If you let an apartment by the night — in Sofia, in Varna or on the coast — the rules around your listing changed this spring. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 has applied since 20 May 2026, and the platforms you work through now carry obligations of their own towards the state.
This is not a new tax and it is not a ban. It is a traceability requirement: every property offered for short-term accommodation must be linkable to a valid registration number, and verifying that number is now the platform's job.
Current as of August 2026.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 governs the collection and sharing of data relating to short-term accommodation rental services. Its date of application is 20 May 2026.
Three elements matter to an owner:
The practical effect is straightforward: a listing without proper registration becomes exposed. Not because an inspector will call, but because the check is automated and performed by the platform itself.
This is where most of the misplaced expectation sits, so it is worth stating plainly.
The regulation does not decide where short-term letting is permitted — that remains a matter of national and municipal law. It does not impose EU-wide caps on nights. And it does not replace local requirements for registration, tourist tax or taxation generally.
Put differently: the regulation does not change your obligations under Bulgarian law. It makes failure to meet them visible.
The distinction matters and is frequently confused.
Guest rooms and guest apartments are a separate class of accommodation under the Tourism Act and are subject to registration, not to star categorisation. Categorisation is the procedure for hotels, family hotels, guest houses and similar establishments.
Registration is carried out with the mayor of the municipality where the property is located. You file a declaration-application in the prescribed form under Art. 129a of the Tourism Act, declaring:
You attach proof of ownership; where the applicant is not the owner, the document giving them the right to use the property; and an express power of attorney where the declaration is filed by a representative.
Within seven days of filing, the mayor or an authorised official issues a registration order and a certificate. The certificate is issued without an expiry date — there is no annual renewal. A change of capacity, however, requires a fresh declaration.
One relief many owners are still unaware of: amendments to the Tourism Act of 25 February 2020 removed the requirement to produce signatures from more than 50% of the owners in the building. Neighbours' consent is not required.
Registering with the municipality is the first half. The second is ongoing reporting.
As a person carrying out accommodation activity, you must maintain a register of accommodated tourists under Art. 116 of the Tourism Act — on the same terms as hotels. This is done through the Unified Tourist Information System (ESTI), maintained by the Ministry of Tourism, or through your own information system meeting the requirements of the Electronic Government Act.
For foreign guests the register records full names, date of birth, nationality, passport number and the period of stay.
ESTI is not a formality. Its data is used by the revenue agency, the interior ministry, municipalities calculating tourist tax, and the statistical institute. It is the system that makes short-term letting traceable — and the natural anchor for the regulation's requirement of a valid number on the listing.
Some implementation details in Bulgaria — precisely which body serves as the single entry point, and how platforms will reconcile numbers — are still being settled administratively. If your registration and reporting are in order, none of that changes anything for you.
A point routinely overlooked. By accommodating guests you process personal data — names, dates of birth, passport details. That makes you a data controller under the GDPR and the Personal Data Protection Act, whether you operate as an individual or through a company.
The minimum is a written privacy policy, accessible to guests, setting out the purposes of processing, retention periods and data subject rights.
Short-term letting is not "rent" for tax purposes — it is a tourism service, carrying tourist tax on every overnight stay at the municipal rate, with a flat-rate (patent) regime available in defined circumstances. We set out the difference between the two regimes in detail in our guide to rental income tax.
If you let on a long lease — to a family or to a company — the regulation does not touch you. It applies only to short-term accommodation offered through online platforms.
On the properties we look after, the administrative side does not fall to the owner. Our standard scope covers: reviewing the title documents and the cadastral identifier before filing; preparing the declaration-application to the municipality; aligning the declared capacity with what the listing will actually show; and checking that registration and ESTI reporting match what the platform displays.
We do not file reports on your behalf — that is an accountant's work — but we put the paperwork in an order that makes filing a matter of minutes rather than weeks.
Since 20 May 2026, a valid registration number is no longer a recommendation but a condition of your listing continuing to exist. In Bulgaria the route is a single one and reasonably short: a declaration-application to the mayor, a certificate within seven days, ongoing reporting through ESTI.
If you let short-term and are unsure whether your paperwork holds up — or you are considering buying a property for exactly this purpose — call us or come into the office. We will look at the specific property, check what is missing, and tell you what is actually required.
Current as of August 2026, based on Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, the Bulgarian Tourism Act and the ordinance on requirements for categorised accommodation establishments. This material is for information only and does not replace individual legal advice.
