ZGRADONAČELNIK Željko Uhlir NPSP

Guest Željko UhlirHosted by Ana Leko VučkovićMay 3, 2026

Željko Uhlir

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

Croatia faces a pervasive challenge: affordable housing remains out of reach for many. As the country introduces its National Housing Policy Plan for 2030, the conventional wisdom might point to building more. But State Secretary Željko Uhlir, from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction, and State Property, reveals a more nuanced strategy. The plan isn't just about new builds; it's about activating what already exists. Uhlir discusses the ambitious goal of bringing 9,000 currently empty private apartments back into use. This approach grapples with the complexities of private ownership, legal uncertainties, and the sheer scale of unused residential space. It raises questions about how a state can incentivize private citizens to participate in a public housing solution, and whether the speed and environmental benefits outweigh the costs of traditional construction. This conversation explores the thinking behind such a multi-faceted plan: the deep analyses, the interdisciplinary expertise, and the long-term vision for a housing system that prioritizes affordability, sustainability, and efficient spatial use. You will walk away considering the subtle levers governments can pull to address market failures without resorting to a single, obvious solution.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

The 9,000 empty apartments target isn't just an abstract number; it's a projection based on activating 0.5% of Croatia's 600,000 vacant private units each year. The lesson is that policy can aim to unlock even a small fraction of underutilized private assets to address a public need, rather than solely creating new ones.

Building new multi-story residential buildings in Croatia takes three to five years from investment to occupancy, meaning the first new apartments from a plan adopted in February 2025 wouldn't be ready until 2029. This significant lead time was a primary motivator for focusing on activating existing empty units, prioritizing speed and environmental protection over new construction.

The National Plan for Housing Policy received only around 70 comments during public consultation, mostly focused on a single measure. This illustrates that strategic documents, by their nature, often receive limited public engagement due to their high-level language and scope. The real public interest and impact will emerge when the plan translates into specific legislative changes across six different laws.

The state agency APN will fully manage the relationship with tenants, paying owners a cumulative median rent upfront for 3 to 10 years and collecting affordable rent from tenants. This mechanism directly addresses the 'legal insecurity' and management burden that Uhlir identified as key reasons private owners keep apartments empty. The state effectively de-risks private rentals for owners to bring units into the system.

The plan is built around three goals—affordable, sustainable, and spatial function—achieved through four distinct levers: financial, tax, land, and eco-energy. This multi-dimensional framework demonstrates that complex societal problems like housing affordability require an integrated policy design, combining diverse objectives with a range of instruments rather than relying on a single solution.

The approximately 400 million euro projected cost to activate 9,000 empty units is a deliberate financial trade-off. While it might seem like a substantial sum, the state is consciously prioritizing the rapid availability of existing housing and the reduced environmental impact over the long lead times and new land use associated with traditional construction.

The working group for the National Housing Policy Plan consisted of 26 experts from various fields, including academia and professional bodies. This extensive interdisciplinary composition underscores that tackling systemic issues like housing affordability demands a broad spectrum of specialized knowledge, far beyond the purview of any single ministry or sector.

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