Programmes for installing elevators and renovating façades of existing buildings open for public consultation

The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets has opened public consultation until October 31, 2025, for the Programme for renovating façades of existing buildings and the Programme for installing elevators and accessibility equipment in existing buildings for people with reduced mobility.

The Ministry adopted the Act on Building Management and Maintenance, which entered into force on January 1, 2025. This Act introduces the possibility of installing elevators and accessibility equipment in existing buildings for people with reduced mobility through co-financing provided from the Republic of Croatia.

To be more precise, numerous multistorey buildings in the Republic of Croatia do not include elevators, which affects the quality of life of persons with disabilities, elderly people and other people with reduced mobility, and parents with small children. A large number of multistorey buildings in the Republic of Croatia was built when it was not necessary to install an elevator, hence it is important to encourage the installation of elevators and accessibility equipment as much as possible. The installation of elevators and equipment requires substantial financial investment and poses a burden for building owners or co-owners, thus a special emphasis is put on co-financing and encouraging the installation of elevators in order to improve the quality of life.

The Programme covers co-financing elevator installation in existing buildings where co-owners (natural persons) own over 50% of the co-ownership shares registered in the land registry, or where co-owners own over 50% of the total usable floor area in buildings for which co-ownership shares have not been determined. The Programme applies to buildings that have at least three floors or where a co-owner or a household member of a co-owner is a person with a disability with at least 80% physical impairment of the lower limbs or a person classified as having a grade III or IV functional impairment related to physical disability. It also applies to buildings for which a main project for the installation of an elevator or accessibility equipment for persons with reduced mobility has been developed in accordance with building regulations, where a decision on the installation of an elevator or accessibility equipment has been made by the majority of co-owners, and where funds are secured according to the community of co-owners’ share of the total costs for the installation of an elevator or accessibility equipment. Additionally, the Programme covers buildings with less than three floors, provided that they have a raised ground floor which, for the purposes of this Programme, will be considered one floor.

Moreover, the Act on Building Management and Maintenance introduces the possibility of renovating façades of multiapartment blocks and buildings of both residential and business purposes located within cultural and historical city areas through co-financing provided from the Republic of Croatia and local self-government units.

Façade renovation will contribute to preserving cultural, historical and social characteristics of urban areas, systematically improving the quality of housing, improving the buildings’ appearance and, in turn, improving the living and working environment.

Since façade renovation of buildings within cultural and historical city areas requires substantial financial investments and poses a burden to building co-owners, a special emphasis is put on encouraging co-owners to renovate façades through project co-financing.
The Act and the Programme envisage measures to co-finance one third of the overall façade renovation costs from the state budget and the budget of local self-government units, while co-owners’ communities will secure the rest of the funding necessary for façade renovation. When establishing the priority list, priority will be given to older buildings, more severely damaged buildings where people and property are in danger of being harmed, buildings which require more complex work, buildings with heritage properties.

Since buildings which are under some kind of protection often cannot achieve sufficient energy savings in order for façades to be renovated through energy efficiency renovation programmes, and since some buildings require minor procedures (e.g. removing graffiti or just painting the façade), it was necessary to design a programme to enable façade renovation for such buildings and improve the appearance of cities in this way.

All interested parties and professionals can participate in the public consultation by giving opinions, propositions and remarks, following registration, through the eSavjetovanja portal no later than October 31, 2025.
 

• Programme for renovating façades of existing buildings
• Programme for installing elevators and accessibility equipment in existing buildings for people with reduced mobility

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