Camping on a farm in Republika Srpska: registration and categorisation

Renting spots for tents, caravans or small cabins to guests on a farm is a hospitality activity. This text is for farms in Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje and Berkovići that run a camp as a sole trader or company.

In short

• A camp is a type of hospitality accommodation facility (Article 13 of the Law on Hospitality). Camping is allowed only in organised camps (Article 21, paragraph 2).
• An organised camp is suitable land, prepared for the purpose and fenced, with a toilet facility and a waste area. Guests rent camp spots or plots. The camp may also offer cabins, bungalows, food and drink.
• The exception is a temporary camp for an event or within a rural tourism facility, which also gets a registration decision (Article 21, paragraphs 3 and 4).
• A camp must be categorised (Article 23, paragraph 2). The municipality or city sets the category, not the Ministry (Article 26, paragraph 1).
• Fine for running a camp without a registration decision (Article 44, paragraph 1, point 3): 1,500 to 6,000 KM for a sole trader, 2,000 to 8,000 KM for a company.

Who it applies to

Anyone who offers accommodation in a camp: a sole trader or company registered for hospitality (Article 5, paragraph 1, and Article 8). A household that is not registered cannot run a camp. Without registration, and only under a contract with a tourist organisation or licensed agency, a private person may rent out an apartment, holiday house or room (Article 17, paragraph 3), and the holder of a family farm may provide services in a rural tourism facility (Article 5, paragraph 2, and Article 19, paragraph 4). The law does not list a camp among these services.

The law names a cabin in a camp and a bungalow as accommodation in a camp (Article 21, paragraph 2). Whether a permanent tent or a prefabricated guest cabin counts as such, and which building rules apply to it, must be confirmed with the municipal categorisation commission and the municipal spatial planning department. Building permits are not covered here.

A temporary camp (for an event or at a rural tourism facility) does not have to meet the general minimum conditions for construction and infrastructure (Article 21, paragraph 3). In that case the registration decision names the organiser, the period of use of the land and the obligations for temporary sanitary facilities (Article 21, paragraph 4). Registration of a rural tourism facility is covered in the separate article on rural tourism registration in Republika Srpska.

What to do

1. Register as a sole trader or company. A sole trader gets a registration decision from the municipality or city; a company is registered with the competent court (Article 8, paragraphs 2 and 3). The business name must state the type of facility, here: camp (Article 11). The procedure is described in the article "Registering a sole trader or company in Republika Srpska: steps, time, cost".
2. Prepare the land and meet the general and special minimum technical conditions (Article 6): electricity, water, waste disposal, sanitary and hygiene conditions, and fire safety. Conditions for space, equipment and fittings are set by the rulebook in Official Gazette RS no. 08/20, and conditions for each category by the rulebook in no. 60/21 (full titles under sources). For camps they are set out in Articles 66 and 67 of rulebook 08/20. An organised camp must have at least ten accommodation units, with camp spots of at least 20 m2 and camp plots of at least 40 m2. For every ten units it needs one WC cubicle for women and one for men, one shower, one tap with a washbasin, one dishwashing point, one laundry point and one drinking water tap or pump. At least 25% of the units must have an electricity connection. A temporary camp needs at least five units with the same minimum areas and at least one mobile toilet per ten guests.
3. Submit a request for categorisation to the municipality or city (Article 26, paragraph 2). Attach proof of registration and proof that the categorisation costs were paid (Article 23, paragraph 10). The costs are paid when the request is submitted, into the municipal or city budget (Article 27, paragraphs 10 and 11). You may start operating as soon as the request is submitted (Article 23, paragraph 9).
4. The categorisation is carried out by a commission appointed by the mayor of the municipality or city (Article 26, paragraph 3). The camp must meet at least 80% of the mandatory elements of the category and all minimum conditions (Article 23, paragraph 6). If shortcomings can be fixed quickly, a temporary decision is issued with a deadline of up to six months (Article 26, paragraph 6).
5. Once you have the decision, display the standard plate with the category, keep the guest book, post prices and the tourist tax amount, set house rules and insure guests against accidents (Article 31). Enter guest data in the central information system (Article 12a). See the articles "Registering accommodation in the eTurizam system (CISU), Republika Srpska" and "Records for rural accommodation in Republika Srpska: guest book and tourist tax".

Deadlines and amounts

• Appeal to the Ministry against the municipal category decision: 15 days from delivery (Article 26, paragraph 9).
• Category review: four years after the decision is delivered (Article 26, paragraph 7).
• Eight days to submit a new category request if the camp departs from the standards within the period set in a temporary decision (Article 27, paragraph 1), or if a review finds a deviation and cancels the decision (Article 27, paragraph 3).
• Eight days to request a change of the category decision if the operator changes during the review period, counted from the day the new operator obtains the decision of the competent authority (Article 27, paragraph 9).
• Categorisation costs: check the amount with the municipality or city.
• Fines under Article 44, paragraph 1, points 3, 5 and 6 (1,500 to 6,000 KM for a sole trader, 2,000 to 8,000 KM for a company): operating a camp without a registration decision, starting operation without having submitted a category request, not insuring guests against accidents.
• Fines under Article 45, paragraph 1 (1,000 to 4,000 KM for a sole trader, 1,500 to 6,000 KM for a company): camping outside an organised camp (point 10), operating without a category request, including the new request due within eight days under Article 27, paragraphs 1 and 3 (point 11), not entering data in the central information system (points 3 and 4) and not keeping a guest book (point 19).
• The law lists operating without a category request in both articles: starting work without a request in Article 44, point 5, and not submitting a request in Article 45, point 11. Count on the higher fine from Article 44 being possible.

Where to go

• The municipal or city administration where the camp is located, department for economy or hospitality (the name differs between municipalities).
• Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Republika Srpska (Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma): appeals and the list of rulebooks.

Laws and sources

• Law on Hospitality (Službeni glasnik RS nos. 45/17 and 1/24), Ministry list of regulations
• Pravilnik o razvrstavanju ugostiteljskih objekata i uslovima u pogledu prostora, uređaja i opreme ugostiteljskih objekata (Official Gazette RS no. 08/20), text on the Ministry of Trade and Tourism website (camp requirements in Articles 66 and 67)
• Pravilnik o razvrstavanju ugostiteljskih objekata i uslovima u pogledu prostora, uređaja i opreme ugostiteljskih objekata (Official Gazette RS no. 08/20, rulebook on classification and equipment) and Pravilnik o postupku kategorizacije ugostiteljskih objekata i uslovima za određivanje kategorije i o postupku i uslovima za razvrstavanje hotela u podvrste (no. 60/21, rulebook on categorisation), Ministry list of rulebooks