Building Land
What is building land?
Under the Physical Planning Act, building land is land within the boundaries of a building zone, as well as land outside a building zone that is part of a building plot on which a structure has been built. A building zone is an area defined by a spatial plan in which a settlement has been built, together with areas planned for the development, growth and expansion of the settlement. It consists of the settlement's building zone, detached parts of the settlement's building zone, and detached building zones outside settlements. Land use may be residential, commercial, sports and recreational, or any other purpose provided for by law.
What if the plot is registered as agricultural land?
If, while searching for land for your future property, you have chosen a plot you like but found out that it is classified as agricultural, this is governed by the Agricultural Land Act (Official Gazette (NN) 20/18). Under that Act, agricultural land means agricultural areas described in the cadastre by their use as: arable land, gardens, meadows, pastures, orchards, olive groves, vineyards, fish ponds, reed beds and marshes, as well as other land that can be brought into agricultural production. Agricultural land is an asset of interest to the Republic of Croatia and enjoys special protection. Under the Act, municipalities and towns adopt a programme for the management of agricultural land in their area, and changing land use from building land to agricultural land is permitted, but subject to several conditions.
Changing land use for non-agricultural purposes is carried out on the basis of spatial planning documents adopted by local self-government units, with the confirmation of the Ministry of Agriculture. To change land from agricultural to building land, you must submit a proposal for a change of land use to your local authority and pay compensation for the change, depending on the size and value of your land. This process therefore involves considerable financial cost, so you should be certain before opting for a change of use.
How to find out whether land is building land
Before buying land, the first thing you need to find out is whether it is building land, because if you intend to build anything, you should only consider plots classified as building land. Whether a plot is building land is determined by checking public registers. You can consult the real estate cadastre for the area where the land is located or check with the municipality. If you are not comfortable searching online, you should visit the municipality and ask to see its spatial plan.
What is a spatial plan?
A spatial plan is a document that defines the spatial development of a settlement or part of a settlement, setting out the spatial and functional solutions, conditions and design of individual areas within the settlement. Spatial plans determine the building conditions for a plot of land, including its designated use, size, built-up area and floor-area ratio, the distance of a building from neighbouring plots, and the maximum height of a building in terms of the number of floors and its absolute height relative to the level of the finished ground, among other things. The simplest way to find out whether land is building land is to check the plot in the cadastre on the website katastar.hr, where all cadastral plots in Croatia are registered. By clicking on a plot, or searching by plot number, you can find a wealth of information on the selected building land.
How to find out whether land is building land – it's not always that simple
However, you should know that the fact that your land is classified as building land does not always mean you can obtain a building permit straight away. Your plot may be located in a so-called undeveloped part of the building zone, or the municipality's Spatial Plan may require a more detailed plan (UPU – urban development plan) for that area. In that case, you can only obtain a building permit for the plot once the UPU enters into force.