing that into the lease yourselves.

Our advice is to include a Croatian text, because of the police and Porezna uprava: more on that below.

Certifying signatures on an English lease at a notary

A notary may certify signatures on a lease that isn't in Croatian and isn't responsible for its content (Notaries Act, Art. 77). The notary's fee is €6 per signature, before VAT and the state notarial fee.

A signature certificationSignature certification (ovjera potpisa)simplifiedA notary confirms that the signature on a document is yours but doesn't check its content. The fee is €6 per signature, before VAT and the state fee.Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 77., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary usually needs no interpreter; the law requires one only if the signer is blind or can't read and the notary doesn't know the lease's language. Everything about certification and costs is in Notarising a lease in Croatia.

Solemnisation, and when you need a court interpreter

For a notarial deed, the notary must call a court interpreter if a party doesn't speak Croatian, unless the notary or their associate (prisjednik) speaks that party's language; the act is then written in Croatian, with a translation sewn to it on request (Art. 68). By our reading the same applies to a solemnisedSolemnisation (solemnizacija)simplifiedA notary confirms a contract: checks it, explains the consequences and gives it the force of a notarial deed. With an enforcement clause it becomes an enforcement title.Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 54. i 59., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary lease, so ask when you book.

Some notaries and their associates, advisers or trainees are court interpreters too and, once authorised by the ministry, may make and certify a translation (Arts. 35 and 76).

Registering your address with the police: EU and non-EU nationals

To register an address, a non-EU national attaches a lease certified by a notary or Porezna uprava; the rules don't set the lease's language (Rulebook on the stay of third-country nationals, Art. 77). The address must be registered within 15 days of arriving or moving, and missing it carries a fine of €50 to €700 (Foreigners Act, Arts. 178 and 251).

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens attach a lease certified by a notary or the finance ministry (Porezna uprava is part of it), or the owner signs form 6b in person at the police.

The residence rules require a certified Croatian translation of foreign documents, and no official source says whether that covers an English lease signed in Croatia. So our advice is a bilingual lease (with a Croatian text).

The whole procedure for foreigners is in Renting in Zagreb as a foreigner.

Digital nomads: address, lease and extension

A digital nomad's temporary stay is granted for up to 18 months, and if granted for less, it can be extended once (Foreigners Act, Art. 61). Copies of documents may be in Croatian or English.

If you have no address in Croatia yet, the first application can give a confirmed hotel or hostel booking; for an extension MUP asks for a lease certified by a notary. Until the permit comes, a short stay is registered within one day by whoever hosts you (Art. 177).

Porezna uprava: filing the lease, and translations

The landlord files the lease with Porezna uprava within 8 days of the lease being made or the let starting, unless a notary certified the landlord's signature, solemnisedSolemnisation (solemnizacija)simplifiedA notary confirms a contract: checks it, explains the consequences and gives it the force of a notarial deed. With an enforcement clause it becomes an enforcement title.Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 54. i 59., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary the lease or drew it up as a notarial deed, in which case the notary sends it within 30 days (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 Act, Art. 62). The steps are in Reporting a lease in Croatia.

If a landlord files a lease only in English, Porezna uprava sets a deadline for a certified Croatian translation, and if none arrives it translates the lease at the landlord's cost (General Tax Act, Art. 6).

Before you sign: a short checklist for foreigners

This is our advice, not a legal requirement.

1. 1Agree on the language: we suggest a bilingual lease with a Croatian text, to avoid translation questions with the police and Porezna uprava.
2. 2If the lease has two versions, write which one prevails if they differ (no rule decides it).
3. 3Check it contains everything Art. 5 of the Housing Lease Act asks for.
4. 4Agree with the landlord to have the lease certified by a notary or Porezna uprava: a non-EU national can't register an address without it, and for EU citizens the owner can sign form 6b at the police instead.
5. 5Register your address within 15 days of moving in.

Frequently asked questions