Letting your flat to a foreign tenant in Croatia: the lease, registration and tax

What depends on the tenant's nationality, and what doesn't

The Housing Lease Act (Zakon o najmu stanova) sets no nationality or residence condition for a tenant. A foreign tenant gets the same written lease, the same contents and the same notice and handover rules as anyone else (Arts. 4 and 5). 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 and the property-tax rules don't differ either (whether the Tax Administration accepts a foreigner's registration, see below).

Two things depend on nationality: what the tenant needs from you to register their address, and one registration the law puts on whoever provides the accommodation. The duties are split like this:

• You, the landlord: you sign a written lease, report it to the Tax Administration within 8 days and give the tenant the document they need to register their address. If a third-country national on a short stay is staying with you, you register their accommodation within one day (the Act puts it on whoever provides the accommodation; whether MUP applies it to a separate flat is not confirmed, see below).
• The tenant: registers their stay and address with the police and answers for their own legal stay.
• The employer: answers for the standard of housing it provides for its third-country workers.

This guide covers long-term lettingLong-term letting (dugoročni najam)simplifiedLetting a flat as someone's home under the Housing Lease Act. It also decides the property-tax exemption: the flat must be let for at least ten months of the year.Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 27., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary. The Housing Lease Act doesn't apply to temporary accommodation (“turisti, đaci i sl.”: tourists, pupils and the like; Art. 27); a short stay is usually tourist letting, under different rules.

A lease with a foreigner: the same law, in any language

A foreign tenant needs no special lease, and no language is prescribed. The Housing Lease Act doesn't mention language, and the Croatian Language Act doesn't govern private communication (Art. 6). Terms the Act doesn't set are agreed freely (Housing Lease Act, Art. 3).

No rule says which version of a bilingual lease prevails. Our advice is to write that into the lease.

For the notary, the Tax Administration and the police, the language still matters:

• A notary may certify signatures on a lease that isn't in Croatian and doesn't answer for its content. Certification costs €6 per signature. For a notarial deed, and on our reading for solemnisationSolemnisation (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 too, a court interpreter is needed if a party doesn't know Croatian and the notary doesn't speak their language (Notaries Act, Arts. 68 and 77).
• If a notary certified your signature or solemnised the lease, the notary sends it to the Tax Administration within 30 days, and your 8-day duty falls away (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).
• Given a document in a foreign language, the Tax Administration sets a deadline for a certified Croatian translation and, if you don't provide one, translates it at your cost (General Tax Act, Art. 6).
• The police want certified Croatian translations of foreign documents (rulebook on the stay of third-country nationals, Art. 3). Whether an English lease signed in Croatia counts as one is not confirmed. That's why we advise a bilingual lease.

A third-country tenant needs a lease certified by a notary or the Tax Administration to register their address (see below). What certification at the Tax Administration involves in practice, which office does it, what it costs and whether it's the same as the 8-day report, is not confirmed: the Tax Administration's website says nothing about it.

More on language in our guide to a lease in English, and on certification in our guide to notarising a lease.

What your tenant needs from you to register their address

The tenant registers their stay and address, not you. Without the document you give them, though, the registration doesn't go through. What they need depends on whether they're an EU citizen, a third-country national or under temporary protection.

An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen:

• Can stay up to three months with no duty to register. Staying longer, they register temporary residenceTemporary address (boravište)simplifiedThe address where you live for a while without settling there for good. You register it with the police within 15 days if you'll stay longer than three months.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2., 4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary no later than eight days after the three months end, and their address within 15 days of arriving there (Act on EEA nationals, Arts. 11, 15 and 41).
• Needs from you a lease certified by a notary or the Ministry of Finance, or you sign Obrazac 6b in person at the police (EEA rulebook, Art. 29).
• Registering the address late carries a fine of €60 for the tenant, and registering temporary residence late €20 (Art. 73).
• That Act puts no registration duty on a landlord or host. A non-EEA family member travelling alone registers their accommodation address under the Foreigners Act (Art. 12).

A third-country national (from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland) on temporary, long-term or permanent stay:

• Registers their residence and address within 15 days of entering Croatia or of moving. Missing it carries a fine of €50 to €700 for them (Foreigners Act, Arts. 178 and 251).
• Since 30 April 2026, needs from you a lease certified by a notary or the Tax Administration. The rulebook also accepts a land-registry extract, consent from a family member who owns the flat or a statement from an employer who owns it (rulebook on the stay of third-country nationals, Art. 77).
• When their stay is extended at the same address, a new lease is needed only if the old one doesn't cover the new period.
• The address is printed on the biometric residence card, so after a change of details the tenant applies for a new card within 8 days (Foreigners Act, Art. 171).
• The police refuse registration at an address where more people are already registered than the floor area allows (for workers on certain work-and-residence permits), and at an address missing from the register of spatial units (Arts. 178 and 179).

In its notice of 31 August 2026, the Zagreb police administration also lists “suglasnost i os. iskaznica stanodavca” (the landlord's consent and ID card) as an option. The rulebook doesn't, so whether a plain consent from a landlord who isn't family still works is not confirmed. Plan on a certified lease.

If more than four adult third-country nationals who aren't related would live in one flat in a building with at least four flats, registration also needs the co-owners' written consent (rulebook, Art. 77). The same consent rule applies to any tenants, whatever their nationality, and letting without it carries a fine of €1,000 to €5,500 for the owner (Act on the Management and Maintenance of Buildings, Arts. 35 and 58).

A person under temporary protection (displaced from Ukraine):

• The temporary-protection card counts as a residence permit, and holders work without a work permit (Act on International and Temporary Protection, Arts. 85 and 86).
• Registers a change of address within 2 days on Obrazac 11, with proof of housing: “ugovor o najmuLease (ugovor o najmu stana)simplifiedThe contract by which a landlord lets a flat to a tenant for rent. It must be in writing; having it certified by a notary isn't compulsory today.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3.–5. i 26., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary stana, izjava stanodavca” (a lease or a landlord's statement). No certification is mentioned. Which article of the Act sets the 2 days is not confirmed.

How registration looks from the tenant's side is in our guides to renting in Zagreb as a foreigner and registering your address.

Short stays: the accommodation is registered within one day

Unlike address registration, this registration is the duty of whoever provides the accommodation. It concerns a third-country national on a short stay: visa-free or on a C visa, up to 90 days in any 180. The Foreigners Act says the legal or natural person who provided the accommodation must register it within one day of arrival (Arts. 176 and 177).

• If the host is abroad or can't file it, the foreigner registers themselves within 2 days.
• The registration gives a departure date. With none, it lasts 90 days. Changes are reported within one day.
• According to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, it's filed through eVisitor or at the police.
• A private host who isn't a registered accommodation provider files electronically “sukladno posebnom propisu” (under a separate regulation), at the tourist board, or in person at the police on Obrazac 16a, though under the rulebook in person only for family members (“samo prijava članova obitelji uz dokaz o srodstvu”: only family members, with proof of kinship). They attach a statement under liability that they own the flat or the owner agrees (rulebook on the stay of third-country nationals, Art. 76). Which electronic route a non-registered landlord uses is not confirmed.

A natural person who doesn't register a short-stay foreigner within one day, leaves out the departure date or gives incomplete details faces a fine of €30 to €260 (Foreigners Act, Art. 252).

Who this reaches in a long-term letLong-term letting (dugoročni najam)simplifiedLetting a flat as someone's home under the Housing Lease Act. It also decides the property-tax exemption: the flat must be let for at least ten months of the year.Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 27., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is our reading: a third-country national who moves in before their temporary stay is approved, such as a visa-free digital nomad applying from inside Croatia, until they register as a foreigner on temporary stay. Whether MUP applies this duty to a landlord of a separate flat is not confirmed: the rulebook says “fizička osoba kod koje boravi” (the natural person with whom they stay).

Registered accommodation providers keep records of third-country guests and also register residents on temporary stay (Arts. 177 and 180). On our reading, a private long-term landlord isn't such a provider.

Our advice: if a third-country tenant without approved temporary stay is moving in, register the accommodation within one day, or check with the police before they move in.

Reporting a let to the police within 15 days: does it apply to foreign tenants?

Whoever gives a flat to someone else to use for more than three months tells the police within 15 days (Residence Act, Art. 10). Missing it carries a fine of €60 to €660 (Art. 16).

That Act governs “prebivališta i boravišta hrvatskih državljana”, the residence of Croatian citizens (Art. 1). Neither the Foreigners Act nor the Act on EEA nationals has a similar duty for a long-term landlord, apart from the short-stay registration above. Whether the Residence Act duty also covers a foreign tenant is not confirmed. To be safe, ask the police administration before the tenant moves in.

When a third-country tenant moves out, the police deregister their residence ex officio after a field check, including when “druge pravne ili fizičke osobe” (other legal or natural persons) inform them (Foreigners Act, Art. 179). On our reading, you may tell the police yourself.

Can you ask to see a residence permit?

A third-country national must show their passport or residence permit “na zahtjev službene osobe”, when an official asks (Foreigners Act, Art. 167). We found no rule giving a private landlord a right to inspect one. On our reading, you may ask, and the tenant may decline.

The Act prohibits helping a foreigner “u nezakonitom boravku” (staying illegally), humanitarian help excepted (Art. 53). For a natural person the penalty is up to 60 days in prison or a fine of €3,000 for each foreigner (Art. 249). Doing it “iz koristoljublja” (for gain) is a crime carrying one to eight years in prison (Criminal Code, Art. 326).

Whether letting a flat to someone whose stay has lapsed counts as such help is not confirmed. On our reading, that's exactly why it's legitimate to see a valid residence card, temporary-protection card or EU ID card.

Legal stay is the tenant's and their employer's duty, not yours. The tenant registers their own address. The employer tells the police when employment ends (Art. 95), and if it posts a worker elsewhere, it may register the new address itself (Art. 178).

The law asks no general “izjava o osiguranom smještaju” (statement of secured housing) from a landlord: housing isn't among the conditions for temporary stay (Art. 59). Proof of adequate housing is required for a seasonal permit (Art. 104), for a permit based on an HZZ opinion when the employer provides or arranges the housing (Art. 97), and for pupil exchanges. A guarantee letter (jamstveno pismo) is a visa matter (Art. 18).

The Ombudswoman has recorded employers taking workers' passports or residence cards and threatening to end their housing. Our advice: look at the document, don't keep it.

Letting to an employer for foreign workers

When an employer rents the flat and houses third-country workers in it, the employer answers for the standard of housing. The rules require at least 14 m² for one worker and 6 m² for each additional one, at most eight workers in a flat, and rent of at most 30% of net pay, never deducted from pay automatically. An employer that is a legal person faces a fine of €1,500 to €3,000 for inadequate housing (Foreigners Act, Arts. 103.f and 251; rulebook, Arts. 48 and 49).

For a permit based on an HZZ opinion or a seasonal permit, when the employer provides or arranges the housing, the application includes a lease certified by a notary or the Tax Administration, stating the rent, the floor area and the number of occupants, plus Obrazac 17a.

What stays with you as the owner: the lease, reporting it to the Tax Administration within 8 days, and the co-owners' consent if more than four unrelated adults would live in the flat.

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: according to the Tax Administration's opinion of 26 May 2026, a let to a legal person of under 10 months never qualifies for the exemption. A let of at least 10 months qualifies only if the same natural persons, with a registered address there, live in the flat throughout.

All the details are in our guide to housing for workers in Zagreb.

Tenants from Ukraine under temporary protection

Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine has been extended to 4 March 2027 by Government decision, automatically. Cards were re-stamped from 26 February to 30 May 2026. Whether protection continues after 4 March 2027 is not confirmed.

The state still pays for some of these lets. In the individual-housing programme, MUP's Civil Protection Directorate (Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite) signs the lease with the owner as the tenant, and the state pays the owner “trošak najma prostora i trošak režija” (the rent and utilitiesUtilities (režije)Housing costs on top of rent: electricity, gas or heating, water, waste, the reserve fund, the HRT licence fee and internet. The lease decides which the tenant pays.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 5., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary) once a month. Leases run 6 months and can be extended, since the decision of 17 September 2026 (NN 105/2026) up to 4 March 2028 at the latest.

The amounts, as amended in 2025 (NN 35/2025):

• for one person, €6.64 a day
• for a household, €5.31 for the first member, €3.98 for the second, €2.66 for the third and €1.33 for the fourth and each further member, a day
• at most €477.80 a month

The flat must have at least 30 m² for one person plus 5 m² for each additional one, a kitchen and a bathroom, and be furnishedFurnished flat (namješten stan)A flat let with furniture. The law doesn't say what a furnished or partly furnished flat must contain, so the listing and the lease spell it out.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 5. i 12., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary.

Offers go to MUP's public call: the form and documents to Nehajska 5, Zagreb, or to pojedinacni.smjestaj@mup.hr. Whether MUP still takes new owners in 2026 is not confirmed: the call's page is undated and still shows kuna amounts.

On 1 January 2026, 3,506 displaced persons lived in such flats and 2,134 in collective housing. MUP says individual housing costs several times less than collective housing.

We found no Tax Administration opinion on the tax on these payments. On our reading, it's rent under 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 Act (Arts. 56 and 57) with MUP as the tenant, so the 8-day report applies too (Art. 62). Whether the utilities part counts as rent is not confirmed.

Tax on the rent, the deposit and payments from abroad

The tax is the same as for any tenant: 12% on the rent after a 30% allowance, so 8.4% of the rent, paid monthly under the Tax Administration's decision. You hand the lease to the office for your own residence within 8 days. Neither article distinguishes tenants by nationality or residence (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, Arts. 57 and 62). The steps are in our guide to reporting a lease; work out the amount with the rental income tax calculator.

Rent in a foreign currency is converted to euros at the Croatian National Bank's middle rate on the day of payment (Art. 12). We found no special rule for rent paid from a foreign account.

Letting residential premises for living is exempt from VAT (VAT Act, Art. 40). Above €60,000 of receipts a year, the rental income is worked out from business books (Tax Administration opinion, 24 April 2026).

No law regulates 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: you agree its amount and return freely, whatever the tenant's nationality.

A bank transfer is its own evidence: after one, a receipt can be demanded only “ako za to ima opravdan razlog”, with good reason (Obligations Act, Art. 180). The €10,000 cash limit binds only persons with a registered business activity (Anti-Money Laundering Act, Art. 55), and a company tenant pays into your account (Income Tax Act, Art. 86). More in our guide to paying rent.

The 2027 property tax when the tenant is a foreigner

From 2027, 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 in Zagreb is €8 per m² a year. The owner pays it, Croatian or foreign, and the duty can't be moved to the tenant by contract. A flat let “na temelju ugovora o najmu za stalno stanovanje” (under a lease as a permanent home) for at least 10 months of the year is exempt. The lease must also be reported: “Ugovor o najmuLease (ugovor o najmu stana)simplifiedThe contract by which a landlord lets a flat to a tenant for rent. It must be in writing; having it certified by a notary isn't compulsory today.Source: Zakon o najmu stanova (NN 91/96 … 105/20), čl. 3.–5. i 26., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary mora biti prijavljen Poreznoj upravi” (the lease must be reported to the Tax Administration).

The Tax Administration adds that there's no exemption if the occupant “nema prijavljeno prebivalištePermanent address (prebivalište)simplifiedThe address where you've settled for good, the centre of your life. You register it with the police within 15 days of moving in.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2.–4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary ili boravišteTemporary address (boravište)simplifiedThe address where you live for a while without settling there for good. You register it with the police within 15 days if you'll stay longer than three months.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2., 4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary na adresi” (has no registered address there). Its opinion of 26 May 2026 grounds this only in the Residence Act. It says nothing about foreigners registered under the Foreigners Act, the Act on EEA nationals or the Act on International and Temporary Protection.

On our reading, a foreigner's residence registered at the flat is a registered address there, but until the Tax Administration confirms it, it stays open. Keep the police registration certificate.

Also on our reading, a tenant who never registers leaves no registered address, so the let would miss the Tax Administration's condition. Examples: an EEA citizen staying up to three months, or a third-country national on a short stay who has only an accommodation registration.

Work out the tax on your flat in our guide to the 2027 tax on empty flats.

Your listing and choosing a tenant: the same checks for everyone

The Anti-Discrimination Act binds all legal and natural persons, expressly in housing too (Arts. 1 and 8). Its grounds include race or ethnic origin, colour, language, religion, national or social origin, property status, family status and age. Citizenship isn't a listed ground, and distinctions “na temelju državljanstva prema posebnim propisima” (based on citizenship under special laws) are an express exception (Art. 9).

In the Dubrava case, the Ombudswoman found that a rental ad “ima značaj ponude za sklapanjem ugovora o najmu” (counts as an offer to sign a lease), so the Act applies to it. She found choosing tenants by religion to be discrimination, and warned that selection among applicants can discriminate even after a neutral ad.

The Ombudswoman also opened a case on her own initiative over landlords' public statements that housing depends on whether it's let “europskim ili radnicima iz Azije” (to European or to Asian workers), and reports that foreign workers struggle to find adequate housing.

On our reading, “ne strancima” (no foreigners) or “samo domaći” (locals only) in an ad sorts people in practice by national origin, ethnicity or language, so it risks direct or indirect discrimination. How a court would treat a pure citizenship condition is not confirmed, and we found no Ombudswoman statement on “no foreigners” ads.

Our recommendation: no nationality conditions and no “preferred tenants” in the ad, and the same checks for everyone.

A neutral criterion is lawful if it can be “objektivno opravdati legitimnim ciljem” (objectively justified by a legitimate aim) and the means are appropriate and necessary (Art. 2). On our reading, the same checks for every applicant are therefore defensible:

• identity
• legal stay: an ID card, a residence permit or a temporary-protection card
• ability to pay
• references

Property status is itself a protected ground, so ask for proof of income in proportion, and from everyone alike.

If a rejected applicant makes discrimination likely, it's up to you to prove there was none (Art. 20). They can sue for a declaration, an injunction, damages and publication of the judgment (Art. 17). The Ombudswoman takes complaints and can mediate (Art. 12).

A landlord's checklist: from the listing to move-in

1. 1Post a listing with no nationality conditions, and ask every applicant for the same checks: identity, legal stay, ability to pay and references.
2. 2Agree with the tenant which document they need to register their address: a lease certified by a notary or the Tax Administration, Obrazac 6b signed by you at the police, or a landlord's statement.
3. 3Sign a written lease, ideally bilingual, and state which version prevails.
4. 4If a third-country national without approved temporary stay is moving in, register the accommodation within one day, or check with the police before they move in.
5. 5Hand the lease to the Tax Administration within 8 days, unless a notary sends it.
6. 6Take the rent and 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 by bank transfer.
7. 7Keep the police certificate of the tenant's registered address, for the property-tax exemption.

The other steps of letting are in our guide to renting out your flat.

Frequently asked questions