Zagreb - During a debate on the Final Bill on Building Management and Maintenance, opposition MPs on Monday supported efforts to bring order to housing but criticised the requirement for obtaining consent for short-term rentals, calling it a partial, unfair, and even unconstitutional solution.
Under the bill, starting 1 January 2025, anyone opting for short-term rentals will need the consent of two-thirds (66%) of co-owners, instead of the previously planned 80%.
"The Social Democratic Party will not support this bill. We are generally in favour of encouraging long-term rentals, but we are against allowing the lucrative income from tourist overnight stays to be monopolised by hoteliers and entrepreneurs. We are against a fragmented approach and against leaving decisions to homeowner communities," SDP MP Mišo Krstičević said on behalf of the party's caucus.
He questioned why the bill does not specify which apartments and locations can be used for short-term rentals and which cannot.
"When it comes to short-term rentals, it is not the same if the property is in downtown Zagreb or Sesvete. Nor is it the same if it is a family rental where retirees lease their apartments to improve their standard of living or if the owner has dozens of apartments," Krstičević noted.
MP Marin Živković (We Can!) welcomed restrictions on short-term rentals but argued that the proposed mechanism is neither fair nor predictable. He added that local governments still lack effective tools to systematically regulate daily rentals.
Živković also argued that the law favours the hotel industry in the long term and could unnecessarily limit short-term rentals in areas without significant demand for long-term rental, such as small coastal towns and cities.
He suggested that amendments to the Ownership Act could better define which buildings are residential and which are intended for vacation rentals, "rather than leaving such decisions to the power of capital or the arbitrariness of neighbours".
Viktorija Knežević (Centre/Independent Platform North) said the proposed amendments were unconstitutional. "Any restrictions introduced must be proportionate to their purpose and should not be implemented if the same goal can be achieved by other means," she said.
Construction Minister Branko Bačić responded by saying that ownership rights come with obligations and that restrictions are permissible if they are proportionate and justified.
HDZ MPs praised the bill, emphasising co-financing measures for facade renovations in protected cultural and historical urban areas and subsidies for lift installation projects.