The official said that the ministry also expected requests to come in after the deadline, because they had been submitted in Croatian diplomatic missions abroad, and that it expected the number of applications to exceed 11,000.
Deadlines for the submission of applications have been extended several times since the programme of organised reconstruction of war-damaged family houses and apartments was launched in 1995.
In the first seven months of this year, 6,823 refugees returned to Croatia, of whom 4,309 or 65 per cent were ethnic Serbs and 2,514 or 37 per cent Croats.
By September 1, a total of 1,181 housing units were repossessed by their rightful owners after temporary occupants moved out. Of this number, 473 houses were illegally occupied.
The official said that the ministry planned to rebuild 10,800 houses and apartments this year.
According to an unofficial estimate by the Serb Independent Democratic Party (SDSS), 10,000 Serb refugees filed requests for housing reconstruction by September 30 this year.