Government increases legalization fees, Bačić announces new amounts
Fees for legalizing illegally built buildings rise for the first time in 14 years, with a minimum fee of €150 and an increase coefficient of 2.25.
Fees for legalizing illegally built buildings rise for the first time in 14 years, with a minimum fee of €150 and an increase coefficient of 2.25.
On July 30, 2026, the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a new regulation increasing fees for legalizing illegally built buildings by a coefficient of 2.25 compared to current amounts, Klikni.hr reports. This is the first price increase in 14 years, as the amounts had remained unchanged despite the 2014 amendments to the law.
Under the new regulation, the minimum fee for a single building now stands at €150, whereas previously, under the 2012 regulation, it was HRK 500. The fixed fee of €150 still applies to auxiliary buildings of up to 50 square meters and one floor.
Unit fees depend on the size of the building. For smaller structures up to 300 cubic meters, the fee is €1.20 per cubic meter. For buildings from 300 to 3,000 cubic meters, the fee is €3, while for those from 3,000 to 7,000 cubic meters, it amounts to €9. For the largest buildings exceeding 7,000 cubic meters, the fee is set at €22.50 per cubic meter.
The regulation does not change the use coefficients, so they remain 0.30 for agricultural buildings, 0.50 for industrial and production facilities, and 1.00 for residential and commercial premises. Location coefficients also remain the same: from 1.00 within the construction area to 7.00 in the protected coastal belt extending up to 100 meters beyond the construction area.
Owners can still qualify for a 25 percent discount if they pay the entire fee in a single installment within 30 days. Installment payments are allowed when the amount exceeds €500, with a repayment period of up to five years, provided the first installment is no less than €300 and individual monthly installments are at least €90.
The new regulation is part of the implementation of legal amendments that came into force on May 16. These amendments removed the deadline for submitting legalization requests, so all owners of buildings constructed by June 21, 2011, and recorded on the state orthophoto map from that period, can now file a request for a permit reflecting the constructed state at any time.
Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property Branko Bačić emphasized to Klikni.hr that buildings constructed after that date without valid permits cannot be legalized. "Illegally constructed buildings built after that date without valid construction permits cannot be legalized under the provisions of the Act on the Processing of Illegally Constructed Buildings, meaning they are considered illegal," said Bačić.
