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At today's session of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, a draft law on the management and maintenance of buildings was submitted for first parliamentary reading, which will, among other things, limit the conversion of apartments for commercial purposes.
"What is important, and I think that it enters into the sphere of tourism, as well as the demographic renewal of Croatia, is the restriction of the conversion of residential spaces or apartments into tourist apartments, but also for other forms of short-term renting, in such a way that the consent of 80% of the co-owners is required for this type of activity.", said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property Branko Bacic.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and HEP, as much as 40% of the total housing stock in Croatia is not used for housing, meaning that apartments are built in Croatia for residential purposes and are later used for other purposes, which causes prices to increase, both per square meter of living space and rent.
"The goal is to return 908 thousand apartments, which is 40% of the housing stock in Croatia, to their original purpose. If we were to return these 908 thousand apartments to their original function, we could accommodate almost another Croatia in terms of population. Another thing is that in this way we contribute to improving the quality of sustainable tourism in Croatia. Therefore, together with the Ministry of Tourism, we jointly assess that this step forward is necessary, which would raise the quality of Croatian tourism, but also life in apartment buildings, to a higher level. Increasing the supply will contribute to reducing real estate prices and rents. This law is part of our housing strategy measures in the Republic of Croatia in order to contribute to easier access to buying or renting apartments.", explained Bačić.
The preseason was record-breaking, and the postseason is expected to be the same.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković referred to the current tourist season in his opening speech, saying, among other things, that contrary to expectations, this tourist season is better than last year.
"As for the tourist season, it is going according to expectations. Minister Glavina commented on the numbers achieved in July the other day, however, if we look at the beginning of the year, 15,3 million arrivals and 79,3 million overnight stays were achieved, which is 3% more arrivals and 1% more overnight stays compared to the same period last year. In coastal counties, 2% more arrivals and the same number of overnight stays were achieved compared to the same period, while continental counties recorded 5% more arrivals and 4% more overnight stays. The pre-season was record-breaking, and the post-season is expected to be the same, so the concept of year-round and sustainable tourism is very visible in the dynamics of this tourist season, and we believe that according to these initial data, fiscalization and revenues in tourism will be very high and higher than last year.", said Plenković.
