Transforming Croatia's Construction Landscape: New Legislative Reforms for a Sustainable Future

The three pivotal laws related to the Croatia’s construction sector entered into force as of January 1, 2026: the Law on Spatial Planning, the Law on Construction, and the Law on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. With an emphasis on modernization, these reforms aim to thoroughly digitalize procedures, streamline permitting processes, and align the construction sector with broader European Union sustainability objectives.

A central element of this legislative package is the mandated use of the national ePlanovi digital system for all spatial and urban planning. This initiative is expected to enhance technical uniformity, ensure online transparency, and facilitate seamless integration with the eDozvole electronic permitting platform. As the construction landscape evolves, the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) becomes an essential requirement under the Law on Construction, which also stipulates the necessity of a building maintenance plan for every structure. Such measures represent a significant shift toward proactive asset management—an area historically lacking in Croatian regulations.

The new Law on Construction is expected to have a positive impact on economic investments in construction and other economic sectors enabling faster issuance of building permits for buildings, strengthening the responsibility of administrative bodies issuing building and use permits, reducing the costs for issuance of building permits for less complex buildings and multi-apartment buildings, as well as minimizing the time required to obtain special conditions for building permits by various public entities. The Law introduces further measures against illegal construction and requests better maintenance of buildings by introducing an obligation of a contractor to prepare a maintenance plan and manual. In addition, the Law is harmonized with the EU Regulation 2024/3110 dated November 27, 2024, regarding the basic requirements for construction works. In order to enable the successful issuance of the use permit and use of the completed construction works, the Law introduces the obligation of any contractor participating in construction works to provide all necessary documents for the completion and taking over of the works. This provision eliminates the number of issues resulting from contract termination before the completion of such works. An explicit obligation of the supervising engineer to perform the duties at the construction site has been established requiring their day-to-day presence.

Specific restrictions have been introduced for coastal and tourism areas, which are vital for Croatia’s economy. Notably, new building zones will not be permitted to expand without existing infrastructure on current plots. Moreover, the new laws streamline approvals for mobile homes in campgrounds, requiring only location permits, while mandating the integration of affordable housing into existing neighborhoods to prevent isolated developments.

The Law on Spatial Planning has a purpose, among others, to simplify and accelerate the preparation of spatial plans and acts for their implementation, to reduce the costs of their preparation and adoption, and to make the access to public information and data about the space simple, fast and free for all subjects of spatial planning and users of the space.

Pioneering Energy Efficiency Standards

The Law on Energy Efficiency in Buildings aims to encourage the renovation and decarbonization of buildings, improve energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, remove legal uncertainties and strengthen supervision, certification and the market for energy services, thereby contributing to climate goals and reducing emissions.

Energy efficiency stands as a cornerstone of the Law on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, which aims to achieve zero-emission status for all structures by the year 2050. The legislation specifies that all new public buildings must comply with these standards starting January 1, 2028, followed by private buildings from 2030. A national renovation plan is set to be introduced by late 2026, further promoting the use of renewable resources and modern technologies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the construction sector.

Additionally, the Building Management and Maintenance Act, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, addresses prevalent challenges faced by multi-owner buildings. It eases decision-making processes by lowering the consent threshold for urgent repairs to one-third of co-owners and raising the investment threshold to 80 percent. This approach seeks to enhance cooperation and facilitate timely maintenance within shared properties. Moreover, the Act imposes fines of up to 10,000 euros for unapproved activities such as short-term rentals, unauthorized balcony enclosures, or the installation of air conditioning units on street-facing facades. It also establishes co-owner communities endowed with legal personalities, a measure designed to streamline access to funding for renovations, including state subsidies of up to 33 percent for lifts and facades situated in protected areas.

The prospects of Croatia’s construction sector are on a promising trajectory, influenced by the commitment to modernization through legislative reform. As the industry braces for the full implementation of these transformative laws, expert legal counsel will remain essential for ensuring compliance and maximizing opportunities inherent within these changes.