Usage Permits

[dvrgorac]

Hi all

A friend from Croatia sent me the link to a Croatian Article referring to usage permits. You can use Google Translate


www.vjesnik.com/Article.aspx?ID=736F92C2-CA00-4D8E-B9DC-70B6617B6959


New law they are predicting to be six months away...

I want to understand usage permits better. Does anyone have any links or information they can forward me regarding usage permits in residential apartments.

Questions I have are:

1) For Privately/Limited Company ownership

Is a permit required to rent out a property?

2) What steps does a developer need to take to obtain a usage permit?

3) Cost approx for block with 6 apartments?

4) Potential pittfalls/hurdels in obtaining a permit?

5) Time frames


If I have learnt anything from Croatia its that everything is 1000 times harder than it needs to be.

Regards

D

[zvekov]

Naturally, I will say get a lawyer... But even a lawyer will be hard pressed as they just don't seem to cover the several disciplines required to resolve your issues.

1 - need a tourist license in both cases to rent to tourists in both cases private/company. To rent to the local croatian market for living at €250/month you do not need a license

2 - loaded question. If he had a building permit before the building was erected then he just needs to apply for a usage permit, and the municipality will issue if everything is in line and he pays the local taxes. If it was built without permits he can also legalise it, retrospectively, but you will need an architect to make the application for the as built state and pray it doesn't violate the general area plans. there may be about 3steps in this case but depends on the exact case -architect.

3- project documentation from architect around €15/ sq m gross area if he is gentle. Payment to municipality for croatian waters and utilities about €25 - €100 per sq m. It is charged by the cubic metre, but I just did a rough calc assuming 3m height per poor.
Oh and that will be increased by 25% if it was illegal.

4 - pitfalls is it a plot that needs subdivision or not. If not one hurdle overcome.
Do you have a location permit or not? If not, hope the area plan is in line with existing house
Also need permission to build the exact building from neighbours. They can't object without a valid reason, but they need to find them first.... Simple but can be a real delay. If you want to have a house with potential for tourist let's mixed use, they can raise an objection f the area is nt zoned that way. Also there may e an embargo on new permits if the local plan is under creation.

5 - if you are there harassing could be up to a year. And that is if you ave a location permit. If not, pray its in some remote municipality where they have few applications.... In big ities, this old take a while. Bon chance, but it Edgar's the question, if it's of any interest why didn't a lawyer advise you on this on the acquisition?

Oh and I imagine if you haven't got a usage permit, your interest will definitely not e registered in the land registry as the owner of an apartment. Prob may be a part owner of a plot of land. Only houses with permits can be entered in the land registry

5

[dvrgorac]

Thank you zvekov for you thorough response. I appreciate it.

[prkbrk]

Actually your property can be entered in the Land Registry without a usage permit. The notes on the land registry document/entry will just indicate that the property does not have a usage permit

[Carol]

prkbrk - that was then. For the last year, a usage permit has been required. Its been a real problem.

[tiggerai]

All,

Just wondering if anyone knows what impact getting a touristic usage permit would have on permanent residents?

We're in the process of chasing up to see if we can get one sorted (first tentacle of an octopus shaped problem) to get the categorisation... luckily our local opcina seem to be quite forward with this - and reasonably helpful when we went to enquire on monday.

[gramand]

Ok in answer to the question what is a Usage Permit.

If in the UK or the rest of the civilised world you apply for Planning Permission and get permission to buiild (A building Permit here). Then when construction was finally finished you would invite the building inspector (who in the UK visits at foundation, ground floor, other floors, roofing etc.) to make a final visit and sign off the structure as being "complete and in accordance with the approved plan".

In other words you have built what you got planning permission for. That is what a Usage permit is, a document stating that what was permitted is exactly (to 10cm) horizontally and vertically what got built, that doors windows etc. showing from the outside are in the positions shown on the plans and finally that the plot was measured out correctly and the structure is placed on that plot where the plans said it would be .

[gramand]

In Croatia nobody bothered to do this last step, usually because they did not build according to the building permit and therefore knew it was a pointless exercise as it would fail.

If you got your building permit and built and finished before 1990 it would seem you do not need a Usage Permit so you can forget it.

If like me your house was built before 1990 but the building permit was not obtained till after the War then you are stuffed. It is I am afraid back to square one and start with a new building permit then get a usage permit then go through the legalisation process as your building will 99.8% certainly not be built to the building permit you had when you bought the d**n thing.

I suspect this may even be problem with modern technology because when the Geodet checked mine to apply for a usage permit it was only out by a metre or even 30cm here and there. (plus an illegal porch that should have been a patio, and a staircase with 2 extra stairs ending less than 3 metres from the road, and a few other small anomalies. But 25 years ago it was built with a wonky spirit level a few stakes to mark the corners and no satellite GPS assistance.

I reckon it was built within the spirit of the Building Permit.