- Published: 18.09.2025.
Members of Croatian Parliament discuss amendments to Act on Housing Care in Assisted Areas
Today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction Branko Bačić presents a proposal of amendments to the Act on Housing Care in Assisted Areas at first reading in the Croatian Parliament, which further improves and extends the legal framework for providing housing care to citizens in assisted areas.
Alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bačić, State Secretary Dario Tišov is also present at the parliamentary session.The new models include the possibility to purchase a state-owned apartment unfit for habitation, as well as the donation of construction materials to rehabilitate apartments located on the top floor or in the attic of subdivided family houses.
“These amendments favour our fellow citizens who deem this model appropriate. They can buy a state-owned apartment unfit for habitation and obtain construction materials,” Minister Bačić explained and pointed out that these amendments would also enable the donation of construction materials for roof renovation without the consent of co-owners, if there is no reserve fund set for this object.
This Act Proposal establishes a uniform rent amount for all housing care beneficiaries under its scope, which is set at the rate of protected rent - 0.36 euro per square meter.
“This Act will establish a uniform rent in all assisted areas and set it at 36 cent per square meter, which is 20-30 times less than medial rent. This meets the goal of the Act - to enable our fellow citizens to stay and return to assisted areas, which are, above all, demographically depleted,” the Minister said.
The Act specifies the procedure in the event of terminating the rental agreement, especially when the beneficiary acquires another housing unit fit for habitation during the rental agreement, as well as in the event of terminating the agreement on the donation of construction materials, for instance if the beneficiary refuses to sign the contract or opts out of the renovation.
The amendments further clarify the provisions referring to the purchase and donation of state-owned housing units and develops a new model for selling apartments unfit for habitation. Moreover, it introduces a mandatory residency period as the prerequisite for acquiring the rights for purchase or donation. For state-owned apartments the residency period is five years, while for housing units constructed through EU funding or through interdepartmental cooperation the period is ten years.
In addition, the Act extends the restriction period on the disposal of housing units from current three to now five years and prescribes consequences for any disposal without the Ministry’s consent prior to the expiry of the period. It also introduces a transitional period of three years for local self-government units which have lost the assisted area status.
“This means that we have overcome the situation where they might once again fall into the fourth category of assisted areas following a new indexation process. We believe this is a concession to local self-government units, allowing them to continue using the funds received that way,” the Minister added.
The right to organised installation of construction materials can now also be exercised by beneficiaries who meet the income threshold criteria or who have health-related difficulties, in addition to recipients of guaranteed minimum income. Furthermore, financial support for beneficiaries who install construction materials properly has been increased from 25% to 50% of the value of the delivered materials, due to rising construction costs.
The amendments to the Act also regulate the possibility of housing care for Croatian emigrants, descendants of Croatian emigrants and members of their families, in accordance with special regulation on acquiring Croatian citizenship. They also extend the possibility of exercising the right to housing care to victims of domestic violence, with non-final court judgments accepted as a prerequisite.
“In accordance with the demographic revitalisation strategy of the Republic of Croatia and in collaboration with the Ministry of Demographics and Immigration, with this Act we have defined the possibility of providing housing care for Croatian emigrants or their descendants who decide to return to Croatia without having resolved their housing situation. The process and administrative procedures are managed by the competent county in which the housing unit for housing care of returning emigrants is located,” the Minister explained.
Long-term beneficiaries of apartments owned by local and regional self-governments or institutions founded by the Republic of Croatia or by local self-government units now have the possibility to purchase the apartments under the scope of the Act under favourable conditions. Additionally, the Act regulates the conditions and models to exercise rights through the Support Programme of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for the Return of Croats to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Finally, the amendments also govern the enforcement of final decisions on housing care for former holders of tenancy rights - if an apartment is not available in the area where the rights have been determined, they can be offered a corresponding amount of money.
The legal amendments also prescribe the adoption of sublegal regulations that will thoroughly define the methods for implementing the housing care programme for former holders of tenancy rights and the procedure and conditions for exercising the rights under the implementation of the Support Programme of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for the Return of Croats to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These amendments represent a significant step forward in further improvement of the housing care system in assisted areas, focused on increasing housing availability for the most vulnerable groups and conserving the demographic structure in assisted areas.