Holiday rental hosts: Croatia proposes a 2030 deadline and new registration number

What actually happened on 21 October

Croatia's government has submitted the final proposal for a new Hospitality Act, the Zakon o ugostiteljskoj djelatnosti, to the Sabor for a second reading. For private holiday rental hosts, the transitional period and planned registration of online listings are particularly relevant. However, a government decision on a legislative proposal replaces neither parliamentary adoption nor publication of the law.

Anyone currently required to meet a specific deadline should therefore not disregard it merely because of a report about “four extra years”. This article describes the text submitted on 21 October and its procedural status, not an extension of the reader's own decision that has already taken effect.

The deadline concerns certain provisional decisions

Article 88 of the proposal identifies hospitality operators, private hosts and certain family farms operating when the law takes effect under the provisional decisions expressly specified there. They would be allowed to continue operating on that basis until no later than 31 December 2030. This is not blanket authorisation for any accommodation that has not previously been approved.

The explanatory memorandum refers to additional time to resolve building-law status and obtain permanent decisions. The competent authorities are to obtain information on the progress of the relevant legalisation procedures. A longer transitional period would therefore not be the same as completed legalisation.

The minister's figure of around 15,000 hosts refers to the end of 2024. It establishes neither the exact number of businesses affected today nor the number of individual apartments in October 2026.

One number per unit for online listings

Articles 46 to 49 provide for a registration procedure through the integrated tourism information system. A valid registration reference would have to be stated for each accommodation unit offered on short-term rental platforms. Under the distinction explained, hotels and campsites are not covered by this particular short-term rental rule.

The proposal distinguishes registration from authorisation to operate. Its explanatory memorandum also describes an applicant first receiving a number but still having to apply for the necessary decision. The number alone is therefore not permission to receive guests without any other required authorisation. It would be possible to check inaccurate information and unmet requirements; suspension or withdrawal of the number is also envisaged.

Three dates with different meanings

Article 92 gives 1 January 2027 as the proposed general commencement date for the new law. Articles 46 to 49 are scheduled for 1 May 2027. The government also refers to EU Regulation 2024/1028, which has been applicable since 20 May 2026. These three dates describe different regulatory levels and must not be reduced to a single deadline.

The EU regulation supplies the framework for collecting and sharing data. The Croatian provisions now proposed govern procedures and responsibilities, among other matters. Only the adopted and published legal text will show which version ultimately applies.

What hosts can prepare now

An organised overview of your own decisions, the units they identify and the information on booking platforms is useful. Anyone holding a provisional decision should clarify its legal basis and the status of the related procedure with the competent authority. This helps regardless of whether the proposal is adopted unchanged.

Guests do not need to infer general grounds for suspicion about existing bookings from this report. For hosts, it is not a reason to send money to a private register provider either. An official registration procedure, a voluntary advertising listing and accommodation approval are different things. Individual professional advice is sensible for a specific legal issue or deadline.