Renting rooms and apartments to tourists in Republika Srpska: registration, stars, duties

This article explains how a private person in Republika Srpska can legally rent an apartment, holiday house or room to tourists: who records the unit, who assigns its stars, and what a host must do every day. It applies to owners of private accommodation, including in Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje and Berkovići. It describes the rules in force on 6 October 2026.

In short

• A private person does not need to register as an entrepreneur with the municipality, but must sign a contract with a tourism organisation or a licensed travel agency and have that contract recorded at APIF.
• Recording at APIF costs 40.00 KM and the documents are due within seven days of signing the contract.
• You must apply for categorisation before you receive guests, and you may start as soon as the application is filed. Apartments, holiday houses and rooms get one to three stars; studio apartments get one or two.
• A private person may rent out one property that they own, up to eight units or 16 beds, for stays of up to 30 days.
• The law (Art. 12a and 12b) requires accommodation providers to enter data on the unit, guests and tourist tax into the Ministry's central information system (access is free): the guest immediately after check-in, the tax after check-out, and any changes within three days.
• On 24 September 2026 the RS Government adopted a proposal for a new hospitality law (up to five units and 10 beds for private persons). It is a proposal; check its status with the National Assembly of Republika Srpska before planning around it.

Who it applies to

Private persons who rent an apartment, holiday house or room to tourists and are not registered entrepreneurs. Companies and entrepreneurs follow a different registration route. Food and drinks may only be served to guests who also stay overnight with you.

What to do

1. Sign a service contract with a tourism organisation or a licensed travel agency (in Trebinje, the Turistička organizacija Grada Trebinja, the city tourism organisation).
2. Within seven days, give APIF (Agencija za posredničke, informatičke i finansijske usluge, the agency that keeps the register) the contract, the completed application, your ID card and bank account details (for inspection), proof of ownership and proof of the 40.00 KM fee. APIF issues a certificate recording the contract.
3. Apply for categorisation at the city or municipality. Attach a copy of the APIF certificate and proof of payment of the categorisation cost. The application states your details, the type of unit, year of construction or last renovation, capacity (units, beds, area) and the category you request. A commission inspects the unit and the city or municipal administration issues the decision. You can appeal to the Ministry of Trade and Tourism within 15 days.
4. You may start operating once you have filed the categorisation application with the city or municipality; you do not have to wait for the decision (Art. 23(9)). Operating without a filed application, or contrary to the categorisation decision, is an offence. If the commission finds that defects can be fixed quickly, a provisional decision may be issued giving up to six months to fix them (Art. 26(6)).
5. Display the category sign (stars) and a price list, and charge the displayed prices.
6. Enter data in the central information system (Art. 12a and 12b) and keep an internet connection; a paper record is allowed only when the connection is temporarily down. Check with the Trebinje tourism organisation or the Ministry of Trade and Tourism whether the system is already in use and how to get access. The book of foreign guests is certified by the unit of the Služba za poslove sa strancima (Service for Foreigners' Affairs) or by the police for your place of residence or registered seat. A foreign guest's stay must be reported no later than 12 hours after accommodation is provided, and the book is kept for at least three years (Zakon o strancima BiH, Law on Aliens, Art. 103). In Trebinje this is the Service's field centre at Sokolska 2a, tel. 059 245 051. The City of Trebinje's tariff of city administrative fees provides for certifying the domestic guest book, the foreign guest book and the complaints book (20 KM each), so confirm with the City whether the domestic guest book and the complaints book must be certified.
7. Keep sanitary, technical and hygiene conditions, and have the required health checks.
8. Also register with the Tax Administration of Republika Srpska (income tax, contributions); according to the 2023 guide, hosts who are neither employed nor pensioners pay health insurance contributions. Confirm with the Tax Administration.

Categories and standards

• The 2021 categorisation rulebook requires the unit to meet at least 80% of the prescribed elements for the requested category, plus all minimum conditions.
• An apartment must have a bathroom in every category. A first-category room (three stars) needs its own bathroom; second and third category rooms may share one.
• The decision is reviewed after four years. If the unit no longer meets the standard, a new category must be requested within eight days of receiving the decision.

Deadlines and amounts

• APIF: 40.00 KM, within seven days of signing the contract.
• Categorisation: the cost is paid when you apply, to the city or municipal budget. According to the current City of Trebinje form (code 08.22), the decision on categorisation costs a city administrative fee of 50 KM, paid with a revenue stamp. The application goes to the Odjeljenje za turizam, zaštitu životne sredine i preduzetništvo (Department for Tourism, Environmental Protection and Entrepreneurship), Vuka Karadžića 2, tel. 059/273-460 (ext. 802) or 059/273-476. The decision is issued within 30 days and is valid for four years. The city fee table from April 2026 still lists 20 KM, so confirm the amount with the City.
• Tourist tax: since 1 January 2025 the annual flat rate for private accommodation has been replaced by a per-night tax. In Trebinje it is 3.00 KM per night (Odluka o izmjenama Odluke o visini boravišne takse, Službeni glasnik Grada Trebinja 2/19). By the 15th of each month, for the previous month, you file a return with the Poreska uprava Republike Srpske (Tax Administration of RS) on guests and tax collected, and you send the tourism organisation or contracted agency a report on the number of nights and tax collected. The collected tax is paid into the RS public revenue account within five days after the end of the month in which the return was filed (Zakon o boravišnoj taksi, Art. 15 and 16).
• Fine for a private person: 300 to 1,200 KM (for example no category, above the allowed capacity, food and drinks served to non-guests, breach of the duties in Art. 17(4)); 500 to 2,000 KM for operating without a contract with a tourism organisation or agency, not meeting minimum technical conditions, or not entering data in the central information system (Art. 49).

Where to go

• APIF, Trebinje branch: apif.net
• City or municipal administration (business department, citizens' service centre), e.g. Grad Trebinje
• Turistička organizacija Grada Trebinja: gotrebinje.com

Laws and sources

• Zakon o ugostiteljstvu (Službeni glasnik RS 45/17 and 1/24), Art. 12a, 12b, 17, 18, 23, 26, 27, 34, 49, Ministry of Trade and Tourism
• Pravilnik o postupku kategorizacije ugostiteljskih objekata i uslovima za određivanje kategorije i o postupku i uslovima za razvrstavanje hotela u podvrste (Službeni glasnik RS 60/21)
• Zakon o boravišnoj taksi, Law on Tourist Tax (Službeni glasnik RS 78/11, 106/15 and 107/24), Tax Administration of RS
• Odluka o izmjenama Odluke o visini boravišne takse, City of Trebinje (Službeni glasnik Grada Trebinja 2/19)
• City of Trebinje: application for categorisation of accommodation, form 08.22
• City of Trebinje: table of city administrative fees and charges (April 2026)
• Zakon o strancima, Law on Aliens (Službeni glasnik BiH 88/15), Art. 103, Service for Foreigners' Affairs
• APIF: Registar apartmana
• Guide to recording and categorising accommodation, Trebinje tourism organisation (2023)
• RS Government: proposal for the Law on Hospitality adopted, 24 September 2026