Zagreb is set to receive 240 new apartments after the Croatian government transferred a large plot of state owned land in the Resnik area to the Agency for Legal Transactions and Real Estate, known as APN, for a new housing project. The decision was adopted at a government session on September 14, with the land covering more than 56,000 square meters and having an estimated market value of €8 million. The state plans to use the property to build 30 multi apartment buildings containing a total of 240 homes, as part of its broader efforts to expand housing opportunities and make state supported housing more accessible.
According to the government, the planning documentation for the Resnik site has already been aligned with Zagreb’s spatial plan and General Urban Plan, allowing the project to move forward. Under the agreement transferring ownership, APN will be required to put the property to its intended use within four years of signing the contract. The project is part of a wider housing policy aimed at increasing the availability of homes through state supported programs, particularly at a time when housing prices and the cost of renting have become a major concern for many Croatian households.
The government also approved several changes concerning housing assistance in less developed and depopulated areas of Croatia. Among the changes are new rules that allow residents of certain state owned housing units to apply to purchase their homes after five years of residence, while those living in units built with European Union funding can apply after ten years. The government also extended the period during which the sale of such homes cannot be transferred to another person, increasing it from three to five years. New housing assistance models were also introduced, including the possibility of selling an uninhabitable apartment and providing construction materials for repairs to apartments and roofs in certain family homes.
The changes also increase housing support for several groups, including people with disabilities and households with disabled members, single parents and employees in the Croatian Armed Forces, police, judicial police and professional firefighters. While the Resnik project is one of the most visible parts of the government’s latest housing decisions, officials are presenting the measures as part of a broader approach to improving access to housing across Croatia. The new Zagreb development will add hundreds of homes to the capital’s housing stock, with the state now giving APN several years to turn the Resnik land into a completed residential project.
