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How Much Does It Really Cost to Maintain a Home in Croatia? A No-Secrets Guide to Bills

That moment. The keys are finally on the table, sunlight pours in through the open balcony doors, and the view of the Adriatic is even better than in the photos. Congratulations—you’ve just bought your dream property in Croatia! You open a bottle of Prošek to celebrate and feel that this was the best decision of your life.

And then, a week or two later, the first envelope arrives.

It’s sitting in the mailbox. It looks official. You open it, and inside there’s a document with the heading “UPLATNICA” (payment slip) and a whole lot of Croatian words you don’t yet understand: struja, voda, naknada.

Your mind immediately starts calculating, and your heart beats just a little faster. “How much is this going to be? What don’t I know yet? Is some gigantic cadastral tax about to appear—one no one mentioned? Will I be paying rent like in Berlin, Vienna, or Warsaw, draining my savings?”

Relax. Take a deep breath and pour yourself another glass.

We’re here to tell you some very good news. The costs of owning property in Croatia are not only predictable, but in most cases—and this is not a marketing gimmick—they are surprisingly low compared to the rest of Europe.

As an agency that guides clients through this process every single day, we decided to do something that almost no one ever does: translate every bill and every fee into concrete numbers. This guide holds no secrets. There’s no fine print. Just pure math that will show you how much it really costs to own a piece of paradise.

Let’s begin.

The Basics: Utilities – How Much Do Water, Electricity, and Internet Cost?

Let’s start with what you already know. Utilities: struja (electricity), voda (water), and of course—the most important one in the 21st century—internet.

Electricity (Struja) – Air Conditioning in Summer, Heating in Winter

Electricity is usually the highest household bill, because in Croatia we use it for almost everything: cooling in summer, heating outside the main season, and heating water. The main supplier is the state-owned giant HEP.

How to save? The key is a dual-rate tariff (viša and niža tarifa). Electricity is significantly more expensive during the day (typically 7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.) and much cheaper at night. A local tip: set your water heater, washing machine, and pool pump to run at night. The savings can be huge.

Estimated costs: A small, newer apartment (up to 60 m², used occasionally) outside the high season can cost as little as EUR 30–50 per month. A large house with a pool, intensively rented and used during summer, can jump to EUR 150–250 per month at peak season.

Water (Voda) and Čistoća (Waste Collection)

These are usually the lowest and most predictable expenses. You pay the local vodovod (water utility) and the municipal services company (Čistoća, Zeleno i modro, or another local equivalent).

Water is cheap. The only real issue may arise if you have a large garden that needs frequent irrigation, or if a lot of water is used to top up a swimming pool.

Waste collection (Odvoz smeća): This is typically a low, fixed flat fee, regardless of whether you actually use the property. Most often, it falls in the range of EUR 10–15 per month.

Internet and TV – Your Window to the World

Thankfully, the days of slow internet are long gone. In most cities and larger towns, you have access to fiber-optic connections (optika). Where fiber isn’t available, fast mobile internet (4G/5G) is more than sufficient for remote work or streaming movies and series.

• Many providers (Hrvatski Telekom, A1, Telemach) offer “all-inclusive” packages (internet + TV + landline—the latter mostly included just because it comes with the bundle) at a fixed price of EUR 30–50 per month.

Croatian “Specialties”: Fees You Need to Know About

Now we move on to things that are unique to Croatia. This is the section meant to dispel the biggest financial fear of almost every investor.

What Is Pričuva—and Why It’s Not Rent

In Poland, Austria, or Germany, you’re used to high monthly administrative fees that can easily “eat up” a large portion of your rental profit. In Croatia, this works differently—and usually in a much more wallet-friendly way.

Good news right from the start: pričuva applies only to apartments in multi-unit buildings. If you’re buying a detached house, this doesn’t concern you at all—you are your own “property manager.”

What is it? Pričuva is essentially the reserve fund of the homeowners’ association (the equivalent of a renovation or sinking fund). This money is earmarked—it can be used only for maintaining common areas: roof repairs, façade maintenance, shared installations, or the elevator.

How much does it cost? This is where we get into hard numbers. The statutory minimum is currently EUR 0.36 per m² per month.. Yes, you’re reading that correctly—this is pocket change compared to Western European standards. The rate is set by a majority vote of the owners. Often, they choose to pay slightly more than the minimum to save faster for a planned renovation, but even then the amounts remain very reasonable.

⚠️ Important note for investors (the catch!): There is one exception you need to know about. The low rate applies only when the homeowners’ association functions properly and adopts an annual building maintenance plan. If the owners are passive and fail to approve such a plan, the law requires the rate to be increased fivefold—to EUR 1.80 per m²! This is meant to motivate co-owners to actively take care of the property.

That’s why, before purchasing an apartment, we always check the current pričuva rate—it’s an excellent litmus test of whether the community is cohesive and well managed.

Example: For a 70 m² apartment:

At the minimum rate (EUR 0.36): you pay only about EUR 25 per month.

At the “penalty” rate or a temporarily increased rate for a major renovation (EUR 1.80): you pay EUR 126 per month.

Most well-maintained apartment buildings fall within the lower range, which makes owning an apartment in Croatia exceptionally affordable.

Property Tax – New Rules from 2025 (But No Need to Panic!)

This is the point where we need to be extremely precise, because the regulations have just changed. Let’s start, however, with the most important piece of news—which is still valid:

Croatia STILL does NOT have a cadastral tax based on the market value of the property!

This is a huge relief. You won’t be paying 1% or 2% of your home’s market value, as is the case in the U.S. or in some Western European countries.

What has changed? As of January 1, 2025, the old “holiday home tax” was reformed and replaced with a Property Tax (Porez na nekretnine).

Who does it apply to? All properties that are not used for permanent residence. If your apartment stands empty or is rented out to tourists (and you are not permanently registered there), you fall under this tax.

How much is it? The rates have been updated. Each municipality or city sets its own rate, within statutory limits ranging from EUR 0.60 to EUR 8.00 per m² of usable floor area per year.

What does this mean in practice? Tourist-oriented municipalities will likely aim for the upper end of the range to finance infrastructure, but even the maximum rate is still very attractive on an annual basis.

Example calculation (for a 150 m² house):

Optimistic scenario (small municipality): 150 m² × EUR 2.00 = EUR 300 per year

Maximum scenario (top resort): 150 m² × EUR 8.00 = EUR 1,200 per year

Even in the most expensive scenario, we’re talking about roughly EUR 100 per month for a large house—still a fraction of the costs faced by property owners in other Mediterranean countries. That said, it’s always worth checking the exact rate in the specific municipality before buying.

Komunalna Naknada (Municipal Utility Fee)

This is another low, fixed fee paid to the city or municipality. It is used to finance public infrastructure: street lighting, roads, parks, and other municipal facilities. It usually amounts to EUR 10–25 per month and is calculated based on the surface area or volume of the property.

Two Worlds: Real Costs for an Apartment vs. a House with a Pool

To make planning easier for you, we’ve prepared two realistic scenarios. Keep in mind these are average costs, assuming you maintain a permanent internet connection.

EUR 0 (applies only to multi-unit buildings)

These simulations clearly show that even in the more expensive scenario, the annual cost of maintaining a property—without any cadastral-style tax—is, for many of you, lower than the monthly rent for an apartment in a capital city.

How to Handle It? Payment Logistics for Non-Residents

Everything sounds great, but how do you actually pay these bills while sitting in Munich, Prague, or Kraków?

Option 1: Croatian Bank Account (Do It Yourself) This is the easiest and most straightforward method. After obtaining your OIB (personal identification number), open an account with one of the local banks (e.g., PBZ, OTP, Zaba). Then set up a trajni nalog (standing order) for electricity, water, and municipal fees. Many of these can also be paid online via mobile banking. Fast, secure, and fully under your control.

Option 2: Cash Payment (Only On-Site) If you only visit occasionally, you can pay directly at the post office (Pošta) or at FINA offices using paper Uplatnica forms. A traditional approach, but it requires being physically present.

Option 3: Property Management Service (Peace of Mind) If you rent your property to tourists or simply don’t want to deal with bills, you can hand it over to us. Through our property management service (which we are happy to explain in detail), we take care of the entire process. Once a month, you receive one clear statement from us, with all bills already settled. You pay for the luxury of absolute peace of mind.

Summary

As you can see, the costs of maintaining a property in Croatia hold no hidden financial surprises. They are logical, predictable, and—most importantly for foreign investors—free from a paralyzing annual cadastral tax. This is a huge investment advantage!

Knowing these numbers allows you to plan your budget accurately and fully enjoy your Adriatic home without stress.

Don’t let financial uncertainty stop you from realizing your dreams. Would you like us to prepare a personalized cost simulation for a specific property you’re interested in, along with a realistic investment return (ROI) plan? Get in touch with us! Transparency is the foundation on which we build our client relationships.