Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a small city with a very big summer. About 42,000 people live here, yet the airport handled 3.1 million passengers in 2025, with August around 27 times busier than January. Summers are crowded; winters are quiet, with far fewer flights.

It suits people who can live with the seasons: remote workers, retirees, second-home owners and families with work here. The catch is price and supply. Asking prices average about €5,100 per m², close to Split's at the top of the Croatian market, and so many flats are let to tourists that a year-round rental is the hardest thing to find.

Neighbourhoods

Renting in Dubrovnik

Tax data compiled by the city show just 138 flat leases registered in 2025. Asking rents averaged €13.53 per m² in September 2026, about €950 a month for a 70 m² flat; expect €900–1,500 for two bedrooms, depending on area and view.

Many owners earn more from a summer of tourists than from a year of rent, and some offer only an off-season let, from autumn to late spring. Ask on the first call whether the lease runs through July and August, and get the dates in writing. Start early: tenant demand peaks from March to June. One argument is on your side: a home let for at least 10 months a year as someone's permanent residence is exempt from the €5 per m² property tax, worth €350 a year on 70 m².

• The lease must be in writing, with the rent, both sides' obligations and the notice period. On an open-ended lease you give three months' notice.
• The landlord must give you a copy of the energy certificate and register the income with the Tax Administration.
• Official guidance sets no standard deposit, so write the amount and how it comes back into the lease.
• Tenants usually pay electricity, water, waste collection and internet.
• You need the lease or a signed statement from the owner to register your address with the police.
• Have your passport, OIB and proof of income ready; landlords decide what they ask for.
• If an agency is involved, ask before viewing whether you pay a fee.

Much of the stock was fitted out for tourists, so expect many flats to come furnished. Look on portals such as Njuškalo and Index oglasi and with local agencies, or start with [a search for flats to rent in Dubrovnik](search:2-bedroom flat to rent in Dubrovnik).

Buying in Dubrovnik

Asking prices averaged €5,105 per m² in September 2026, 5% up on a year earlier. Prices actually paid are lower: the 156 flats sold in 2025 averaged €4,016 per m². Luxury new builds are advertised at over €10,500 per m².

1. Get an OIB

   Apply for this tax number at the Tax Administration office where the property is, in person or through a representative, or online via e-Građani if you are an EU or EEA citizen.

2. Check the title

   The land registry extract is the only proof of ownership; for newer buildings, also ask for the building and use permits.

3. Sign a notarised pre-contract

   The deposit (kapara) is usually 10%: you lose it if you pull out, and the seller repays double if they do.

4. Sign the sale contract before a notary

   Have your own lawyer check it. Ownership passes on entry in the land registry.

5. Pay the transfer tax

   The notary reports the sale within 30 days, and you pay within 15 days of the tax decision.

Run your numbers with the buying costs calculator.

Foreign buyers

Citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway buy as Croatians do; Swiss citizens need no consent but must show registered temporary residence. Everyone else needs consent from the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation, given only where your country grants Croatians the same right. UK citizens and those of most US states qualify; Canadians face limits on homes until 31 December 2026, and Australians on existing homes until 31 March 2027. You apply after signing, with the contract and a planning certificate, and the ministry publishes no deadline, so allow for the wait. Non-EU buyers cannot buy agricultural land.

Mortgages and annual costs

Each bank sets its own terms for non-residents, so get a written loan offer before the pre-contract or you risk losing the deposit. Property tax is €5 per m² of useful floor area a year unless the home is your permanent residence or let long-term, and flats in shared buildings also pay monthly into the building reserve fund (pričuva).

Tourist lets

Since 2025, a new short-term let of a flat in a shared building needs written consent from owners of two-thirds of the building plus every owner whose flat adjoins yours. Consent lasts at least five years and binds later buyers; existing lets must get it by the end of 2029. Hosts pay a flat tax per bed set by the city (€100–300 a year in the top band), tourist tax and property tax. The Tax Administration describes the private-host scheme for EU and EEA nationals, so others should ask a lawyer how they could let.

In May 2024 the city adopted an Old Town plan and carrying-capacity study as the basis for limiting tourist beds there, so do not buy in the Old Town counting on a new licence. A proposed new Hospitality Act, planned for 1 January 2027, would add a registration number for every unit advertised online.

Schools

We could not find an international or bilingual school in Dubrovnik, and Zagreb is too far for a daily journey, so families choose between state schools, online schools and boarding. State schools teach in Croatian and charge no tuition; contact the school for your address early and ask about Croatian-language support.

Supermarkets and everyday shopping

Croatia's chains range from discounters such as Lidl and Kaufland to mid-priced supermarkets such as Konzum, Tommy, Plodine and Spar, plus Studenac's small neighbourhood shops. In Dubrovnik, Studenac has shops in several districts and Tommy delivers for €2.65, free over €55. Konzum's delivery does not reach Dubrovnik, and the nearest Plodine is in Ston.

For fish, fruit and vegetables, use the city markets at Gruž (with a fish market), Lapad and the Old Town's Gundulićeva poljana, with fish at the Peskarija. All open Monday to Saturday, 06:00–13:00. Shops close on Sundays and public holidays, except on the 16 Sundays a year each retailer may choose and at the airport, ports, the bus station, petrol stations and hotels; online orders are allowed. Housing and parking are the big costs; a monthly city bus pass is €46.45.

Getting around

Libertas runs the buses. A single costs €2.50 from the driver and less from kiosks (a one-hour ticket is €1.73); a 24-hour ticket is €5.31. Monthly passes for Župa and Konavle (including Cavtat) cost €53.09 and €79.63.

Driving is harder. From April to October a controlled zone around the Old Town admits cars only with prior approval. The priciest parking zone costs €20 an hour from May to October and ordinary zones €1.30 an hour from March to November, and the cheap resident card needs more than two years of registered residence, so a flat with parking is worth paying for.

The airport at Čilipi is 22.5 km away, 30–35 minutes by road and up to an hour in summer. The Platanus shuttle costs €10 (€15 return) to Ploče Gate and Gruž, and Libertas lines 11, 27 and 38 also run there.

The Pelješac Bridge, open since 2022, takes you north without crossing Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum; the old road through Neum crosses the EU's external border twice, so carry passports. Jadrolinija ferries from Gruž serve the Elafiti islands, and the Bari ferry is suspended until 21 October 2026.

Tax in brief

• Residency. You are tax resident if you have a home available in Croatia for 183 days or more in one or two calendar years, even unused, or stay that long. Residents are taxed on worldwide income.
• Income tax. As a county seat, Dubrovnik can charge 15–22% on income up to €60,000 a year and 25–32% above (20% and 30% if it sets none). The personal allowance is €600 a month.
• Property tax. €5 per m² a year in Dubrovnik (2026), including on tourist lets; permanent homes and long lets are exempt.
• Rental income. Long-term rent is taxed at 12% after a flat 30% deduction (about 8.4% of the rent); non-residents also pay tax on Croatian rent, subject to treaties. Tourist lets pay the flat tax per bed.
• Selling. Whether a gain is taxed depends on how long you owned the home and how you used it.
• Special cases. The digital nomad permit does not settle your tax position. A US–Croatia tax treaty was being ratified in October 2026.

Moving here

EU and EEA citizens can stay three months, then register temporary stay at the police station for their address within eight days. The certificate is free, a residence card costs €13.27, and permanent stay follows after five years.

Everyone else needs a temporary stay permit for a set purpose, such as work, family, study or remote work, granted for up to a year at a time (18 months for digital nomads); owning property does not count. Apply at a Croatian consulate, or at the police if you do not need a visa (about €88 in fees there, including the card). Report your address to the police within three days of arriving.

The digital nomad permit, for non-EU remote workers with a foreign employer or company, lasts up to 18 months and needs income of €3,622.50 a month (or €43,470 saved for a year), health insurance and a clean criminal record. You can apply online.

In your first weeks:

1. Get your OIB from the Tax Administration, or through the police when you register.
2. Register your address with the police.
3. Open a bank account.
4. Arrange health insurance. HZZO, the state insurer, covers people working in Croatia and permanent residents; otherwise bring your EU cover or buy private insurance.

Questions people ask

Rents and prices are asking prices from public reports and portals, checked October 2026. Sources: nekretnine.hr, average asking prices and rents, City of Dubrovnik; nekretnine.hr, average asking prices and rents, Župa dubrovačka; nekretnine.hr, average asking prices, Konavle; Grad Dubrovnik, Izvješće o tržištu nekretnina 2025 (sales and leases from Tax Administration data); Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property and EIZG, Pregled tržišta nekretnina 2024 i 2025; Regent, Where to buy rental property in Croatia 2026 (Dubrovnik long-term rents); investropa, Dubrovnik housing prices by neighbourhood (cross-check only)