Letting an apartment to tourists: what comes before the listing?

Advertising an apartment for tourist stays involves more than a lease and a platform profile. Bulgaria’s Tourism Act permits online tourist accommodation offers only for categorised or registered establishments.

Identify the operator

Guest rooms and guest apartments may be operated by an individual who is not a commercial trader. That does not exempt the premises from the applicable registration. If a tenant or a company other than the owner operates the business, the occupancy document must authorise that activity; ordinary permission to live there does not resolve the issue.

Guest-apartment registration is requested from the mayor of the municipality where the property is located. Article 129a and the implementing ordinance require operator and property information, the legal basis for use and relevant attachments. Do not confuse apartment registration with categorisation of another accommodation type.

Obligations continue after registration

The operator maintains a guest register and submits information to the Unified Tourist Information System, ESTI, through the applicable procedure. A platform booking calendar does not replace this reporting. Decide in advance who collects and enters the required information.

Tourism registration does not itself resolve planning use, building rules or tax reporting. These require separate checks against the actual operation. Do not assume a previous operator’s registration automatically covers a new owner or tenant.