Letting through Airbnb or Booking? From 2027 you will need a registration number

If you offer accommodation through Airbnb, Booking or another online platform, from 1 January 2027 you will need a registration number from a new state register. Without one, a listing cannot stay on the platform — the ministry can order the platform to remove it.

The important part first: there are two deadlines and which one applies depends on whether you are already letting today. Anyone offering accommodation through a platform up to 31 December 2026 has until 28 February 2027 to register. Anyone starting in 2027 must be registered before offering the accommodation for the first time.

This is introduced by Act No. 133/2026 Coll. on the register of units for the provision of short-term rental accommodation services. The register will be administered by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo cestovného ruchu a športu SR).

Who the registration applies to

The duty is not tied to the length of the let as such, but to how you offer the accommodation. The Act imposes it on hosts who provide short-term rental accommodation services through a short-term rental online platform or a small online platform.

In practice this covers the situation where an owner or operator offers an apartment, flat, house or other accommodation unit through an online booking platform.

It makes no difference whether you are an individual, a sole trader or a company. The only thing that differs is the size of any fine.

Two deadlines, depending on when you started

The transitional provision matters for existing hosts: until 28 February 2027, sections 5, 10 and 11 of the Act do not apply to them. In other words, you do not need the data registered on 1 January, and in the meantime you face neither a fine nor removal of your listing.

For new accommodation there is no such margin. Registration has to be dealt with before the first listing — that is, before the advert even goes up on the platform.

What goes into the register

Both the host and each accommodation unit are registered separately. For a unit this means in particular:

• the address of the property and land-register data,
• the flat number and floor, if the unit is in an apartment building,
• the type of accommodation unit,
• whether the whole dwelling or only part of it is let,
• the maximum number of beds and guests,
• the period during which the accommodation is provided,
• the host's identification and tax details.

Once registered, the system generates a unique registration number for each unit. That is the detail which must then accompany the listing on the platform.

How registration works and what it costs

Registration, changes and deletion are free of charge. They are done electronically through a designated electronic service; an individual may also complete the registration in person at a designated office of the ministry.

Two deadlines that are easy to forget:

• a change to registered data must be entered within 30 days of the change,
• a unit must be deleted within 30 days of permanently ceasing to provide accommodation in it.

Deleting a unit from the register extinguishes its registration number.

The Act states expressly that responsibility for the completeness, correctness and truthfulness of the registered data rests with the host. Not the platform, not the accountant — the host.

What happens if you have no registration number

Accommodation in a unit without a valid registration number may not be offered through an online platform.

If the ministry finds such a listing on a platform, it will order the platform operator to remove the item without delay. The platform must do so immediately upon delivery of the decision.

The ministry is also entitled to verify that the data in the register is correct and up to date. Where shortcomings are found, the validity of the registration number may first be temporarily suspended — and during suspension the accommodation may not be provided through a platform at all.

Why this is not just another piece of record-keeping

This is the most significant part of the whole change, and the part that gets mentioned least.

The register is not closed off to the authority that keeps it. The ministry will give access to data on hosts and units to, among others:

• the tax administrator for the purposes of administering accommodation tax,
• state administration bodies in the field of taxes, fees and customs for tax administration purposes,
• the Financial Intelligence Unit,
• the trade licensing office for the purposes of trade inspection,
• the Police Force, the Statistical Office, the National Bank of Slovakia and other bodies to the extent set out in the Act.

To that you have to add the other side. Under EU Regulation 2024/1028, online platforms hand over data on individual accommodation units — the registration number, the address, the link to the listing and so-called activity data, for example the number of nights let and the number of guests. Standard platforms report monthly; smaller platforms have a quarterly regime under certain conditions.

For the first time the state will therefore have a complete picture of where short-term accommodation is provided and on what scale — and from two independent sources at once.

Fines

For a repeated breach, a fine of up to twice the upper limit may be imposed. A breach counts as repeated where no more than five years have passed since the previous decision imposing a fine became final.

For administrative offences there is one further time limit: a fine may be imposed within one year of the day the ministry learned of the breach, and at the latest within three years of the day it occurred.

What we recommend doing this year

The registration itself is a formality — it is free and electronic. The question it raises is the more interesting one.

Check who is formally the host, through which entity the accommodation income is accounted for and taxed, and whether the two match. That is, whether the person named as host on the platform is also the one declaring the income, and whether the right tax regime is in place for it.

Until now nobody compared these things systematically. Once the register is linked with the data from the platforms, they will be comparable — without anyone having to find anything out on site.

If you have any uncertainty here, it is wiser to sort it out now, while there is time, than to explain it after the fact.

Frequently asked questions

From exactly when do I need a registration number?

The Act takes effect on 1 January 2027. If you were already offering accommodation through a platform up to 31 December 2026, you have until 28 February 2027 to register. If you start in 2027, you must be registered before the first provision of the service.

Does it apply to me if I only let one flat for a few weeks a year?

Yes, if you offer it through an online platform. The duty does not depend on the number of units or on how many days a year you let.

How much does registration cost?

Nothing. Registration, changes and deletion of data from the register are free of charge under the Act.

What if I have no registration number and leave the listing up?

The ministry can order the platform to remove the listing without delay. An individual faces a fine of EUR 100 to 1,000; a sole trader or company EUR 1,000 to 3,000.

Do I have to report anything when the data changes?

Yes. A change to registered data must be entered within 30 days of the change. If you permanently stop letting a given unit, you have 30 days to delete it from the register.

Will the tax office see this data?

Yes. Access to data from the register is given, among others, to the tax administrator for accommodation tax and to state administration bodies in the field of taxes, fees and customs. On top of that, platforms separately report activity data including the number of nights let and the number of guests.

Sources: Act No. 133/2026 Coll. on the register of units for the provision of short-term rental accommodation services (slov-lex.sk); Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Position as at 6 October 2026.

This article is for information only and does not replace tax or legal advice. Responsibility for the correctness of data entered in the register rests with the host.