Finding the Right Information About a Property in Croatia

by Welcome Center Croatia | Last updated Jan 30, 2022 | Published on Jan 30, 2022

Ownership records are crucial when it comes to buying a property in Croatia. The tradition is that family real estate stays in the family for generations. That can lead to having multiple owners of one lot, house, or apartment. If one property has five (5) or more owners, it could be quite a hassle to work everything out and get everyone on the same page. Especially if they currently live abroad.

That is why checking the ownership information is pretty helpful. Today we are going to share ways on how to find the correct ownership information if you want to buy a real estate property in Croatia.

State Geodetic Administration - Cadastre

Katastar.hr is the official website of the state agency that provides various property information.

With the parcel number, you can check for:

The official size of the property in square meters
Purpose of the property - It can be a building lot, an agricultural area, open field, vineyard, etc.
Owner of the parcel - Here, you should be careful because some information dates from the 1990s and can be untrue. This information can be checked in the land registry Uređena zemlja, which we will talk about later in the text.

The property search is available in English here. If you do not have a parcel number, the interactive map can help you locate it. Remember that the parcel number is not always the same in the cadastre and the land registry.

If the numbers do not match, you can go to the local cadastre and ask for the Land registry parcel number. That number is used as an ID in the land registry.

Land Registry Uređena zemlja

Uređena zemlja is the Croatian system of registering real properties and associated titles. The main goal of this initiative is to secure legal transactions in the real estate business. This public registry holds the data on the legal real property status of merit for legal transactions.

Through Uređena zemlja, you can request:

Land registry extract
Book of Deposited Contracts extract
Cadastral map copy
Possessory sheet transcript/extract
Land Database extract

This one-stop-shop is excellent if you want to determine if there are any burdens on the property or if someone possesses a legal right to live there, although they might not be the owner.

Unfortunately, the land registry is available only in Croatian, which can make the search a bit more complicated.

You will need a parcel number or the land registry ID to get the information. If you do not know this information, you can try to search for it here. First, select the cadastre office and municipality. Then, use the map on the right to find and select the desired property.

Once you find the number, enter it in the field "Broj kat. čestice" and click "Traži." This way, you can get information about the owner(s), the purpose of the lot, and everything else you might like to know before purchasing a new property.