Croatia modernising land records in €400m cadastral project

Jelsa

Croatia is making steady progress on a major €401 million national cadastral survey project aimed at aligning official property records with the actual situation on the ground.

The initiative, led by the State Geodetic Administration, is now in its fourth year and already delivering visible results across the country.

Director General Antonio Šustić told HRT that more than half a million cadastral parcels have been covered so far, spanning around 100,000 hectares across 106 local government units.

Work is either underway or completed at 188 locations nationwide, highlighting the scale of the project.

Concrete outcomes are already evident. In 31 cadastral municipalities, updated cadastral and land registry data have been officially implemented, with a further 25 expected to follow within weeks. An additional 30 or more municipalities are scheduled for completion thereafter.

While northern and north-eastern Croatia currently show the most progress, southern regions present more complex challenges.

Authorities stress, however, that efforts are being made to ensure consistent data quality and accessibility across all regions.

The project represents a major state investment, but officials emphasise that returns will extend far beyond financial gains.

Improved land records are expected to drive new investment, enhance spatial planning, support more effective use of EU funds, and strengthen environmental protection.

In areas where the work has already been completed, tangible improvements are already being observed.

Public participation is a key component of the process. Citizens are being urged to check and update their property data and attend informational sessions organised ahead of surveys.

These public meetings serve as an introduction to the process, outlining obligations and ensuring property owners understand their role. Participants are required to attend site visits, mark parcel boundaries and provide relevant documentation.

Despite the complexity in areas with large numbers of registered parcels and owners, authorities report generally strong public engagement.

In one example from Međimurje, nearly 50,000 registered individuals were initially linked to land records, but the process ultimately clarified ownership down to around 3,000–3,500 actual owners.

Officials stress that even in cases where individuals do not respond, legal safeguards ensure that no property rights are lost.

Timeline to 2030

The project is scheduled for completion by 2030, although some elements are expected to continue beyond that date due to the scale and complexity of the work.