Do you need a licence to rent your flat to tourists in Albania?
You need a categorisation certificate. Since Law 30/2024 amended the tourism law, a private owner letting an apartment, villa or room to tourists must apply for one before starting, through e-Albania; operating without it is fined 20,000-50,000 ALL for 1-5 rooms. No business registration (NIPT) is needed, and the income is declared in the annual DIVA return when it exceeds 50,000 ALL a year (tax office, February 2026).
Data compiled by Fedir AlpatovUpdated
What a private host has to do
| Obligation | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Categorisation certificate | Apply before the first guest, as "apartament", "vilë" or "dhomë"; the certificate does not expire and goes into the Central Tourism Register | Law 30/2024, Art. 43/1 |
| How to apply | On e-Albania, with a self-declaration; an individual landlord needs no QKB/NIPT business registration | Order 213/2025 |
| Fine without a certificate | 20,000-50,000 ALL for 1-5 rooms; 100,000 ALL for 6-15 rooms | Law 30/2024, Art. 71 |
| Guest register | ID or passport number, nights, citizenship, residence, gender and age of each guest | Law 30/2024; Order 213/2025 |
| Income tax | 15% on rental income; declared in DIVA when untaxed income exceeds 50,000 ALL a year, by 31 March of the next year | PwC tax summary; tax administration |
| Overnight tax | Paid by the guest, collected by the host, paid to the municipality by the 5th of the next month; for units other than 4-5 star hotels, 140 ALL a night in Tirana and 70 ALL in Vlorë | Law 9632/2006, Art. 26; municipal decisions |
| Foreign guests | A foreign guest reports their address within 10 days, personally or through the host | Law 79/2021, Art. 130 |
Sources · 8
- DATA-KB2-STRLAW-000120000–50000 ALL fine (1-5 rooms)Categorisation certificate for private holiday lets (Law 30/2024)
- DATA-KB2-STRLAW-0002Application on e-Albania with a self-declaration; individual landlords in the categories room, apartment and villa are exempt from business (QKB/NIPT) registration; each category keeps a guest register with ID or passport number, nights, citizenship, residence, gender and age.How the certificate is applied for (Order 213/2025)Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2026verified 2026-10-21Order No. 213 of 19.11.2025 on categorisation of accommodation, as amended
- Confidence: HIGHPeriod: tax year 2025/2026 (Law 29/2023 "On income tax", in force siverified 2026-09-09PwC Tax Summaries Albania — Individual taxes on personal income
- Confidence: HIGHPeriod: income 2025verified 2026-10-21Tax administration: check online whether you must file DIVA 2025
- DATA-KB2-STRLAW-0004Paid by the guest per night, withheld by the accommodation and paid to the municipality by the 5th of the following month. Rates are set by each municipality.Overnight tax on paid accommodation (Law 9632/2006, Art. 26)
- Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2026 (current page)verified 2026-09-09Bashkia Tiranë — Taksa e fjetjes në hotel
- Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: fiscal package (page undated, 2019 package; search summary sverified 2026-09-09Bashkia Vlorë — Paketa fiskale
- Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: 2026verified 2026-10-21Law No. 79/2021 "Për të huajt" (On foreigners), consolidated text as amended by Law 43/2025
What is changing
- Platforms may start reporting hosts. A draft law put to consultation on 15 July 2026 would make Airbnb, Booking and other platforms report each property, its cadastral number and its rental days by 31 January each year. Press reports a start in 2029; it is still a draft.
- The tax office is already checking. Its first checks cover 100 hosts and businesses that earned about €24.9 million between October 2022 and December 2025.
- Law 55/2025 on co-ownership has no article that lets the owners’ assembly ban short-term letting. Guests and tenants must still follow the assembly’s rules, and the owner pays the administration fee whether or not the flat is let.
Questions and answers
Not as a private individual letting a room, apartment or villa: Order 213/2025 exempts individual landlords from business registration. You still need the categorisation certificate.
The fine is 20,000-50,000 ALL for 1-5 rooms and 100,000 ALL for 6-15 rooms, under Article 71 of the tourism law as amended in 2024.
At 15%. When no tax was withheld and the income passes 50,000 ALL in the year, you file the DIVA return by 31 March of the following year.
Yes, the overnight tax. The host collects it and pays it to the municipality by the 5th of the next month; Tirana charges 140 ALL a night for accommodation other than 4-5 star hotels.
Sources
- Tax administration: check online whether you must file DIVA 2025. General Directorate of Taxes (Administrata Tatimore), 2026-02-12 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Law 30/2024 amending Law 93/2015 on tourism. Assembly of Albania (copy on planifikimi.gov.al), 2024-04-04 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Order No. 213 of 19.11.2025 on categorisation of accommodation, as amended. Ministry of Tourism (copy published by the tax administration), 2026-09-15 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Law 9632/2006 on the local tax system. Assembly of Albania (copy on qeverisjavendore.gov.al) (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Boga & Associates: draft law on automatic exchange of information by digital platform operators. Boga & Associates (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Gazeta Tema: Booking hosts face tax crackdown. Gazeta Tema, 2026-08-27 (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Law No. 79/2021 "Për të huajt" (On foreigners), consolidated text as amended by Law 43/2025. Albanian State Police (ASP), 2025-11-01 (accessed 2026-10-19)
- Law No. 55/2025 "Për administrimin e bashkëpronësisë në ndërtesa" (official PDF, Agjencia për Mbështetjen e Vetëqeverisjes Vendore), 2025-07-03 (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Bashkia Tiranë — Taksa e fjetjes në hotel (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Bashkia Vlorë — Paketa fiskale, 2019-01-01 (accessed 2026-09-09)
- PwC Tax Summaries Albania — Individual taxes on personal income, 2026-07-22 (accessed 2026-09-09)
What is missing
Gaps we know about: questions we have no reliable data for yet.
- The exact e-Albania service name and any fee for the certificate were not confirmed.
- Sources disagree on whether the 15% is charged on gross bookings or after the platform’s commission.
- Overnight tax rates for Durrës and Sarandë were not found.