Reporting a lease within 8 days: a checklist for landlords

Steps

1. 1Sign a written lease under the Zakon o najmu stanova (the Housing Lease Act): the parties, the flat, the rent, the term and the 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.
2. 2Within 8 days of the lease being made or the let starting, hand the lease to the Porezna uprava office for your own place of residence or habitual residence. If a notary certified your signature on the lease, 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 electronically for you within 30 days.
3. 3Send a copy to the responsible department of the City of Zagreb as well. The law sets no deadline for this.
4. 4If you let the flat for more than three months, report it to the police (policijska uprava or postaja) within 15 days. This duty comes from the Residence Act, which governs the residence of Croatian citizens; for a foreign tenant it is not confirmed, and what applies to foreigners is in our guide to letting to foreign tenants.
5. 5The tenant registers their residence (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 within 15 days. A Croatian citizen needs your consent: certified by a notary, given in person at the police counter, or given through e-Građani (e-Suglasnost for a permanent address, e-Boravište for a temporary one). A lease certified by a notary can replace the consent. A third-country national needs a lease certified by a notary or the Tax Administration, and an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen a certified lease or Obrazac 6b, which you sign at the police (letting to foreign tenants). More in our address registration guide.
6. 6Porezna uprava sets 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 (12% on 70% of the rent) in a decision, and you pay it monthly, by the end of each month.
7. 7By 31 March, check that Porezna uprava has everything it needs to exempt the flat 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 for that year.

Why reporting matters

From 2027, empty flats in Zagreb are taxed at €8 per m² a year. A flat let long-term for at least 10 months in the year is exempt, but only if the lease is reported and the tenant has registered residence at the address.

Work out what you would pay in our guide to Zagreb's 2027 property tax.

In July 2026 the Government presented a draft new Housing Lease Act under which every lease 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, with the notary doing the reporting. It hasn't been passed. We'll update this checklist when it is.

What an unreported lease means for both sides is in our guide to renting off the books.

Frequently asked questions