Building permit

To a building permit application the following shall be enclosed:

• three copies of the main design;
• the designer's statement that the main design was developed in accordance with the spatial plan and other relevant regulations;
• a written report on the performed main design audit (if the audit is prescribed);
• a certificate on the main design validation (if the design has been developed according to foreign regulations);
• certificates of public law bodies that the main design was developed in accordance with special regulations or special requirements and/or evidence that an application was submitted for the issuance of such certificates or determining such requirements, if they were not issued  in the period prescribed in this Act;
• certificates of a public law body that the main design was developed in accordance with the decision on the environmental acceptability of the project, if the project is under special regulations subject to the procedure of environmental impact assessment and/or appropriate assessment of the impact of a project on the ecological network;
• evidence of legal interest for the issuance of a building permit; and
• evidence that he may be the investor (concession, approval or other official act prescribed by a special regulation) in the case of a construction work for which a special act prescribes who the investor may be
• paid administrative fee in the amount of HRK 70

As the building permit has no legal effect on the ownership and other real rights on the property for which it was issued and shall not represent grounds for the possession of that property, evidence of legal interest shall be sufficient for its issuance.

Requirements for issuance of a building permit

During the building permit issuing procedure it is established that:

• all the prescribed documents have been submitted along with the application and all prescribed main design certificates have been issued;
• as regards the location requirements, the main design has been developed in conformity with the requirements for implementing the project prescribed by the spatial plan;
• the main design has been developed by an authorised person;
• the main design is properly marked;
• the main design is developed in such a manner so as to prevent any modification of its contents or any replacement of its constituent parts;
• the urban development plan has been adopted, provided that the permit is issued in an area where a special act prescribes its adoption;
• the parties were provided with the opportunity to access the file

A building permit for buildings will be issued provided that all the above indicated requirements have been fulfilled and that it is possible to connect the building plot or the building to the traffic area, or that the building permit for the construction of the traffic area has been issued; furthermore that it is possible to connect the building to the public waste water drainage system, if the spatial plan does not allow the connection to its own drainage system, and that it is possible to connect the building to a low-voltage electricity supply network or, in the case of buildings in which the use of such a system is designed, the building has an autonomous electricity supply system.

The competent body that issued the building permit shall deliver it (without the main design), for information purposes, also to the administrative body of the local self-government unit competent for determining utility charges with the data required for the calculation of those charges, and to the body competent for determining water charges with the data required for the calculation of those charges. The investor shall pay utility and water charges upon the enforceability of the decision on utility charges, that is, upon the enforceability of the decision on water charges.

A building permit shall cease to be valid if, within three years from the date it became final and effective, the investor fails to commence construction. During this period, the investor is required to resolve the issue of the right to build and commence construction.

Amendments to the building permit

If during construction of a construction work not subject to the issuing of a location permit under a special act, the location requirements are amended, a Decision on amendments to the building permit shall be obtained from the competent construction and physical planning office; the Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the spatial plan in accordance with which the building permit was issued, or in accordance with the spatial plan in force at the time ofadopting the decision, if so requested by the investor.

Only those special requirements or main design certificates which are affected by amendments shall be obtained in the procedure for issuing the decision on amendments to the building permit, and the facts established in the procedure for issuing the permit shall not be reviewed in the procedure for issuing the decision on amendments to the building permit.

Change of the investor

If the investor should change during construction, the new investor shall, within fifteen days from the date of the change, request the building control authority to amend the building permit relating to the change of the investor’s name or corporate name. Along with his application for change of the investor's name he shall provide evidence of legal interest for the issuance of the building permit or approval of the previous investor, and evidence that he may be the investor (concession, approval or other official act prescribed by a special regulation) in the case of a construction work for which a special act prescribes who the investor may be.

A construction work for which the building permit was issued may not be constructed without the decision on the change of the investor’s name or corporate name in the building permit.

Simple and other construction works and works

It is not required to obtain a building permit for simple and other construction works and works regulated by the Ordinance on simple and other construction works and works (Official Gazette 79/14) such as, for example, fences, swimming pools, tank, paths, solar collectors, small agricultural construction works etc., but construction may commence on the basis of the main project, standard design, or any other act prescribed by the said ordinance.

When designing and constructing the construction works or performing the works, the investor, designer and contractor shall observe all the regulations and codes of practice relevant to their construction and may not design and construct construction works or perform works prohibited under the spatial plan.

Renovation of damaged buildings

In case of natural disasters, war devastations or likewise, that is, in case of immediate threat to the security of people and property, construction works, regardless of the extent of damage, may be restored to their original state without a building permit, in accordance with the official act pursuant to which they were built, or the design of the current state of the construction work. In the case of a construction work registered in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia, approval according to a special act shall be required


Reconstruction of interior parts of buildings

Reconstruction of the interior parts of a building (staircases, walls (except load-bearing), floors, instalations, etc.) which does not atler the location requirements according to which the building was built, may be commenced without a building permit, but construction has to be in accordance with the main design.