Specifics of the registration of apartments or premises that form part or a building

1. With respect to the registration of the apartments of the condominium: are there any specific formal characteristics of the registration related to the condominium or any characteristics that indicate that such apartments are subjected to a condominium, such as a formal statement, a number or other sign in the condominium or the corresponding share related to each apartment?

According to provisions of the Law on Ownership and Other Property Rights, condominium is registered on the B sheet – land book ownership sheet, with all co-owners listed, and with either precisely defined or equal co-ownership parts, if co-owners have not defined the surface area of the co-owned parts, together with an apartment of business premises description; apartment number, rooms number and surface area, apartment surface area, floor.

Every apartment has its floor file, and the ownership is achieved by making contract between buyer and seller. There should be contract, elaborate of the apartment done by an expert from the construction engineer profession and prove of paid taxes.

2. Anyway, does registration of the apartment include the share of the apartment related to the global condominium?

As already said, apartment registration also presumes registration of co-ownership related to the real property as a whole. The fact should be noted here that former socially-owned apartments have been privatised after Croatia gained independence. Previous tenants were sold the apartments they had been using in accordance with the Law on the Sale of Apartments with Tenancy Rights.

To implement this Law, the book of deposited contracts was introduced in 1992, where apartments sold in accordance with this Law have been registered. In current legislation there are provisions to close books of deposited contracts and transfer them into land books, by registering on the B sheet the part that it co-owned by each owner of a separate part, and providing a description of the separate part itself.

3. What type of relationship is there between the registration of the building and the registrations of the apartments? Are the building and the apartments in absolutely separated registrations, with no connection at all?

When a new building is constructed, the building itself needs to be registered first in order for the apartments (separate parts) to be registered later. The registration of a building is carried out based on a cadastre application report and a decision made in administrative procedure before the cadastre.

Therefore, the building needs to be registered first, but only if it has been constructed in line with the building and occupancy permits. Separate parts are registered based on an administrative certificate defining separate parts as independent occupancy units, with a statement by the owner defining the surface area of co-owned parts belonging to each apartment, or else, they are defined based on an opinion by a building expert.

4. Which physical data of the apartments are usually collected in the registration to describe the property? (Floor or storey where located, surface, boundaries, access, rooms, postal address, cadastral code).

It has been stated already that the following are needed to register the separate part (apartment): floor, apartment number (if there is one) in the building, surface area, number of rooms, address.

5. If registrations in your system refer to a plan or to the cadastral map, how (if at all) does the plan show the position (horizontal and vertical) of the apartment within the building?

No condominium plan in necessary to register condominium in Croatia, but these plans are created for certificates whether a part is an independent occupancy unit or not. However, no condominium unit report is necessary to register condominium in the land registry.