Zagreb slows building permit issuance due to high demand

Zagreb's city administration has acknowledged a temporary slowdown in issuing building permits, a situation attributed to an unprecedented influx of applications. Mayor Tomislav Tomašević stated that while the city has made significant progress in speeding up the process since his administration took office, a recent surge has caused delays.

"When we came to power, Zagreb had the longest waiting times for building permits among major cities. We invested heavily in the capacity of the offices that issue them and managed to reduce the timeframe to less than 100 days, or about 83 days from a properly submitted application. This made us the fastest among the major cities in Croatia," Tomašević said. He asserted that Zagreb remains among the quickest cities for permit issuance, but the current volume has temporarily impacted processing times.

The situation changed following amendments to the General Urban Plan (GUP). Investors who submitted applications for location permits before the new regulations came into force have the right to have their cases processed under the old rules. This led to a large number of applications being submitted before the GUP amendments were adopted.

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Kad smo došli na vlast, Zagreb je među velikim gradovima imao najdulje čekanje na građevinske dozvole. Puno smo uložili u kapacitete ureda koji ih izdaju i uspjeli smo rok spustiti na manje od 100 dana, odnosno na oko 83 dana od uredno predanog zahtjeva. Time smo bili najbrži među velikim gradovima u Hrvatskoj.

An additional factor contributing to the delay was the multi-month postponement of the GUP's adoption due to repeated returns and lack of consent from the relevant ministry. Consequently, the city is currently processing the highest number of applications ever, leading to the temporary slowdown. Tomašević expressed confidence that once the backlog is cleared, permit issuance times will shorten again.

The discussion also touched upon construction in protected city areas. Regarding oversight of work in zones A and B and how citizens can report irregularities threatening cultural heritage or building stability, Tomašević explained that the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments is responsible for issuing conservation guidelines, while inspection services handle violations. Changes to the Institute's organization are expected by the end of August.

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Budući da smo pripremili izmjene GUP-a koje donose kvalitetniju gradnju, bolju kvalitetu života i sprječavaju pretjeranu izgrađenost, investitori su prije njihova usvajanja podnijeli velik broj zahtjeva.