€20m deal signed to build flats for protected tenants in Zagreb

Hina - The Construction, Physical Planning and State Assets Ministry, the state real estate agency APN and builder Palir on Monday signed a €20 million contract to build a residential block in Zagreb's Blato district to house protected tenants.

The project includes 152 apartments and one commercial unit, with construction due to take 16 months, APN director Dragan Hristov said. APN provided the land, conducted procurement procedures and secured funding. Work is expected to start within two to three weeks.

The building will cover 9,017 square metres, with four above-ground floors, one underground level and 162 parking spaces.

Minister Branko Bačić said the project was part of efforts to implement a European Court of Human Rights ruling in the Statileo case, as well as judgments by Croatia's Constitutional Court, addressing the unresolved status of protected tenants stemming from the 1990s transition period.

The ruling concerns flats nationalised during the former Yugoslavia that were assigned for use to third parties, with tenancy rights established. This arrangement was abolished in 1996, and the tenants were granted the status of protected tenants. However, the registered owners demanded the return of their properties. The Strasbourg court ruled in their favour, obliging Croatia to resolve the restitution issue.

Bačić said a 2018 law failed a constitutional review, with the court ruling that the state must commit more funds to comply with the European court decision while ensuring protection for tenants.

Under a new law adopted in 2024, one of the measures allows protected tenants to move into state-owned flats at affordable rents. Rent in the Blato apartments will be set at 2.06 euros per square metre.

Bačić said authorities had identified 1,349 restitution claims after matching tenant and owner registers. Around 300 cases have been resolved through compensation payments, while renovations of state-owned flats are expected to be completed by year-end, potentially resolving nearly half of all claims.

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