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 generally cannot be used to obtain a bank loan, connected to utility infrastructure or entered into subsidy and funding programmes.

This year, amendments to the Croatian Act on Procedures with Illegally Constructed Buildings reopened legalisation — under the same conditions as before. Buildings visible on the State Geodetic Administration’s digital orthophoto map based on aerial imaging started on 21 June 2011 can be legalised. For buildings constructed later, the route is the regular permitting procedure under current building and planning law.

The procedure includes all required surveying, architectural and engineering work — some we do ourselves, some with trusted partners.

With a survey report (geodetski elaborat), the building is recorded in the cadastre and entered in the land register in a single procedure — the report automatically aligns the cadastral and land-register records. Only then is it visible in public registers as part of your property, which is essential for sales, inheritance, gifting and loans.

A building can be registered even without an act of legality (a use permit or a decision on the as-built state), but the land register then notes that no such act was submitted. The building is registered, but not legal — which matters for loans, sales and utility connections.