Short-Term Rental Rules in the Czech Republic: 2026 Host Guide

Renting out an apartment on Airbnb or Booking.com looks simple: photos, a calendar, your first guest. But the short-term rental rules in the Czech Republic come with a set of legal obligations for every host — from a trade license and taxes to the tourist tax and reporting foreign guests to the police. Status as of October 3, 2026: here’s what actually applies today, kept clearly separate from what is still only a proposal.

Lease or accommodation service?

This one question shapes almost everything else — the trade license, income tax and VAT.

• Leasing an apartment (nájem) is not a trade in itself (Section 3(3)(ah) of the Trade Licensing Act).
• Accommodation services (ubytovací služby) are an unqualified trade (volná živnost, trade field no. 55), which explicitly covers accommodation in apartment buildings.

The law doesn’t draw a precise line between the two. The Financial Administration (Finanční správa), in its own interpretation (a 2023 information notice from the General Financial Directorate, GFŘ), looks at the length and purpose of the stay and the scope of services. Signs of an accommodation service include:

• cleaning the space the guest uses,
• providing bed linen and changing it,
• toiletries and, where offered, breakfast,
• short stays (days or weeks) for leisure.

The Financial Administration treats stays booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and similar platforms as accommodation services in principle. The Municipal Court in Prague reached the same conclusion (case no. 6 Af 20/2020-32, August 19, 2021): Airbnb income is taxed under Section 7 of the Income Tax Act, not as rental income under Section 9.

In practice, a typical platform listing therefore requires a trade license for accommodation services (živnostenské oprávnění). The administrative fee for the trade notification (ohlášení živnosti) is CZK 1,000; if you already hold a trade license, each additional notification costs CZK 500. Doing business without a license is an administrative offense.

Income tax: which flat-rate expenses apply

How your activity is classified also determines your flat-rate expense deduction (paušální výdaje) under the Income Tax Act (No. 586/1992 Coll.):

The last row reflects the Financial Administration’s interpretation: anyone who provides accommodation services without the license they need is treated as a business with a flat rate of only 40%. The 80% rate does not apply to accommodation services. If you claim the flat rate on rental income, you must keep records of income and receivables.

VAT: what to watch for

Registration based on turnover

Since January 1, 2025, turnover is measured per calendar year:

• exceed CZK 2,000,000 and you become a VAT payer from January 1 of the following year,
• exceed CZK 2,536,500 in the same year and you become a VAT payer from the day after you cross it,
• the registration application is due within 10 working days of exceeding the threshold.

VAT-exempt rental income also counts toward turnover, unless it is only an occasional ancillary activity. Older guidance that refers to turnover “over 12 months” and a 15-day deadline no longer reflects the current law.

VAT rate

In 2026, accommodation services are subject to the reduced 12% rate. Leasing an apartment is VAT-exempt — except for short-term leases of up to 48 hours and accommodation services, which are taxable.

“Identified person” status because of platform fees

Many hosts miss this one. If you are not a VAT payer and pay a commission or service fee to a foreign platform (Airbnb, Booking.com), you become an identified person (identifikovaná osoba, Section 6h of the VAT Act):

• you must file a registration application within 15 days,
• you self-assess and pay 21% VAT on the commission under the reverse-charge mechanism,
• this applies regardless of turnover, and whether it’s a business or a lease.

An identified person doesn’t charge VAT on their own accommodation, can’t deduct input VAT and doesn’t file VAT control statements. The rule applies to taxable persons; according to a leaflet from the Public Defender of Rights (Veřejný ochránce práv), it doesn’t apply to purely occasional activity.

Tourist tax (poplatek z pobytu)

The guest pays the tourist tax, but the host must collect it and pass it on to the municipality — and that includes Airbnb and Booking.com hosts. It only applies in municipalities that have introduced it by a generally binding ordinance (obecně závazná vyhláška).

• It applies to stays of up to 60 consecutive days with the same host.
• The basis is the number of days started, excluding the day of arrival — in practice, the number of nights.
• The statutory maximum is CZK 50 per person per night (since January 1, 2021).
• Exemptions include guests under 18 and holders of a ZTP/P disability card, plus their companion. Spa treatment guests are not exempt.

Example: two adults and a child under 18 staying three nights in Prague pay 2 × 3 × CZK 50 = CZK 300.

Prague and Karlovy Vary at a glance

Guest register for the tourist tax (evidenční kniha)

Hosts must keep a guest register under Section 3g of the Local Fees Act, on paper or electronically, for each facility or place where they provide accommodation. For every guest, it records:

• the start and end date of the stay,
• first name, last name and registered address (or the equivalent address abroad),
• date of birth,
• the number and type of identity document,
• the amount of tax collected, or the reason for an exemption.

Entries must be accurate, complete, verifiable, well organized, intelligible, permanent and in chronological order. The register must be kept for 6 years from the last entry.

Reporting foreign guests and Ubyport

This applies to anyone who provides accommodation for payment, whether or not they run a business (Section 99 of the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals). And a foreign national is anyone who isn’t a Czech citizen — including guests from Slovakia, Germany and other EU countries.

• You must report a foreign guest to the police within 3 working days of check-in.
• If accommodation is part of your business, you report electronically via the police’s Ubyport app; you get access by applying to register your accommodation facility. Non-business hosts may also use the paper registration form.
• You keep a house register (domovní kniha) of foreign guests (a set of documents signed by the guests also counts) and show it to the police on request. It must be kept for 6 years from the last entry.
• Failing to meet these obligations can lead to a fine of up to CZK 50,000.

The house register and the tourist-tax guest register are two separate records, even though some of the data overlaps.

Owners’ association, neighbors and tenants

• The owners’ association (SVJ) can’t ban short-term rentals in its bylaws. The Supreme Court (case no. 26 Cdo 854/2022, March 15, 2023) confirmed that such a provision has no legal effect (it is “zdánlivé”). The SVJ can regulate the use of common areas, for example through house rules.
• Notice to building management. Any activity that may disturb the usual peace and order in the building on more than a temporary basis must be reported in advance to whoever manages the building (Section 1182(3) of the Civil Code); the Ministry of Justice cites Airbnb as an example. This is a notification, not a request for consent.
• House rules apply to guests, too — the owner must make sure guests follow them (Section 1176 of the Civil Code).
• A tenant may not list your apartment on Airbnb without your consent. The Supreme Court (case no. 26 Cdo 2128/2023-182) ruled that this is use contrary to the purpose of the lease; in the case of a gross breach, the lease can be terminated.

Approved use and the building authority

A methodological guideline issued by the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR) in October 2024 treats the continuous provision of accommodation services in an apartment approved for residential use (kolaudace) as using the building contrary to its permitted purpose. The building authority may then call for a remedy, prohibit the use and impose a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000 for the offense. However, the guideline isn’t binding and some attorneys take the opposite view — interpretation remains inconsistent. One possible solution is to apply for a change of use to an accommodation unit.

Fire safety

Under Decree No. 23/2008 Coll., a smoke detector is mandatory in apartments in residential buildings designed after July 1, 2008, and when buildings are altered; it goes in the part of the apartment that leads to the escape route. There’s no blanket requirement for older apartments. The decree also sets stricter rules for accommodation facilities, but whether these apply to an apartment rented through Airbnb hasn’t been officially clarified.

What’s coming: eTurista and the EU regulation

What applies as of October 3, 2026

• EU Regulation 2024/1028 has applied since May 20, 2026. On its own, though, it doesn’t require registration — registration obligations for hosts only arise where a country or municipality introduces a registration procedure.
• The Czech Republic doesn’t operate a registration procedure anywhere yet. So for hosts in Czechia, there is currently no mandatory registration number and no mandatory registration in eTurista. Nor are there any special limits on nights or zoning rules.

What is still only a proposal

• A government bill from the MMR (amending Act No. 159/1999 Coll.) has been in inter-ministerial review since September 14, 2026, with a proposed effective date of January 1, 2028. It envisions the eTurista registry with registration numbers, entering guest details within 24 hours at the latest, and letting municipalities restrict accommodation in apartment buildings. For businesses and platform hosts, an entry in the registry would replace reporting foreign guests, the house register and the tourist-tax notice (the bill does not explicitly replace the tourist-tax guest register, so it is unclear whether that obligation would remain).
• Bills from members of parliament (parliamentary prints 106 and 107) include, among other things, raising the tourist-tax cap to CZK 100 and giving municipalities regulatory powers. The government issued a negative opinion on print 106 and a neutral one on print 107. Neither has passed first reading yet; both are proposed for the Chamber of Deputies session starting October 13, 2026.

Slovakia in brief

Slovakia implemented the EU regulation through Act No. 133/2026 Coll. on the register of short-term rental units, which takes effect on January 1, 2027. Each unit will get a registration number, and without a valid number it won’t be possible to list it on platforms. Hosts already listing on platforms by December 31, 2026, must register by February 28, 2027. Fines range from EUR 100 to 1,000 for individuals who are not entrepreneurs and from EUR 1,000 to 3,000 for entrepreneurs and legal entities.

Short-term rental rules in the Czech Republic: a checklist

How we can help

At BeLiving, we’ve been working in short-term rentals for over two years and currently manage 15 apartments in Prague, Karlovy Vary and Bratislava. In a no-obligation consultation, we’ll walk you through what we take off your hands — preparing and managing your listing, guest communication, check-in and check-out (including contactless), cleaning, linen changes and maintenance coordination — and find the right cooperation model together. We explain the differences between the models in Turnkey management or lease to a manager? Terms are always agreed individually.

Book a no-obligation consultation

Sources

Official sources, in Czech or Slovak unless noted otherwise:

• Trade Licensing Act No. 455/1991 Coll.
• Income Tax Act No. 586/1992 Coll.
• VAT Act No. 235/2004 Coll.
• Local Fees Act No. 565/1990 Coll.
• Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals No. 326/1999 Coll.
• Civil Code No. 89/2012 Coll.
• Decree No. 23/2008 Coll. on fire safety of buildings
• General Financial Directorate (GFŘ): information notice on accommodation services (2023)
• Financial Administration: VAT registration changes from 2025
• Municipal Court in Prague, case no. 6 Af 20/2020-32
• Czech Police: obligations of accommodation providers
• Prague Ordinance No. 18/2019 and amendment No. 19/2021
• Karlovy Vary Ordinance No. 8/2023
• Supreme Court, case no. 26 Cdo 854/2022
• MMR: guideline on accommodation in residential buildings (2024)
• MMR: eTurista
• MMR government bill in the VeKLEP system
• Parliamentary print 106 and parliamentary print 107
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 (English)
• Slovak Act No. 133/2026 Coll.