BUYING PROPERTY IN CROATIA FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS

Ownership of real property by foreign citizens in Croatia is regulated by Articles 354 - 358 of the Croatian Property Law (Zakon o vlasnistvu i drugim stvarnim pravima). The law was published in the Official Gazette No. 91 in 1996 (Narodne Novine 91/96).

U.S. citizens may, under condition of reciprocity, acquire real property in Croatia either by inheritance or by other legal transactions such as purchases, deeds, trusts, etc. Reciprocity is presumed to exist unless proof to the contrary becomes evident.

Inheritance. U.S. citizens may inherit property in Croatia. No additional approval is necessary.

Legal transactions. When acquiring real estate other than by inheritance, U.S. citizens must obtain the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Republic of Croatia. The process may take several months or longer, because the MFA must obtain an opinion from the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government (Ministarstvo Pravosuđa, Uprave i Lokalne Samouprave) before making a decision. In Croatia, the ultimate proof of ownership is entry of the owner's name in the local Land Books (Zemljisne Knjige) on that specific property. Local courts will not allow a foreign citizen to be entered in the Land Books without MFA approval.

Documents which must be supplied to the MFA when requesting an approval to purchase property in Croatia are as follows:

• A written request signed by the petitioner
  
  
• The sales contract
  
  
• An excerpt from the Land Books for the particular property (ZK izvadak). This document is usually obtained in each municipality (Općina) at the local municipal court's (Općinski Sud) Land Book Division (Gruntovni Odjel)
  
  
• A document from the local municipality (Općina), from the following department: "Ured za prostorno planiranje". The document is the "Uvjerenje o namjeni", for the particular property
  
  
• Proof of citizenship for both buyer and seller (photocopy of passport); photocopies must be notarized by a Croatian Notary Public.

Send the request and accompanying paperwork to:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia
Trg N. S. Zrinskog 7-8
10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Phone 4569 964
Fax. 4551 795
4920 149
Email: mvp@mvp.hr

BROKER, real estate agency team.