|
Post by fidobsa on Jan 31, 2014 9:41:46 GMT 1
I am looking to buy a rural property but I'm told that foreigners are not allowed to own agricultural land in Croatia. The places I prefer are on the edges of villages, where the houses are not so densely packed together. Is there any way to tell whether the land that comes with a particular house is classed as agricultural? In one case I asked the seller but she does not know.
|
|
|
Post by fidobsa on Jan 31, 2014 13:34:16 GMT 1
Thanks, is the sign giving the name of the village placed at the boundary?
|
|
|
Post by propertymanagement on Feb 2, 2014 1:08:31 GMT 1
The law has changed in regards to this. There is a new law saying that EU citizens can buy agricultural land plots as well (same as Croatians)... it happened when Croatia joined EU last summer. This is still new and not many people are informed about this.
|
|
|
Post by propertymanagement on Feb 2, 2014 20:04:52 GMT 1
Hi January! I don't think there is a link anywhere on the internet, as it is really something new. Few days ago we (real estate agency) received the letter from HGK (Croatian Chamber of Economy) providing us with an official opinion from Croatian Ministry of Justice Department about this topic. Their opinion is... since the new "Law on Nature Protection" dated 6.7.2013. doesn't say anything about prohibition of the acquisition of real estates in protected areas, their opinion is that all foreigners are now allowed to buy such properties. As you probably know the old Law was explicitly excluding the possibility for foreigners to buy a property in a protected area. I have attached a part of the document with their opinion about this... it's in Croatian but I believe it is still helpful. P.S. In my previous post, I said EU citizens are free to buy agricultural land plots, but according to the Ministry of Justice Department, all foreigners can buy such properties (of course, if not EU, there should be a reciprocity agreement between that particular country and Croatia). Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by propertymanagement on Feb 4, 2014 11:01:23 GMT 1
Thanks January. I think that's a correct translation of the document.
|
|
|
Post by propertymanagement on Feb 4, 2014 16:57:15 GMT 1
I am sorry for the wrong information I provided few days ago... thanks to January, I realized that agricultural land plots are still excluded (I mean, foreigners are still not allowed to buy agricultural land plots in Croatia). The new "Law" I mentioned is related to all other protected areas in Croatia, such as National Parks, Parks of Nature and similar. Here is the list of "protected parts of nature" defined by the new Law: – strogi rezervat, – nacionalni park, – posebni rezervat, – park prirode, – regionalni park, – spomenik prirode, – značajni krajobraz, – park-šuma, – spomenik parkovne arhitekture
Agricultural land plots are protected by a separate law - "Zakon o poljoprivrednom zemljištu". But my opinion is that we should expect this law to change soon as well - as it's obvious that EU is forcing Croatian government to remove the above mentioned restrictions.
Once more, I am sorry for the wrong information...
|
|
|
Post by ZAD on Feb 4, 2014 18:00:01 GMT 1
I just wasted a day of my life looking around olive groves for sale.
|
|
|
Post by fidobsa on Feb 4, 2014 19:33:08 GMT 1
Thanks for the update, propertymanagement.
|
|
|
Post by Ribaric on Feb 5, 2014 8:25:45 GMT 1
Not wasted, I expect Olive Groves enjoyed it [/quote] Classic.
|
|
|
Post by IstriaOutsideMyWindow on Feb 5, 2014 13:17:15 GMT 1
This is an interesting subject so I had a look around and found this quote: "Croatia has retained restrictions on the purchase of farmland, so that foreigners will not be able to buy agricultural land in Croatia for seven years after the country's entry into the EU, with a possibility of extending this time frame for another three years." (Source: dalje.com/en-croatia/eu-brings-financial-envelopes-for-agriculture-restricts-farmland-buying/473718)It's not surprising why many countries have laws forbidding the purchase of land by foreigners. This quote reveals what new Member States may have to face: "China’s Tianjin State Farms Agribusiness Group Company already invested a total of EUR 10 Million in the lease of 20000 hectares of agricultural land in Northwestern Bulgaria (Severozapaden), the poorest EU region, to produce corn, forage, and sunflower for export. Qatar is also ready to invest EUR 100 million in the stock breeding sector and Kuwait bets USD 480 million just on Bulgarian agriculture through the establishment of a joint company." (Source: www.arc2020.eu/front/2013/10/moratoriums-on-land-sale-member-states-battle-eu-while-corporations-plough-on/)
|
|
|
Post by fidobsa on Feb 5, 2014 20:41:05 GMT 1
I don't see the connection. The restriction we are discussing applies to private individuals. Foreign commercial enterprises are allowed to own land, as it will be held in a company name. I can also buy agricultural land if I start a company but I'm trying to avoid that. There might be other laws restricting the size of farms that can be owned by foreign owned companies.
|
|
|
Post by ZAD on Feb 5, 2014 21:45:10 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by riki on Feb 6, 2014 16:01:33 GMT 1
To find out if the land is agricultural, you need to check the zoning of the particular lot at katastar.hr. You may find that the village house and surrounds are zoned something else and can be purchased.
On a separate note, I raed somewhere that Croatia is trying to encourage agric consolidation of land and there are even incentives for this. I have a Doo so can purchase agriculatural. Anyone know about this?
|
|
|
Post by michaeluskovich on Feb 6, 2014 17:04:48 GMT 1
I am sorry for the wrong information I provided few days ago... thanks to January, I realized that agricultural land plots are still excluded (I mean, foreigners are still not allowed to buy agricultural land plots in Croatia). The new "Law" I mentioned is related to all other protected areas in Croatia, such as National Parks, Parks of Nature and similar. Here is the list of "protected parts of nature" defined by the new Law: – strogi rezervat, – nacionalni park, – posebni rezervat, – park prirode, – regionalni park, – spomenik prirode, – značajni krajobraz, – park-šuma, – spomenik parkovne arhitekture Agricultural land plots are protected by a separate law - "Zakon o poljoprivrednom zemljištu". But my opinion is that we should expect this law to change soon as well - as it's obvious that EU is forcing Croatian government to remove the above mentioned restrictions. Once more, I am sorry for the wrong information...
|
|
|
Post by michaeluskovich on Feb 6, 2014 17:22:42 GMT 1
I am a US born citizen and because of my father being a Croatian citizen I have recently obtained my Croatian citizenship and Passport. I also purchased a home in Zadar prior to my citizenship approval with no apparent isues. However, there was some sort of issue where I was asked to provide my citizenship info to the local gov't once I became a citizen regarding the home ownership.
On a side note, I find trying to do anything in Croatia is very inefficient because of language barriers, levels of bureaucracy and everything takes a long time even though I have local connections to help out.
Regarding Acricultural land. I read where the current ban on purchasing land will sunset in seven years. I am looking at land right now and I'm sure as a citizen it will be a test of my nerves anyway. If anyone has a good site to locate agricultural properties please share.
Also, anyone needing help navigation obtaining land or Croatian citizenship please contact me.
bog
|
|