Croatia's Agency Publishes Affordable Rental Program Applicant Lists

The Croatian Agency for Legal Transactions and Real Estate Mediation (APN) released the temporary priority lists for the affordable rental program after a public call that ran from 15 April to 15 May. Of the 1,315 applications received, 1,098 were approved and 202 were rejected. Applicants were scored on ten criteria, including household income, family size, age, education, disability, residence and need for deficit occupations; tie‑breakers favoured war veterans and their families.

Rejections were mainly due to missing documentation (104 cases) or insufficient monthly income to afford the capped rent (76 cases), with some applicants also facing criminal proceedings or already owning suitable housing. Applicants have eight days to lodge an electronic appeal.

The program currently has 275 privately owned vacant properties available, plus eight renovated state apartments (five in Pula, three in Zadar). In total, 329 state apartments across about fifty Croatian towns—most in Zagreb, Osijek and Rijeka—are being renovated, with 99 completed, 42 under construction and the remainder in planning or tender phases. Rent is limited to 30 % of a household’s monthly income, and owners receive 60 % of the long‑term rent upfront, the remaining 40 % after half the contract period.