# Rental car damage claim in Croatia: what the company has to prove https://rentalproof.eu/damage-claims/croatia (en). Sascha Heyer, founder of RentalProof. Last checked: 2026-09-14. Legal sources verified: 5 September 2026. > In Croatia the rental company must prove the car's state at pickup and the damage at return. Unfair fees, card debits, ovrha and deadlines explained. ## Short answer Under Croatian law a car rental is a lease. The company that claims damage after return has to prove the car's condition at hand-over, that it came back damaged, and the amount. Ordinary wear is excluded, unfair fee clauses are void, and an invoice with an enforcement warning needs a reasoned objection within eight days. ## Before the due date 1. Reply in writing before the deadline in the claim letter, disputing both liability and the amount, without paying or admitting fault, and keep proof of the date you sent it. 2. Ask in writing for the check-out and check-in records, time-stamped photographs and the repair invoice: the company must prove the car's condition at hand-over, that it came back damaged and the amount (ZPP čl. 221.a). 3. If an enforcement order (ovrha) based on the invoice arrives, object with reasons within eight days of service (Ovršni zakon čl. 57 and 58): a reasoned objection sets it aside and the company must sue. ## Which law applies to a rental car in Croatia? Croatian law, in practice, when you rent from a Croatian branch. Rome I art. 6(4)(a) excludes services supplied exclusively outside the consumer's home country from the consumer rule, so the chosen law or, absent a choice, the law of the provider's seat applies ([Rome I](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32008R0593)). Croatia has no rental car statute. A rental without a driver is a lease (zakup) under the Zakon o obveznim odnosima (ZOO), and the Zakon o zaštiti potrošača (ZZP) controls the terms of every consumer contract. ## Who has to prove the damage after return? The rental company. Its claim rests on ZOO čl. 536(1): "Zakupnik je dužan čuvati zakupljenu stvar i nakon prestanka zakupa vratiti je neoštećenu." (The lessee must take care of the leased thing and return it undamaged when the lease ends.) ([ZOO](https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2005_03_35_707.html)) To show you broke that duty, the company has to prove three things: - the condition of the car when it handed it over, which ZOO čl. 521 requires to be "u ispravnom stanju" (in proper condition), usually shown by the check-out record; - that the car came back damaged; - the amount of the loss. Under ZPP čl. 219(1) each party states the facts and evidence its claim rests on, and under čl. 221.a a fact the court cannot establish with certainty is decided by the burden of proof ([ZPP](https://www.zakon.hr/z/134/Zakon-o-parni%C4%8Dnom-postupku)). For the damaged return, that burden sits with the company. Your main defence is ZOO čl. 536(3): the lessee "ne odgovara za istrošenost stvari koja nastaje njezinim redovitim korištenjem" (is not liable for wear caused by ordinary use), nor for damage that comes from the car's age. Čl. 536(1) reads strictly on its face, which is why proof of the condition at both ends matters. This approach only helps if you did not cause the damage. If you did, the amount can still be checked: repair invoice against estimate, fees, VAT and loss of use. ## What if nobody inspected the car at return? Then "returned damaged" is hard to prove. A key-box return without joint inspection, a car moved or rented out again before the damage report, or a report written days later leave that fact open, and under ZPP čl. 221.a it goes against the company. No statutory condition report and no statutory deadline for notifying damage after return were found in Croatian law, so your own dated photographs at pickup and return are the record. Records naming you are personal data: ask for a copy under GDPR art. 15, due within one month. ## Which rental terms are unfair under Croatian consumer law? A standard term that creates a significant imbalance against you is void. ZZP čl. 53(1): "Ugovorna odredba o kojoj se nije pojedinačno pregovaralo smatra se nepoštenom ako, suprotno načelu savjesnosti i poštenja, uzrokuje znatnu neravnotežu u pravima i obvezama ugovornih strana na štetu potrošača." (A term that was not individually negotiated is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the consumer's detriment.) ([ZZP](https://www.zakon.hr/z/193/Zakon-o-za%C5%A1titi-potro%C5%A1a%C4%8Da)) A term drafted in advance counts as not negotiated, and a company claiming otherwise must prove it (čl. 53(2) and (4)). Terms that may be unfair under čl. 54 include: - t. 5: compensation for non-performance "znatno veća od stvarne štete" (significantly higher than the actual loss); - t. 10: obligations you could not read before signing; - t. 14: the company alone decides whether the service matched the contract; - t. 15: the company has the exclusive right to interpret the contract; - t. 19: terms that block your evidence or shift the burden of proof onto you where the law puts it on the company. Terms must be clear and easy to spot (čl. 57), unclear terms are read in your favour (čl. 58(1)), and an unfair term is void while the contract stands (čl. 59). One limit: a clear, conspicuous price term such as the excess is not tested for fairness (čl. 56). ## How much can the company charge? Only the loss it can prove. ZOO čl. 1089(1) covers actual loss and lost profit. Ask for the itemised repair estimate or invoice, proof that the repair was actually done, the car's damage history and the calculation behind any loss-of-use charge or fee. Flat damage tables can be challenged under ZZP čl. 54 t. 5, and ZOO čl. 354 lets the court cut a penalty: "Sud će na zahtjev dužnika smanjiti iznos ugovorne kazne ako nađe da je ona nerazmjerno visoka s obzirom na vrijednost i značenje objekta obveze." (The court will reduce a contractual penalty that is disproportionately high given the value and importance of the obligation.) ## Fuel, cleaning, fines and other charges after return Each extra charge needs a basis you could see before signing. Online bookings must state the price clearly beforehand (ZZP čl. 60(1)), and extra payments need your express consent, otherwise they can be reclaimed (čl. 51). - **Fuel:** ask for the check-out and check-in fuel readings, the fuel receipt and the calculation. A price above the pump price needs a clause you could read. - **Cleaning:** ask for the time-stamped check-in photographs and the cleaning invoice. - **Damage handling or administration fees:** these stand or fall with the damage claim and are tested under ZZP čl. 54 t. 5 and ZOO čl. 354. - **Fines:** under Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama čl. 229(3) the company must name the driver when the authorities ask ([ZSPC](https://www.zakon.hr/z/78/zakon-o-sigurnosti-prometa-na-cestama)). The fine is then served on you. A handling fee is not forbidden but must be in the contract with its amount. ## The company debited my card after return: what now? A deposit blocked at pickup is not consent to a later, different charge. Under the Zakon o platnom prometu čl. 47, funds may be reserved only for an exact amount you agreed to ([Zakon o platnom prometu](https://www.hnb.hr/documents/20182/529405/h-zakon-o-platnom-prometu_npt.pdf/9ef7b62f-872b-7d8e-bc0d-85d376e41078)). - **Unauthorised debit:** without your consent the transaction is not authorised (čl. 34(4)). Report it to your bank without delay and no later than 13 months after the debit (čl. 41(1)). The bank must prove authentication (čl. 42) and refund an unauthorised debit by the end of the next business day (čl. 43). - **Authorised, but more than you could expect:** ask for a refund within eight weeks (čl. 48 and 49). The bank answers within ten business days, and you must show the amount exceeded what you could reasonably expect. ## The invoice warns about enforcement (ovrha) Act within eight days. An invoice is a "vjerodostojna isprava" (credible document), so a company can have a public notary issue an enforcement order without suing first; invoices to private persons must carry that warning (Ovršni zakon čl. 31). Ovršni zakon čl. 57(1): "Protiv rješenja o ovrsi na temelju vjerodostojne isprave ovršenik može podnijeti prigovor u roku od osam dana." (The debtor may object to an enforcement order based on a credible document within eight days.) ([Ovršni zakon](https://www.zakon.hr/z/74/Ovr%C5%A1ni-zakon)) An unreasoned objection is rejected (čl. 58(1)). A reasoned one sets the order aside, and the company then has to sue and prove its claim. ## How long can the company claim? For years. The general period is five years (ZOO čl. 225), claims from contracts for goods and services expire after three (čl. 228(1)), and damages for breach of contract follow the period of that obligation (čl. 230(3)). A late claim is not void, but a late damage report is weak evidence. Deadlines that run against you: eight days to object to an ovrha, eight weeks or 13 months for card refunds, and one year for mediation. ## Free help, mediation and court in Croatia Start with a written complaint: under ZZP čl. 10 the company must confirm receipt and answer in writing within 15 days. - **Centar za mirenje pri HGK**, the mediation centre of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, is a notified ADR body. After a written complaint to the company, file within one year, in Croatian or English. Contact: mirenje@hgk.hr, +385 1 4848 615 ([HGK](https://www.hgk.hr/centar-za-mirenje/zastita-potrosaca)). Consumer mediation costs are covered from the state budget ([NN 56/08](https://www.zakon.hr/cms.htm?id=723)). - **Europski potrošački centar Hrvatska** (ECC Croatia) gives free help in cross-border disputes. Visitors from other EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the UK go through their home ECC. Contact: ecc-croatia@mingo.hr, 0800 414 414, 9:00 to 15:00 ([ECC Croatia](https://www.ecc-croatia.hr/kontakt)). - **Court:** if you live in another EU country, you can sue at home and can be sued only at home (Brussels I recast art. 18(1) and (2), [EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32012R1215)). Croatian small-value procedure covers money claims up to €1,320 (ZPP čl. 458). ## What to do now 1. Reply in writing under ZZP čl. 10, dispute the claim and ask for the check-out and check-in records, time-stamped photographs, the itemised repair invoice and the fee calculation. 2. If an enforcement order arrives, object with reasons within eight days of service. 3. If your card was charged, contact your bank now and keep the eight-week and 13-month limits in mind. 4. Look up the terms you signed in our [rental terms lookup](https://rentalproof.eu/tools/rental-terms) and test them against ZZP čl. 53 and 54. To see where a Croatian claim is weak before you reply, upload it to the [free Claim Check](https://app.rentalproof.eu/claim/new). You get a weakness report, the next three steps and a deadline check. More countries are in the [damage claims guide](https://rentalproof.eu/damage-claims). ## Questions ### Who has to prove the damage on a rental car in Croatia? The rental company. It claims that you breached the duty to return the car undamaged (ZOO čl. 536), so it has to show the condition at hand-over, that the car came back damaged and what the repair costs. If the court cannot establish a fact, it decides against the party carrying the burden of proof (ZPP čl. 221.a). ### Do I have to pay for scratches from normal use? No. ZOO čl. 536(3) says the lessee is not liable for wear caused by ordinary use or for damage that comes from the age of the car. A company that charges for such marks has to show that they are something more than ordinary wear. ### What is an ovrha and how fast must I react? In Croatia a company can ask a public notary for an enforcement order (ovrha) based on its invoice, without first suing. You can object within eight days of service, and the objection must give reasons (Ovršni zakon čl. 57 and 58). A reasoned objection sets the order aside and the company has to sue and prove its claim. ### The company debited my card after I returned the car. Can I get it back? Possibly. A pre-authorisation at pickup is consent to reserve that amount, not to a later debit of a different amount. Under the Zakon o platnom prometu an unauthorised debit must be reported within 13 months, and a refund of an authorised debit of an unexpected amount can be requested within eight weeks. ### Is there free help for rental disputes in Croatia? Yes. The mediation centre of the Croatian Chamber of Economy handles consumer disputes, and the costs of consumer mediation are covered from the state budget. Consumers from other EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the UK can get free help through their European Consumer Centre, which works with ECC Croatia. ## Sources - Zakon o obveznim odnosima, NN 35/05 (arts 225, 228, 230, 354, 521, 536, 1089): https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2005_03_35_707.html - Zakon o zaštiti potrošača, consolidated text (arts 10, 51, 53 to 59, 60, 113): https://www.zakon.hr/z/193/Zakon-o-za%C5%A1titi-potro%C5%A1a%C4%8Da - Zakon o parničnom postupku, consolidated text (arts 219, 221.a, 458): https://www.zakon.hr/z/134/Zakon-o-parni%C4%8Dnom-postupku - Zakon o platnom prometu, consolidated text of the Hrvatska narodna banka (arts 34, 41 to 43, 47 to 49): https://www.hnb.hr/documents/20182/529405/h-zakon-o-platnom-prometu_npt.pdf/9ef7b62f-872b-7d8e-bc0d-85d376e41078 - Ovršni zakon, consolidated text (arts 31, 57, 58): https://www.zakon.hr/z/74/Ovr%C5%A1ni-zakon - Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama (art. 229): https://www.zakon.hr/z/78/zakon-o-sigurnosti-prometa-na-cestama - Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 (Rome I), arts 4 and 6: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32008R0593 - Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels I recast), art. 18: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32012R1215 - Hrvatska gospodarska komora, Centar za mirenje: consumer disputes: https://www.hgk.hr/centar-za-mirenje/zastita-potrosaca - Odluka o troškovima mirenja u potrošačkim sporovima, NN 56/08: https://www.zakon.hr/cms.htm?id=723 - Europski potrošački centar Hrvatska, contact: https://www.ecc-croatia.hr/kontakt One honest limit: this only helps when the damage was not caused during your rental. If it was, the amount can still be checked. General information, not legal advice. RentalProof is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any rental company. Every statute and case on this page links to the source it was checked against.