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* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Requirement Details
Procedure 1.
Obtain excerpt from the Land Registry for subject and bordering lands
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
HRK 20
Name of Agency:
Land Registry
Comment:
The company must obtain preliminary approvals from various authorities. Such approvals are issued based on the preliminary project design drawings and other documents needed to process the location permit. They are applied for before the application for the application for the issuance of the location permit;however these applications can be filed simultaneously. Land Registry Department of the Municipal Court in Zagreb has transferred a significant portion of Land Registry data into electronic form, as a result, excerpts can be obtained immediately upon request or in a shorter term. Also, as the backlog of cases has reduced due to increased number of staff and other reform efforts, general improvements in the efficiency of the Land Registry Department in Zagreb can be noted. The procedure takes now on average 1 day.
Procedure 2.
Obtain possession list for subject and bordering lands from the Ministry of Justice
Time to complete:
7 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 70
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Justice
Comment:
The company must obtain preliminary approvals from various authorities. Such approvals are issued based on the preliminary project design drawings and other documents needed to process the location permit. They are applied for before the application for the issuance of the location permit; however, these applications can be filed simultaneously. The validity of such approvals is 2 years.
Possession list from the Ministry of Justice can be obtained now in 7 days. Before this would take 15 days.
Procedure 3.
Obtain copy of cadastre plan
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
HRK 110
Name of Agency:
County Office (cadastre and geodetic activities)
Comment:
This copy can be obtained from the County Office for Cadastre and Geodetic Activities.
Cadastre plan copy can be obtained from the Country Office for Cadastre and Geodetic Activities now takes only 1 day. Previously it used to take 1 week.
Procedure 4.
Obtain location permit from the Municipality of City of Zagreb
Time to complete:
80 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 200
Name of Agency:
Municipality of City of Zagreb
Comment:
Following the enactment and implementation of Law on Physical Planning and Construction in October 2007 there have been various improvements in the process of approval of construction projects in 2008. Under the new system the focus of project design and zoning review has shifted to the stage when the location permit is rendered by the local authority (Municipality of Zagreb).
Municipality acts as a one-stop shop and obtains all approvals that are now called “special terms”, internally. Additionally, under the new scheme there are no longer preliminary special terms. They are final and can be requested simultaneously. However, in practice companies can chose to obtain all special terms from relevant authorities on their own. Applicants can chose to submit through the Municipality which eliminates need for contacting each authority separately. Municipality would need to obtain the special terms from: Fire Inspectorate, National Croatian Electric Grid, Waste Collection Department, Croatian Telecommunication, Local Water Authority, Ministry of Defense, Sanitary Inspection, Road and Traffic Administration.
If the applicable zoning regulations require a draft and a detailed zoning plan, that plan replaces the location permit and is a precondition for obtaining a building permit. The validity of a location permit is 2 years and may be extended for an additional 2 years. The request for the location permit should be accompanied by the documents obtained in Procedures 1–3. Initially, the applicants need to submit three copies of drawings and plans for initial evaluation and thereafter they need to submit the remaining copies for respective authorities to obtain special terms. However, if all documents are correct they can be submitted at once at the beginning. The owners of bordering plots are also invited to submit their statements about the project (these statements can even be obtained by the BuildCo and submitted together with other documents).
According to the Law the statutory time-limit for this procedure is 30 days. However, due to more scrutiny of project review, zoning aspects, and obtaining special terms, it may take on average 3 months.
The costs of issuance of the location permit have been increased, ranging from HRK 200 (for construction of 0.2 hectares = 2,000 sq. m.) to HRK 3,000 (for construction over 10 hectares = 100,000 sq. m.), depending on the construction type and size.
Procedure 5.
Obtain decision from the municipal authority regarding utilities
Time to complete:
22 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 144,367
Name of Agency:
Municipal Authority
Comment:
The company must obtain a decision from the municipal authority on utility fees, based on the construction permit. The amount of the fee depends on the building size (in cubic meters) and on the location. (Zagreb is divided into seven zones. In the case considered here, the warehouse is in an industrial zone, assumed to be zone 6). The fee can be paid in full or in installments. When BuildCo believes that infrastructure projects (utilities or public roads) need to be undertaken around the plot, the constructor can negotiate with the municipality to finance part of these investments through utility fees. The utilities fee is set from HRK 20 to HRK 180 per cubic meter, depending on the zone (e.g., HRK 37 for zone 6). The volume of the warehouse is calculated according to the methodology provided in the regulation, by using the data (heights) from the project documents. (1300 sq. m. x HRK 37 x 3 m. [height of each story] = 7,800 cubic meters x HRK 37 = HRK 144,300).
Procedure 6.
Pay water contribution to the state company Croatian Waters (Hrvatske Vode)
Time to complete:
15 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 273,000
Name of Agency:
Hrvatske Voda
Comment:
Water contribution is paid to finance the management of water resources and protection from floods. The cost is determined based on the zone the new construction is in (Zones A, B, and C – Zone A is Zagreb and the protected coastal area, Zone B is the rest of the country, and Zone C are areas subject to special Government care), the purpose of the construction (residential, industrial, public interest), and the volume of the construction. The cost for the warehouse described in the questionnaire would be 650 m (base)* 6 m (height) * 70 HRK according to the price list of Hrvatske Vode (www.voda.hr).
Procedure 7.
Obtain confirmation of project design (building permit) from the Municipality of City of Zagreb (Construction Department)
Time to complete:
65 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 1,050
Name of Agency:
Municipality of City of Zagreb
Comment:
The construction permit allows the investor to begin construction.
According to the Law on Physical Planning and Construction (Official Gazette Nr. 76/2007., entered into force on October 1, 2007) the building permit is no longer necessary in most cases. It is only required for the construction of infrastructure objects and other buildings provided for by special regulation. The construction of a building with a combined (brutto) surface area under 400 sq meters (600 sq meters for buildings of agricultural use) requires a decision on the construction conditions, which replaces the building permit. The construction of a building exceeding these parameters requires a confirmation of the main project design. It is to be issued by the same body competent for the issuance of the location permit (in this case, Municipality of the City of Zagreb), and replaces the building permit. The request for confirmation of the main project design must be accompanied by the following documents: - location permit, - written report on the control of the main project design, - section on the identity of designer used in the drawing up of the project design, - certified parcelation for the new land plot.
Project clearances from fire department, sewage and water, telephone, labor inspectorate, and sanitary inspection need to be obtained only when a building permit is required. This would not be the case in regard to BuildCo intended construction. This resulted in elimination of five procedure and accelerated and simplified procedure in that respect.
The project design must comply with the conditions provided for in the location permit and with conditions set out in special laws and regulations. The project designer is liable for compliance. The confirmation of the main project design (as opposed to the building permit and the decision on the construction conditions) is not an administrative decision in legal sense, meaning that interested third parties have no right of appeal - in general, this reform thus eliminates one potential ground for delay.
Provided that all the necessary document have been attached to the application, the competent body is obliged to issue the main project design clearance (confirmation) within 30 days upon submission of the application. However, significant increase in work load resulted in increase backlog and delays in time. In practice the permit is issues in 3-4 months.
The costs amount from HRK 800 (for constructions of 400 sq. m.), 0.50% of the estimated construction costs (for constructions over 400 sq. m.), 0.35% of the estimated construction costs (for constructions over 1,000 sq. m.), and 0.25% of the estimated construction costs (for constructions over 5,000 sq. m. and other unspecified constructions).
Procedure 8.
Obtain water and sewage connection
Time to complete:
20 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 8,000
Name of Agency:
Water & Sewage Authority
Comment:
Procedure 9.
Obtain power connection
Time to complete:
15 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 238,000
Name of Agency:
Hrvatska Electro Priveda (HEP)
Comment:
The formulas for connection fees can be found in the Energy Law adopted in March 2006 by the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency. The fees are calculated based on the unit price and the connection power or, otherwise, the real cost of the network connection. In May 2006, the unit price connection fee has been set by the Croatian government as HRK 1,350 per kW for areas outside the City of Zagreb and as HRK 1,700 per kW for areas in the city of Zagreb (HRK 1,700 per kw: 1,700 x 140=238,000).
Procedure 10.
Obtain telephone connection
Time to complete:
15 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 650
Name of Agency:
T-Hrvatski Telekom (T-HT; T-Croatian Telecom)
Comment:
Procedure 11.
Apply for occupancy permit
Time to complete:
90 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 20
Name of Agency:
Municipality of City of Zagreb
Comment:
Under new Law occupancy permit remains mandatory for the use of a completed building. The procedure of issuance has not changed substantially, differing only in the documents which must be enclosed to the request for issuance. Those are the following: (1) confirmation of the main project design, (2) information on the participants in the construction (investor, designer, performer of construction works, supervisory engineer), (3) report of the construction firm which built the object, and (4) final report of the supervisory engineer.
The Municipality forms an evaluation committee within 30 days after the submission of the application for the issuance of the occupancy permit, and determines the date of the on-site inspection. The investor submits various documents which substantiate that the construction has been conducted in accordance with the regulations (e.g. construction diary, licenses of the construction firm which executed the works, technical certificates for the material used in the construction, etc.) to the evaluation committee not later than on the day after the inspection. If any of the member of the evaluation committee finds that the building does not comply with a specific requirement, the investor may be given additional 90 days to make the necessary corrections (if the error is, in fact, corrigible). If all requirements have been met, the Municipality should issue the occupancy permit within 30 days after the inspection.
Procedure 12.
Receive on-site inspection and signature of completion statement
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
HRK 700
Name of Agency:
Municipality of City of Zagreb
Comment:
Procedure 13.
Inform tax authority about new building
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Tax Authorities
Comment:
To pay the real estate tax, the company should notify the tax authority about the new building.
Procedure 14.
Register new construction with Land Registry
Time to complete:
120 days
Cost to complete:
HRK 500
Name of Agency:
Land Registry Court
Comment:
Registering the new construction is not mandatory, but without registration the owner cannot take out a mortgage. Having an occupancy permit is a precondition for registering the new construction.
The procedure takes at least 4-5 months assuming we have an experienced lawyer and there are no hindrances of legal nature on the property, and there is a constant follow up. The reality is however, nearly all land plots have some sort of claim disputing the ownership. The Land Registry Court has a major backlog of cases (over 46,000) from previous years. The Court will consider BuildCo’s case based on the order it came, and hence will review papers once other prior documents are reviewed.
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