Tourist Rental License & Registration in Bulgaria

A tourist rental licence in Bulgaria is, in Bulgarian law, mostly a registration: an owner who lets an apartament za gosti (апартамент за гости, guest apartment) or rooms to holidaymakers enters the property in the municipality's register or, for some types of accommodation, goes through kategorizatsiya (категоризация, categorisation) with the mayor. This page covers tourist rental licence and registration in Bulgaria, the Airbnb rules, holiday let licence and short-term rental registration that owners search for, under the Tourism Act (Zakon za turizma). Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Tourism License Application”.

Who usually needs it

Foreign owners of a flat on the Black Sea coast or in a ski resort, owners who already let through platforms and want to put things in order, and buyers who plan to let the property they are buying.

How it usually works in Bulgaria

1. The type of accommodation is identified, which decides between registration and categorisation.
2. The application goes to the municipality with the owner's documents and the details of the property, and the owner receives a registration or a category.
3. Guests and overnight stays are reported electronically in the national tourism information system (ESTI, ЕСТИ), and the local tourist tax (turisticheski danak) is collected for the municipality.
4. The income is declared under the tax rules that apply to the owner.

Points to watch

The rules for short-term lets in Bulgaria have changed more than once, and EU rules on short-term rental data are being added to the national ones; a lawyer confirms the current requirements. Letting without the required registration can lead to fines and to problems with the platforms. In an apartment block or a complex, the building's own rules and the other owners can matter. Letting through a management company in a resort is a different arrangement from letting directly.

What a lawyer does

A lawyer checks which regime applies, prepares and files the documents, explains the reporting and tax duties together with an accountant, reviews the agreement with a management company, and acts for owners abroad under a power of attorney. Owners who let on a larger scale sometimes use a company, see business set-up. For long-term tenants see rental contracts; for buying a property to let, buying property.

Questions and answers

Is a licence needed to let my flat on Airbnb in Bulgaria?

Letting to tourists is regulated: the property is registered or categorised with the municipality before it is offered, and guests are reported. The exact steps depend on the type of accommodation.

What is the difference between registration and categorisation?

Both are handled by the municipality. Registration is the lighter step used for smaller accommodation such as guest apartments; categorisation assigns a category against set standards. The type of accommodation decides which one applies.

Can a non-resident owner register a guest apartment?

Yes. A foreign owner can, often with a representative in Bulgaria for the filings and the guest reporting.

Who pays the tourist tax?

The guest pays it for each night, and the host collects it and pays it to the municipality, which sets the amount.

Is rental income from tourists taxed?

Yes, the owner's income is taxable in Bulgaria, and the form depends on how the letting is organised. A lawyer or accountant confirms the current rules.