In order for the investor to be able to begin construction at all, he needs a valid building permit. Building permits are issued by large cities (over 35,000 inhabitants) and county seat cities for their area or county offices for all other municipalities and cities within the county. 

The application for the issuance of a building permit is submitted by the investor, and it must be sent to the competent administrative body of a large city, the City of Zagreb or the county, competent for administrative affairs of construction, depending on the place where the construction or reconstruction of the building is planned. 

The building permit has no legal effects on the ownership and other real rights on the real estate for which it was issued and does not constitute a legal basis for entering the possession of the real estate, and for its issuance it is sufficient to prove a legal interest. The building permit is issued after a procedure in which the conditions for issuance are checked.