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

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has started the process of e-consultation with the interested public Draft proposal of the Act on Amendments and Amendments to the Act on Hospitality which is open until November 13, 2024. 

The proposal for changes is aimed at solving key challenges - the validity periods of temporary solutions for performing catering activities, defining the concept of host in order to position real family accommodation and separated from all other renters in short-term rentals and alignment with the Law on Tourism.

With these changes, we are making the strongest contribution to the sustainable structure of accommodation capacities with a special focus on the satisfaction and quality of the local population, returning apartments to tenants. 

Glavina: We want to protect and preserve the host in real family accommodation

"According to the amendments to the law on the hospitality industry, concrete measures are proposed to support the development of sustainable tourism. When creating the changes, all stakeholders were taken care of, especially making sure that all prescribed deadlines were reasonable and long enough so that all providers had time to adapt to the proposed changes. Also, with these changes, we are carrying out what we set out in the Government Program in this term, we have protected and preserved the host in real family accommodation, as part of our tradition and the added value of our tourist offer", emphasized the minister Tonči Glavina pointing out that these amendments to the law are in line with the Government's strategic direction on providing affordable housing, primarily for young people and families, and that the tendency is for as many apartments as possible to move from short-term to long-term rent.

As a novelty in these changes the term host is defined in a way that it is the host is the renter who has a registered residence in the territory of the regional self-government unit where the facility in which he provides the catering service of accommodation in the household is located, and the host will not consider a lessor who rents an apartment in a residential building as defined by the provisions of the law governing the management and maintenance of buildings.

Also, related to renting in residential buildings, the co-owner's consent 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 restaurateurs and landlords who, on the date of entry into force of these amendments to the law, perform, or until the date of their entry into force enter into force, submit a request and obtain a decision for the performance of catering activities, that is, the provision of catering services in a household for an object in a residential building, must obtain prior consent within five years from the date of entry into force of these changes.

"Many countries in Europe, especially tourist destinations, are on the verge of sustainability today, because the growth trend in the offer of rooms, apartments and houses on reservation platforms has exploded. According to Eurostat data, online reservation platforms generate 700 million overnight stays in the EU in 2023 compared to 440 million overnight stays in 2018. Many destinations cannot cope with this and decide to take radical measures, which we do not want to lead to, and that is why we are taking all these steps now. We think about all stakeholders and with this reform we protect the local population, space and environment and ensure social and economic sustainability", says Glavina.

In accordance with the proposal, and in order to enable the performance of catering activities and the provision of catering services in facilities that are in the process of legalization and regulation of ownership rights in the land registers, the deadline for the validity of temporary decisions has been extended until December 31, 2026. while from January 1, 2025, it will not be possible to submit new requests for the issuance of temporary decisions.

Furthermore, in order to harmonize with the Law on Tourism, it is prescribed that the competent administrative body, when issuing a decision in accordance with the Law on Hospitality Activities, is obliged to make a decision in accordance with the decision of the representative body of the local self-government unit on the number, type and category of catering facilities and facilities in which provide accommodation catering services.

"This is a strong step forward in our comprehensive reform, which will not be the last, and its goal is to enable a successful transition towards sustainable tourism, which will be balanced in the needs and satisfaction of both tourists and local residents" Glavina concluded.

You can find the draft proposal for amendments to the law on the hospitality industry at the following link links.