“The main reason for amending the current act is to abolish the limitation period set by June 30, 2018. This deadline prescribed the obligation for our citizens, who had built illegal structures - without the required building permits - prior to June 21, 2011, to submit a legalisation request. These amendments now enable citizens to submit the legalisation request even after the deadline,” Minister Bačić pointed out at the Government’s session.
Therefore, the amendments to the Act do not initiate a new surge of legalisation but enable permanent submission of requests. This particularly refers to owners whose deadline to submit the request was June 30, 2018, but they failed to do so because of ignorance, inherited property, financial or other circumstances.
Legalisation cannot be conducted for construction on the maritime domain, in nature parks, infrastructural corridors, on state, forest and water land, and in the case of an archaeological site, cultural heritage, UNESCO-protected areas or an existing area of public use.
“The scope of areas where legalisation is not possible is expanded, including buildings built prior to June 21, 2011, if they are located in areas that are designated as planned infrastructural corridors by spatial plans. This is aimed at preventing legalisation of such buildings to hinder the construction of strategic municipal, traffic and energy infrastructure in the Republic of Croatia,” the Minister clarified.
The new amendments to the Act also introduce complete digitisation of the entire process. To be more precise, the requests will be submitted through the Physical Planning Information System (ISPU), together with the required documentation.
If the applicant fails to attach all the required documents, it will not be possible to submit the request.
This is why it is necessary to attach a geodetic survey of the as-built state of the illegal building, which forms part of the geodetic study, as well as a survey of the as-built state developed by an authorised architect or a civil engineer, followed by a statement by an authorised engineer that the building meets mechanical resistance and stability criteria in accordance with regulations valid at the time of construction, and a certificate issued by the authority responsible for state surveying and real estate cadastre confirming the building is visible on the 2011 aerial geodetic survey.
In addition, the applicants will have to pay a fee for illegal construction, which will be higher due to the time elapsed since 2012. The fee will be determined based on the size, location and purpose of the illegally built structure.
Future illegal construction prevented through high financial penalties
Minister Bačić recalled that even amendments to the Communal Economy Act from 2024 grant more authority to municipal services monitoring officers, who can now, alongside construction inspectors, conduct inspection procedures over illegal construction.
Regarding future illegal construction, it will be prevented through financial penalties for all stakeholders in the construction sector who initiate works without the required building permit, which is already prescribed by the new Building Act.
The fines range from 4,000 euro for less-complex buildings to 15,000 euro for multiapartment buildings, and 1% of the estimated value of works for other structures.
Even though current legislation prescribes misdemeanour and criminal provisions for illegal builders, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration and the State Attorney’s Office, it will be proposed that illegal construction be regulated as a criminal offence under the Criminal Code.
Illegal construction will also be prevented through digital supervision. Currently, satellite imaging of the Republic of Croatia is nearing completion.
The “Digital Inspection” system will be integrated in the Physical Planning Information System (ISPU), which will enable everyday monitoring and recording of changes on land, so all illegal construction will be registered. The system will automatically notify building inspectors and municipal services monitoring officers on potential locations of illegal construction. The system is expected to be fully operational in the second half of the year.