Registering Residence for Tenants

Apartment lease agreements are generally signed for a minimum of one year, so tenants are also required to register their place of residence with the competent police administration or police station, which makes this text important for every tenant.

Residence, as the place and address in the Republic of Croatia where a person has settled permanently in order to exercise their rights and obligations related to their life interests, such as family, professional, economic, social, cultural and other interests, must be registered with the police administration or station of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for the place where the person has settled, within 15 days of settling. Along with the documents required to register residence, under the previous Residence Act, which was in force until 2012, the landlord's consent and the ownership certificate (vlasnički list) for their property were also required. However, with the entry into force of the Residence Act in 2013 and the Ordinance on the content of forms and the maintenance of the database on residence and temporary residence, the documents required to register residence changed, so read on to find out whether residence can be registered without an ownership certificate.

Registering Residence Without an Ownership Certificate – Documents Required Under the Old Residence Act

Under the Residence Act in force until 2012, a person registering a new residence had to submit the following documents to the police administration/station: – confirmation of deregistration from the previous residence, – an identity card, – a completed residence registration form, – evidence supporting the facts on which the applicant bases their request. In accordance with the General Administrative Procedure Act, the applicant must support with appropriate evidence the facts on which they base their request to register residence in a particular place and at a particular address. Therefore, if the applicant was not the owner/co-owner of the property at which they were registering residence, they could submit: – the ownership certificate (vlasnički list) for the property at which residence is being registered, or – the sale and purchase agreement for that property and proof of payment of the agreed price – a registrable deed (tabularna isprava) and/or the handover record for the property, or – a notarised lease agreement for the property at which residence is being registered, or – a statement by the landlord, i.e. the apartment owner, consenting to the registration, given before the official receiving the application and notarised.

Documents Required to Register Residence Under the New Residence Act and Ordinance

The Residence Act, in force since 2013, introduced changes to the documents required to register residence. First, the applicant must come in person to the competent police administration/station and, upon presenting their identity card, provide the details on the prescribed form. The content of the form is set out on the front of Form 1, which is printed with the Ordinance and forms an integral part of it. On the back of Form 1, the applicant must sign a statement confirming that they have settled at the place and address at which they wish to register residence, noting that making a false statement is subject to misdemeanour liability and a fine of 500 to 5000 kuna.

Registering Residence Without an Ownership Certificate

Unlike the old Act, the Residence Act currently in force does not require a land registry extract (vlasnički list) for the property where residence is being registered if the applicant is not the owner or co-owner of that property. In that case, the applicant must submit one of the following: – the consent of the landlord (owner), or of all co-owners, certified by a notary public. The landlord may also give consent in person to an official at the administrative services counter of the competent police administration/station, or electronically via the e-Građani system; – if the applicant has concluded a notarised tenancy agreement with the landlord, they may submit that agreement, in which case the landlord's prior consent is not required. In other words, if an applicant wants to register their residence at a friend's address, for example, it is sufficient to obtain the friend's consent, and no proof is required that the friend is the actual owner of the property at which the residence will be registered. Residence can also be registered on the basis of an apartment rental agreement that includes a special clause allowing the tenant to register their residence at the address in question. It is essential that the agreement is certified by a notary public.