Building Permits in Croatia: How Long Do You Wait and How to Speed Up the Process?

Every investor who embarks on a construction project in Croatia will sooner or later encounter a web of bureaucratic obstacles and months of waiting for a building permit. However, that permit is just the beginning – the entire process of gathering all necessary approvals and documentation often takes significantly longer than the legal deadlines.

Where does the waiting begin?

First, it is necessary to define the start of the waiting period. If the deadline is calculated from the moment a complete application with the main project and proof of resolved ownership relations is submitted to the competent office for spatial planning, the law provides for the issuance of a building permit within 45 days. However, this ‘waiting’ is preceded by a whole series of other procedural phases.

After purchasing the construction plot, the investor first waits for the development of a conceptual solution that must comply with the spatial plan and their wishes. This is followed by waiting for the issuance of special conditions and connection conditions, and then the development of the main project, which involves architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, and surveyors. Additionally, there may be further obstacles – unresolved ownership relations, the establishment of a construction company, geomechanical soil testing, or even amendments to the spatial plan.

How long does the waiting actually last?

Iva Ivas, head of the architectural team at DI plan, emphasizes that design and preparation for construction is a complex process with numerous participants.

– Investment planning should include time for design, obtaining special conditions, resolving ownership relations and surveying tasks, and issuing permits. On top of that, the complexity factor should be added – the more demanding the project, the longer the wait – explains Ivas.

Although statistics from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the average time for issuing a building permit is around 30 days, reality often presents a different picture.

– These data do not take into account the time from the first submission of the project, waiting for the assignment of a reference person, requests for changes and supplements, sick leave of officials, and various other factors. In practice, some permits can take years to obtain – adds Ivas.

Regional differences and the most problematic buildings

In different parts of Croatia, there are significant differences in the number of applications and types of construction. Dalmatia and Istria lead in issuing permits for tourist facilities – villas with pools, camps, guesthouses, and apartment buildings – while in the rest of the country, the pressure for construction is not as pronounced.

According to Ivas, the longest waits are for permits for buildings that have certain problematic characteristics.

– These are objects where the provisions of the spatial plan are interpreted flexibly regarding height, number of floors, square footage, or access roads. Most often, these are residential buildings intended for the sale of apartments – says Ivas.

An additional complication is created by the Regulation on Simple Buildings and Works, which is often misinterpreted.

– Any construction intervention that changes the structure, square footage, or openness of the object requires a building permit. A house cannot be ‘just a little illegal’ – it either is or it isn’t – warns Ivas.

Does the new law bring changes?

In 2025, a new Construction Act is expected, but there is still no concrete information about its content. Nevertheless, Ivas points out that improvements could include more detailed spatial plans, less administration, greater responsibility for the chief designer, and increased investment in project documentation.

In the long term, it is crucial to introduce mandatory preparation of execution projects and the implementation of BIM (Building Information Modeling) systems.

– Today’s software allows for detailed control of all aspects of construction before work begins, thereby minimizing errors and surprises on the construction site – concludes Ivas.

Ultimately, better preparation and modernization of procedures can significantly speed up the process of issuing permits and contribute to better construction in Croatia.