Minister Branko Bačić at 2025 County Conference

The County Conference, as part of the 2025 LC Panorama Conference, was held today at the Antunović Hotel in Zagreb. The conference was opened by President of the Croatian County Association and Brod-Posavina County Prefect Danijel Marušić and Chairman of Libusoft Cicom Marko Ignjatović. At the conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Branko Bačić presented new legislation aimed at ensuring affordable and sustainable housing.

County Prefect Marušić welcomed all the distinguished guests and participants in his opening speech.

“If I were to describe our collaboration within the Association, and with the Government of the Republic of Croatia, in one word, it would definitely be “trust” - because without mutual trust, respect, consideration and understanding, we wouldn’t have accomplished anything we have today. Today counties truly serve their citizens. We are each other’s encouragement, support and advisers,” County Prefect Marušić said, adding that great projects have been achieved by joint forces. He proceeded to announce the conference theme - affordable housing.

For many years, the Croatian County Association has had a reliable and dedicated partner - the Libusoft Cicom company. They are not just event planners, they are an example of how innovative solutions, expertise and dedication can significantly contribute to the development and efficiency of local and regional self-government.

“For many years we have collaborated with the County Association as part of our LC Panorama conference. This year, once again, we will see numerous technological novelties that you will implement in your business next year. This year we address two important topics - IT safety and artificial intelligence. IT safety is like a goalkeeper in soccer; everything is fine until you concede a goal. When you concede a goal, problems begin. Cyberattacks happen every day, trust me, it is horrible. The amount of money we invested ten years ago was negligible; now it has to become the most prominent aspect and we will all need to allocate more money for security,” Chairman Marko Ignjatović said.

New legislation aimed at ensuring affordable and sustainable housing

All the matters mentioned serve as an introduction to a very important topic - directing new legislation towards creating conditions for sustainable and affordable housing, the key issue affecting the quality of life of all Croatian citizens and the equal development of our associations as well. It is precisely this that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić talked about.

To begin with, Minister Bačić noted that the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets has opened public consultation for the Physical Planning Act, the Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency until October 4, 2025.

“The new legal solution within the Physical Planning Act is aimed at improving the physical planning system by introducing expert surveys prior to developing spatial plans and to ensure the quality of planning solutions,” the Minister said, adding that a new, digital physical planning system is being implemented, which will involve county participation.

According to the current act, the building land must be developed by local self-government units and public law bodies which, under special regulations, construct and/or manage the infrastructure. The new regulations state that LSGUs, among other obligations, must provide the building land with utility infrastructure no later than five years after being designated by the spatial plan.

With respect to the Building Act, the new legislative framework is divided into two acts - the Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency in Building Construction, all for the purpose of clearer and more efficient rules on construction and energy efficiency. An important novelty is the simplification of procedures and the reduction of documentation. For instance, obtaining a building permit will only require a conceptual design and proof of legal interest.

Referring to affordable housing, Minister Bačić noted that the new Affordable Housing Act is in development, and that it will improve the construction of state-owned apartments for sale and affordable rent.

“In addition, a new Affordable Rental Act is in development, aimed at strengthening equal legal protection from arbitrary and unpredictable events for both the landlord and the tenant. Also, amendments to the Act on Proceeding with Illegally Built Buildings are underway,” minister Bačić concluded.
 

• Minister's presentation

Round table - interconnection of the housing policy and demographic situation in the Republic of Croatia

After the Minister’s presentation, a round table discussion followed on one of the largest challenges today - the interconnection of the housing policy and demographic situation in the Republic of Croatia. The panel included County Prefect of Karlovac County Martina Furdek-Hajdin, County Prefect of Split-Dalmatia County Blaženko Boban, County Prefect of Krapina-Zagorje County Željko Kolar and Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb Luka Korlaet. The discussion was moderated by Tin Bašić.

County Prefect of Karlovac County Martina Furdek-Hajdin spoke about the need for a planned renovation of rural areas and designing sustainable financing models.

“I, as an architect, was interested in how to design a renovation model and create new settlements and to develop financing. In rural parts there is really no housing construction, and this is a demographic challenge that needs to be resolved,” the County Prefect said, adding that there still are some positive changes - every year we record an increase in the number of first-graders and newborns as well.

County Prefect of Split-Dalmatia County Blaženko Boban recalled that demographic renewal shows no results “overnight”.

“Anyone who performs the duty of an official at any level is truly mistaken if they believe something can change in a week or two, a month or a year. Demography is something you address today so your successor, or a person three terms from now, will be able to resolve,” the County Prefect said.

In conclusion, everyone agreed the housing policy and demographic challenges require a long-term strategy, coordination at the local and state level and the introduction of incentives based on real citizens’ needs - whether in large cities like Zagreb or in smaller surroundings and rural areas.

Source: Croatian County Association/Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets

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