Commercial Maintenance Obligations in Croatia

Navigating Commercial Upkeep

In the Croatian commercial sector, governed primarily by the Zakon o zakupu i kupoprodaji poslovnoga prostora (Official Gazette 'Narodne novine' No. 125/11, 64/15, 112/18, 123/24) and the Zakon o obveznim odnosima (NN 35/05, 41/08, 125/11, 78/15, 29/18, 126/21, 114/22, 156/22, 155/23), the maintenance split is a key negotiation point. Unlike residential units where the law provides a rigid floor of protections, commercial landlords can shift almost all maintenance costs to the tenant.

The 'Shell and Core' Reality

Many new office buildings in Zagreb are delivered in a "Shell and Core" (Roh-bau) state. This means the landlord provides the structure and connection points, and the tenant is responsible for everything else—flooring, partitions, and internal electrical distribution. The maintenance of these tenant-installed systems is 100% the tenant's responsibility over the life of the lease.

Service Charge Audits

If you are managing a multi-tenant commercial building in Croatia, you will likely operate a Service Charge budget. This covers security, cleaning of common areas, and elevator maintenance. It is best practice to provide an annual reconciliation report to tenants, showing actual costs vs. the monthly estimates paid.

Unlike residential leases where state statutes strictly protect tenants and mandate a specific "warranty of habitability", commercial maintenance responsibilities in Croatia are highly negotiable. While the Zakon o zakupu i kupoprodaji poslovnoga prostora establishes baseline defaults, the final signed commercial lease dictates almost the entirety of the maintenance relationship.

Statutory Default Obligations

If a formal commercial lease contains absolutely no provisions concerning maintenance (which is exceedingly rare and highly ill-advised), the Zakon o zakupu i kupoprodaji poslovnoga prostora and the Obligations Act intervene with the following default standards:

• The Landlord: Must maintain the business premises in the condition they were in at the time of handover to the tenant (Art. 14, NN 125/11).
• The Tenant: Must bear the costs of "current maintenance" (tekuće održavanje), which includes routine cleaning, minor repairs, and addressing damage caused by the tenant's operations, employees, customers, or vendors (Art. 15, NN 125/11).

Shifting the Burden: NNN Leasing Practices

In modern Croatian commercial real estate—especially concerning premium office blocks, retail centers, and logistics parks—the statutory defaults are almost entirely overridden by the negotiation of the lease terms.

It is standard Croatian practice for commercial landlords to shift massive operational burdens to the corporate tenant. Structures mirroring an international Triple Net (NNN) Lease are commonplace:

• Base Rent vs. Service Charge: Tenants agree to a net base rent. Separately, they pay a proportional CAM (Common Area Maintenance) service charge to adequately cover the upkeep of elevators, security, parking, and building landscaping.
• Tenant Responsibility: In severe industrial or retail leases, the contract may explicitly place the entire financial and structural burden of maintaining the exterior, the roof, the heavy electrical systems, and any specialized loading equipment squarely on the corporate tenant.

Dealing with Substantial Defects

Even in leases that shift considerable responsibility to the tenant, a "fundamental commercial defect" remains the landlord's problem unless formally disclaimed.

Under the Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima) and the upcoming Zakon o upravljanju i održavanju zgrada (effective 1 January 2025):

• If a severe structural flaw prevents the tenant from operating their business (e.g., the building lacks the zoning permissions for its intended use or the foundation collapses), the tenant possesses the immediate right to terminate the contract and sue the landlord for damages.
• The landlord is obligated to undertake severe emergency repairs if the tenant notifies them. Under Art. 555 of the ZOO, if the landlord fails to perform necessary major repairs within a reasonable time after being notified, the tenant may perform the repairs at the landlord's expense and is entitled to reimbursement or a set-off against rent.
• Starting 1 January 2025, building managers for multi-tenant commercial buildings must ensure urgent repairs are addressed within three hours of reporting.

The Handover Protocol

To strictly mitigate disputes over whether damage occurred prior to the lease or during the tenant's operations, signing a detailed handover protocol (Zapisnik o primopredaji)—often accompanied by extensive photographic or video evidence—is mandatory operating procedure.

This protocol acts as the definitive baseline metric during the final lease "reinstatement" phase, proving the exact condition of the premises upon handover as required by Article 14 of the Act on Lease and Sale of Business Premises.

With Landager, landlords can systematically organize all asset maintenance documentation and digital photographic handover protocols for streamlined, instantly retrievable compliance.

How Landager Helps

Landager tracks lease terms, automated rent reminders, and document expiration - making it easy to stay compliant with Croatia regulations.

Back to Croatia Landlord-Tenant Laws OverviewPreview unavailable.