Existing buildings

Legalisation is the procedure by which an illegally constructed building obtains a decision on the as-built state and becomes legal. An illegal building cannot be traded freely or entered in the land register, and its owner may face legal penalties.

Under the Croatian Act on Procedures with Illegally Constructed Buildings, buildings visible on the State Geodetic Administration’s digital orthophoto map based on aerial imaging started on 21 June 2011 can be legalised, provided the application was filed within the statutory deadline. For buildings constructed later, the route is the regular permitting procedure under current building and planning law.

A legal building opens many doors: meeting bank-loan requirements, applying for subsidies and EU projects, and a faster, safer sale. The procedure includes all required surveying, architectural and engineering work — some we do ourselves, some with trusted partners.

Registration records your existing building in the cadastre and enters it in the land register. Only then is it visible in public registers as part of your property — essential for sales, inheritance, gifting and loans.

A building can be recorded in the cadastre without proof of legality, but land-register entry requires an appropriate act: for example a use permit, a decision on the as-built state, or a certificate that the building was constructed before 15 February 1968.