Renewing a lease in Croatia: tacit renewal, the annex and new terms

At expiry: tacit renewal for the same term

The Housing Lease Act uses the word “obnova” (renewal). Chapter VIII is headed “Obnova ugovora o najmu stana na određeno vrijeme” (renewal of a fixed-term flat lease), and Art. 25(1) treats the lease as “prešutno obnovljenim” (tacitly renewed). The Obligations Act uses the same term (Art. 575). “Produljenje” (extension), the everyday Croatian word, doesn't appear in Arts. 1–29 of the Housing Lease Act. In this guide, tacit renewal (prešutna obnova) is the legal rule, and “renewing” is used in its everyday sense.

A fixed-term flat lease renews “za isto vrijeme trajanja” (for the same length) if neither side tells the other in writing, at least 30 days before it ends, that it doesn't intend to conclude a further fixed-term lease (Housing Lease Act, Art. 25(1)). If nobody sends anything and the tenant stays, a one-year lease renews for another year. The Obligations Act has the same 30-day rule for any lease of real estate (Art. 575(1)).

In practice:

• The Act sets no limit on how many times a lease can renew, and has no rule that turns it into an open-ended lease after several renewals (Housing Lease Act, Art. 25).
• Art. 25(1) speaks only of the same length. Changed terms need the landlord's offer under Art. 25(2), so on our reading a tacitly renewed lease runs at the same rent and on the same other terms.
• The notice that you won't renew must be in writing. Our guide to ending a lease covers how to write it and the notice periodsNotice 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.

Whether the 30 days run to the day the notice is sent or the day it arrives is not confirmed: Art. 25(1) says only that a side doesn't “obavijesti” (notify) the other, while the 15 days in Art. 25(3) run “od primitka” (from receipt). Our advice: send it early, hand it over against the other side's signature or send it by registered post, the method the Act prescribes for a landlord's notice (Art. 22(1)), and keep proof.

So you don't miss the date, enter your lease's end date in Is my rent within the usual range?: you get a calendar file with the day to give written notice. The date stays in your browser.

Renewal on new terms: a written offer and 15 days to answer

A landlord who wants to renew on changed terms must tell the tenant in writing at least 30 days before the end (Housing Lease Act, Art. 25(2)). If the tenant doesn't accept within 15 days of receiving the offer, they're taken not to want a lease for a further period (“smatrat će se da ne želi sklopiti ugovor za daljnje razdoblje”, Art. 25(3)). On our reading, the lease then ends on its end date.

Art. 25(2) covers only the landlord's offer. The Obligations Act has a general rule for when “jedna strana” (either side) wants a further lease with changes, with the same 15 days (Art. 575(2)), and it applies to flat leases subsidiarily (podredno, Art. 551). On our reading, a tenant who wants new terms at renewal, such as a lower rent, can rely on that rule. We read no case law on it, so this is not confirmed.

On a fixed-term lease the Housing Lease Act doesn't regulate rent changes during the term, so on our reading the lease decides (Art. 3(3)), and a new rent comes with the renewal offer (Art. 25(2)). On an open-ended lease the rent can't change in the first year, and after that it can be agreed at no more than 20% above the average for a comparable flat (Art. 10). Our guide to rent increases covers when and by how much, and our rent estimate what similar flats are listed for.

If the lease has an index clause, the rent follows a price index set by an authorised body (Obligations Act, Art. 23), and a currency clause is allowed too (Art. 22). Without one, the agreed amount stands (Art. 21). On our reading, all the lease's clauses carry on in a tacit renewal, an index clause included. Also on our reading, each change under the index should be sent to the City and the Tax Administration (Housing Lease Act, Art. 26; 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(7)), but that is not confirmed either.

The tenant stays on after notice that the lease won't renew

If one side gave written notice in time that it won't renew, but the tenant stays on after the end date and the landlord doesn't object, the Housing Lease Act doesn't say what applies. The Obligations Act says that for leases in general the lease is then treated as extended “na neodređeno vrijeme pod istim uvjetima” (for an indefinite term on the same conditions, Art. 574(2)). Whether courts apply that rule to flat leases alongside Art. 25 of the Housing Lease Act, the law doesn't settle, and we read no case law on it.

Our advice: if you're staying on after the end date, or letting the tenant stay, agree in writing for how long and on what terms, in an annex or a new lease.

Can a fixed-term lease become open-ended?

Not through the number of renewals. Outside its transitional provisions, the Housing Lease Act mentions open-ended leases only in its rules on rent and notice (Arts. 10, 21 and 23) and has no rule that turns a fixed-term lease into one after several renewals. The only route in the Obligations Act is continued use after the end date without the landlord objecting (Art. 574(2)), and whether that applies to flats is not settled (see above).

If you want an open-ended lease, agree it in writing. The term of the lease is a required part of the contract (Housing Lease Act, Art. 5), so our advice is that an annex changing the term, or making the lease open-ended, says so expressly.

The differences in brief:

• Rent: on an open-ended lease it can't change in the first year; after that a new rent is proposed in writing, capped at 20% above the average for a comparable flat, and if it exceeds the “iznos iz stavka 1.” of Art. 11, the tenant can ask a court within 30 days to set it (Arts. 10 and 11). On a fixed-term lease a new rent comes with the renewal offer (Art. 25(2)).
• Ending: a tenant ends an open-ended lease at least three months before moving out; a landlord needs a statutory ground and gives written, reasoned notice of three or six months from the first day of the next month (Arts. 19–23). A fixed-term lease ends on its end date if one side said in writing in time that it won't renew (Art. 25).

The details are in our guides to rent increases and ending a lease.

A lease annex: in writing, and what to put in it

A flat lease is made in writing (Housing Lease Act, Art. 4(2); Obligations Act, Art. 552). The Housing Lease Act sets no form for changes to a lease and no annex form. The general rule applies: a legal form requirement “važi i za sve kasnije izmjene i dopune ugovora” (also covers all later changes and additions to the contract, Obligations Act, Art. 286(2)). So put a new rent or a new term in a written annex (aneks) signed by both sides.

There are exceptions. Later oral additions on minor points the lease doesn't cover are valid if they don't run against the purpose of the form (Art. 286(3)), and later oral arrangements that reduce or ease obligations are valid if the form serves only the parties' interest (Art. 286(4)). Whether the Housing Lease Act's writing rule serves only the parties' interest is not confirmed. How a court treats a higher rent agreed orally and paid for months depends on the facts (Arts. 290 and 294).

If, instead of renewing, you agree to end the lease, a contract with a prescribed form can be ended by agreement “u bilo kojem obliku” (in any form), unless a law provides otherwise for the case, or the purpose of the form requires the same form (Art. 288). Our advice is still to write the agreement down and sign it.

Our advice on what an annex should contain (this isn't a template):

• which lease it amends: the lease date, the parties and the flat
• what changes: the new rent and the date it applies from, a new end date, or “na neodređeno vrijeme” (open-ended)
• that every other clause of the lease stays in force
• the date and both sides' signatures
• how many copies it's made in

Filing after a renewal or an annex: the Tax Administration and the City

The landlord must deliver the lease “kao i sve promjene glede visine najamnine” (and every change in the amount of rent) to the City of Zagreb and to the competent tax office (Housing Lease Act, Art. 26(1)). The Act sets a fine for failing to do so, still stated in kuna (Art. 29).

For the Tax Administration:

• The document on the start or change of the facts behind the rent income goes in within 8 days of the day the facts relevant for tax arise or change (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(7)).
• If a notary certified your signature on that document, 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 it or drew it up as a notarial deed, the notary sends it within 30 days and you needn't (Art. 62(8)). The rule covers a document on a change, so an annex too.
• A lease or its termination goes as an attachment to the RPO form in ePorezna (under “ZAHTJEVI”), in person or by post, and the start or end date of the let goes on page 3 of the form. The Tax Administration says it doesn't take leases or terminations by email (“E-mailom nije predviđena dostava ugovora ili raskida ugovora o najmu”).
• To taxpayers with two or more leases, the Tax Administration issues one decision per reported lease. In a notice of 25 November 2025 it told taxpayers who had sent a termination “ili aneks/promjenu Ugovora” (or an annex or change to the lease) and had no new decision yet that one would follow. So it does receive annexes and act on them.

What applies to a renewal at the same rent is open. No Tax Administration source says whether a tacit renewal, or an annex that only extends the term at the same rent, must be filed, and we found no City page on how it receives Art. 26 filings. On our reading of Art. 26(1), a tacit renewal needs no new delivery, since there's no new document and no change of rent, while an express new lease for a further term does. On our reading, an annex that changes the rent or the end date is a document on a change of facts, so file it with the Tax Administration within 8 days. Whether the Tax Administration keeps its decision running past the end date it has on record is not confirmed.

Our advice, the safe course: put an express renewal in a written annex, file it with the Tax Administration within 8 days of signing, or of the date the change applies from if that's earlier, and send a copy to the City of Zagreb.

Our lease reporting checklist has the filing steps.

Registering your address after a renewal

A 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 (temporary address) can be registered for up to a year. Anyone staying longer must extend the registration within 15 days of that period ending, and a boravište can't last more than two years (Residence Act, Art. 4(2)–(3)). As an exception, for education, work that isn't permanent or a place in an institution, the boravište lasts as long as they do, with proof (Art. 4(4)), but even then, as gov.hr puts it, the boravište “mora produžavati nakon svakog proteka razdoblja od godinu dana” (must be extended every year).

The boravište runs from the day it was registered, not from the lease. On our reading of Art. 4, a lease renewal therefore doesn't extend it, and doesn't cure a missed extension. Missing an extension carries a fine of €60–660 (Art. 16).

Two things are not confirmed. First, which documents an extension needs: the rule on the landlord's consent speaks of “prijava” (registration, Art. 10(3)), and gov.hr lists documents only for registration, so whether a certified consent or a certified lease is needed again is unknown. Second, what follows after two years of boravište for an ordinary tenant: the Act doesn't say. Check with the police before the period ends.

A third-country national extending temporary stay at the same address needs none of the registration documents in Art. 77(1) of the rulebook on the stay of third-country nationals, “osim ugovora o najmu ako ranije sklopljenim ugovorom nije obuhvaćeno razdoblje na koje se prijavljuje boravište” (except a lease, if the earlier lease doesn't cover the period being registered, Art. 77(9)). That lease must be “ovjeren kod javnog bilježnika ili Porezne uprave” (certified by a notary or the Tax Administration, Art. 77(1)).

Whether a lease tacitly renewed under Art. 25 of the Housing Lease Act covers the new period for this rule, the rulebook doesn't say, so it's not confirmed. Our advice: before the extension, sign a certified annex or a new lease covering the new period.

For digital nomads, MUP expressly asks for a lease certified by a notary, or a land-registry extract, when temporary stay is extended. Whether an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen needs anything new for their registration at a renewal is not confirmed.

How to register an address is in our guide to registering your address. What foreigners need is in our guides to renting in Zagreb as a foreigner and letting to foreign tenants.

Certified or solemnised leases and renewal

A notarial deed is an enforceable instrument if it sets out a specific obligation and the obligor's statement that enforcement may follow directly once it falls due. “Isti učinak … ima i privatna isprava koju je javni bilježnik potvrdio (solemnizirao)”: a private document 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 by a notary has the same effect (Notaries Act, Art. 54(1) and (6)). If the obligation depends on a condition or on a term not fixed by calendar date, enforcement needs proof by a public document, a document with the creditor's certified signatureSignature 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 or a final judgment, unless the deed provides otherwise (Art. 54(4)).

Two things are not confirmed. On our reading, enforceability covers the obligation set out in the solemnised document, and a higher rent or a new end date in an annex that isn't solemnised isn't in that document, so enforcing the new terms directly would need the annex solemnised too. No source says so, and we read no case law. For a solemnised lease that renews tacitly, no source says whether the original consent to direct enforcement still works for the renewed term, or whether Art. 54(4) proof is then needed.

For registering a 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, a lease certified by a notary replaces the landlord's consent (“nije potrebna suglasnost stanodavca”, gov.hr). The gov.hr page on 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 doesn't mention this. Whether an extension needs a certified lease again is not confirmed (see above). If a notary certified the landlord's signature on an annex, the notary files it with the Tax Administration (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(8)). Our guide to notarising a lease has more on certification and solemnisation.

Property tax 2027: why a renewal matters to the owner

Property let “na temelju ugovora o najmu za stalno stanovanje” (under a lease as a permanent home) is exempt from 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, and that means “ako je u određenom poreznom razdoblju iznajmljena najmanje deset mjeseci” (if let for at least ten months in the tax period; Local Taxes Act, Art. 27(1) point 2 and (5)). The Tax Administration adds: “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 Act counts the months the flat is let in the year, not a single lease, so on our reading the months before and after a renewal add up. How the Tax Administration treats a tacit renewal when the only lease on file shows an earlier end date is not confirmed. Our advice: file the express renewal or annex with the Tax Administration, as above.

The exemption also needs the tenant to have a registered 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 or 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 at the flat for the period (Tax Administration opinion of 26 May 2026). On our reading, a boravište that lapses after a year without an extension can mean the condition isn't met for the rest of the year.

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

City-owned flats: a new five-year lease, on application

City of Zagreb flats are governed by the City's Decision on Renting Flats (Odluka o najmu stanova). The lease is written and fixed-term, for five years. At expiry, “sklopit će se novi ugovor na određeno vrijeme od 5 godina” (a new five-year fixed-term lease will be concluded) with the existing tenant if they met every obligation under the lease and, 60 days before it ends, applied for renewal and showed that the household still meets the conditions (Arts. 5 and 18 for social flats, Arts. 5 and 22 for affordable flats; Decision, Art. 34(1)–(2)).

Under the Decision, then, a City lease doesn't renew tacitly: a new one is concluded on an application made in time.

The income condition of Art. 22 doesn't apply to pensioners in one- or two-person households, or where the tenant or a household member has a disability of degree III or IV or a bodily impairment of 90–100%. For six months after the lease ends, the City won't start evictionMoving out and eviction (iseljenje)simplifiedThe tenant leaving the flat at the end of a lease. If they don't leave, the landlord can sue, and a court officer carries out the eviction, never the landlord.Source: Ovršni zakon (NN 112/12 … 06/24), čl. 255.–258., checked 24 Oct 2026More in the glossary of a tenant who fails the condition in Art. 22, indent 3 (Art. 34(3)–(4)). Leases made under earlier City rules can be extended for five years if the conditions are met and all debts to the City from the use of the flat are paid (Art. 38(1)).

The City publishes a document list for the application. It includes residence and income certificates, a certified statement that you and your household own no habitable flat or house in Zagreb or Zagreb County, proof of paid 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 and rent, a gas-boiler service certificate no older than two years (for gas-heated flats) and a copy of your last lease. Applications go to the registry office (pisarnica) at Trg Stjepana Radića 1. The list dates from 2025 and asks for income “za 2024. godinu” (for 2024), so check it's still current before you apply.

Everything else is in our guide to City-owned flats.

What the draft new law proposes (not passed)

The draft new Housing Lease Act is a proposal and hasn't been passed (as of 20 October 2026). The Act in force on zakon.hr is unchanged, and there's no 2026 bill in the Sabor (parliament). Public consultation ran from 3 August to 2 September 2026. The consultation report was expected on 1 October 2026, and we hadn't seen it on 19 October 2026. Whether it's out now is not confirmed. Until the law is passed, everything above applies.

This is our summary of the draft as we read it on 19 October 2026, not its wording:

• A fixed-term lease would end on its end date unless agreed otherwise. The tenant would ask for an extension at least 60 days before the end, and the landlord would answer within 30 days. This would replace tacit renewal (Art. 17).
• A fixed-term lease of more than five years would be treated as open-ended, except for its end date (Art. 5(3)).
• Rent could rise at most once a year, with 30 days' notice, capped by residential property prices according to DZS (Art. 31). Our guide to rent increases has the details.
• New leases would have to be a notarial deed or 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, or they wouldn't be valid (Art. 7(1)–(2)).

What would happen if the landlord didn't answer within 30 days, whether a refusal would need reasons, and whether an annex or a renewal after the law took effect would need the notarial form are not confirmed. On our reading, the law would also apply to existing leases (Arts. 56(1) and 58(1)). Our guide to the draft covers its other proposals.

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