Minister Tonči Glavina held a meeting with representatives of family accommodation associations

Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina today he met with the representatives family accommodation association in order to jointly discuss all open issues and consider the requests of the aforementioned associations, related to Draft proposal of the law on amendments and additions to the Act on hospitality industry, which is currently on e-consultation.

/ / / Proposal of the Law on Amendments and Amendments to the Law on Catering Industry on e-consultation

The meeting was attended by Barbara Marković, president of the Croatian Association of Family Accommodation, Lorena John and Patricija Ilić, president and vice-president of the Association of Family Accommodation Istria, Anamarija Cicarelli, director of Interligo, a consultancy for private renters, and Goran Prskalo, president of the Association of Private Renters in Zagreb.

Minister Glavina was also present at the meeting with State Secretary from the Ministry of Finance Tereza Rogić Lugarić, Director of the Tax Administration Božidar Kutleša and President of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

"Once again, I would like to point out that with all these measures we protect family accommodation and actual hosts, separating them from all other short-term renters. In addition, if we know that there are slightly more than 125.000 service providers registered in family accommodation, and 75 percent of them will retain this status, then we are talking about the majority, which we protect so that it remains our special value. The remaining 25 percent is the rental of property through the most profitable, short-term rental, and we do not prohibit anything with them, but only prescribe new measures to curb the further growth of short-term rental in buildings, which are not intended for the stay of tourists and which do not offer tourists an authentic experience, which is why we are recognizable", emphasized Minister Glavina, adding that changes, among other things, based on the long-term proposals of small renters, defined the term host, in order to position real family accommodation and separate it from all other renters in short-term rentals.

According to the proposal, the host is defined as renter who has a registered residence in the territory of the regional unit (regional) self-governments where finds the object in which it provides a catering service for accommodation in a household.

In addition to the catering service of accommodation in the household, the host can also provide breakfast service for guests to which he provides accommodation services, and a landlord who rents an apartment in a residential building as defined by the provisions of the law governing the management and maintenance of buildings will not be considered a host.

Also, in relation to renting in residential buildings, the consent of the co-owner defined by the provisions of the law governing the management and maintenance of buildings becomes a condition for issuing a decision based on the Act on Catering Activities in Residential Buildings, while all caterers and landlords who, on the date of entry into force of these amendments to the law perform, or by the date of their entry into force, submit a request and obtain a decision for the performance of catering activities, i.e. the provision of catering services in a household for an object in a residential building, must obtain prior consent within five years from entry into force of these changes.

Photo: MINTS