On 21 October 2026, the Croatian Government adopted the Final Draft of the Hospitality Industry Act and sent it to Parliament for its second reading. For landlords, two dates matter most: temporary permits remain valid until 31 December 2030, and the registration number requirement for properties advertised on online platforms starts on 1 May 2027.
The deadline for temporary permits was due to expire on 31 December 2026. This would have meant that next season, all landlords whose properties do not yet have an occupancy permit or are in the legalisation process, and who operate on the basis of a temporary permit, would have been left without a valid permit. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, there were around 15,000 such landlords in Croatia at the end of 2024. In the final draft of the act, the Government moved the deadline to 31 December 2030, giving them four additional years. Minister Tonči Glavina justified this as protecting the livelihoods of family landlords.
What this means in practice
If you operate on the basis of a temporary permit and the act is adopted in this form, you can work the 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 seasons as before. The extension, however, is intended as time to complete the legalisation, not as a permanent arrangement. The draft act also requires county authorities to submit data on resolved cases and valid temporary permits to the Ministry by 30 June each year, which means the pace of resolution will be monitored. If you have an open legalisation case or are waiting for an occupancy permit, it is a good idea to push it towards completion now rather than wait until 2030. The deadline has been moved before, but nobody can guarantee it will be moved again next time.
Registration number from 1 May 2027
The second important change is a unique registration number for accommodation units advertised on online platforms such as Booking and Airbnb. The requirement stems from European Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services, which has applied since 20 May 2026. Because of this, a false claim spread in the spring that a registration number was required as early as May 2026, and the Ministry confirmed at the time that the number is not mandatory during 2026. According to the final draft of the act, the provisions on the registration number and data sharing with platforms will apply from 1 May 2027.
The requirement applies to rooms, apartments, studio apartments and holiday homes advertised through platforms, but not to hotels and campsites. After that date, a property without a valid registration number would not be allowed to advertise, as direct data sharing between the state and the platforms is planned. According to the June draft, platforms that fail to provide the required data or do not check listings can be fined between EUR 13,000 and 130,000, or between one and six percent of their revenue, so it is realistic to expect them to enforce this requirement strictly.
According to the Ministry’s announcements, the procedure for obtaining a registration number should be free of charge and digital, through the eTurizam system. Specific instructions, forms and the registration procedure have not yet been published, so at the moment there is nothing landlords need to do. We will publish them as soon as they become available.
What else the draft act brings
Mandatory recategorisation is being introduced: every 10 years for rooms, apartments and holiday homes, and every five years for hotels and campsites. In addition to the State Inspectorate, the Customs Administration and municipal wardens will also monitor unregistered rentals, and fines for operating without registration are being increased. All administrative procedures should be carried out electronically through eTurizam. Companies and sole traders would no longer be granted new permits for rooms and apartments in residential premises, while this option remains for holiday homes. For existing properties, the act provides for transitional periods, which we will write about once the text is adopted.
Overview of deadlines
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Temporary permits | valid until 31 December 2030 (instead of 31 December 2026) |
| Registration number and data sharing with platforms | from 1 May 2027 |
| EU Regulation 2024/1028 | applies from 20 May 2026, with no registration number requirement in Croatia during 2026 |
| Entry into force of the act | planned for 1 January 2027 |
| County reports to the Ministry on legalisation | by 30 June each year |
Important note
The act has not yet been passed. This is a final draft that has been sent to Parliament for its second reading, and the Prime Minister has announced that it will be adopted by the end of 2026. In principle, the dates may still change before the final vote in Parliament, although significant changes rarely happen at the second reading. We will follow the process and publish the final deadlines once the act is published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine).
Krk danas Editorial Team
Sources
Croatian Government, 26 June 2026: New Hospitality Act: registration number introduced for landlords
Ministry of Tourism and Sport, 17 June 2026: Government adopts Draft Hospitality Industry Act
Index.hr, 21 October 2026: Around 15,000 landlords were due to close at the end of the year. The Government has given in after all
tportal.hr, 21 October 2026: Tourist rentals under closer supervision: Government introduces new obligation for landlords
Cimerfraj.hr, 12. 5. 2026.: Registracijski broj od 20. svibnja? To je dezinformacija – obveza je predviđena za 2027.
