The government has approved a bill restricting the commercial letting of real estate. As we have reported in the past, this is a direct attack on property owners who rent out their properties on the AirBnB platform. The bill was presented at a press conference by the State Secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Matevž Frangež of the Social Democrats (Socialni demokrati – SD).
The approved proposal foresees a general limitation of short-term renting in multi-apartment buildings to a maximum of 60 days per year and for a maximum of eight beds. However, under the government proposal, those renting out such flats will have to obtain the consent of 75 percent of the apartment owners in the same building and the consent of all adjacent apartment owners.
But that is not all; the consents will only be valid for three years, and the flats will receive special stickers in the Register of Accommodation Establishments. Under the government’s proposal, only natural persons with the status of landlord will be allowed to rent out apartments.
The Register of Accommodation Establishments is expected to contain more information to which the inspection authorities will have direct access. It will be linked to the Land Register. The register will include the possibility to temporarily revoke the accommodation ID of a housing unit, after the number of days of letting has been exceeded, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reports.
In single and two-apartment buildings, the general limit would be 150 days per year, and up to 15 beds could be rented out. Again, the consent of the owners would be required. The new proposal no longer includes a provision that only natural persons with the status of landlord can rent out flats in these buildings, but instead, this activity could also be carried out by sole proprietors and legal persons.
Local authorities will be able to modify the number of days allowed for renting, depending on their assessment of the housing market and also of tourism needs. For multi-apartment buildings, they could lower the lower limit to 30 days and the upper limit to a maximum of 90 days. For single and two-apartment buildings, the range could be between 30 and 180 days.
The government intends to “free up” housing by interfering with free economic initiative to make it available on the rental market and to return housing “that was built for the purpose of a home to its original purpose”, Frangež said at a press conference.
Attack on private property
The fact that the Association of Landlords has mentioned the possibility of initiating a constitutional review of the bill and requesting a temporary suspension of the implementation of the law is proof that this is a highly controversial bill. The authorities, on the other hand, argue that economic initiative is a freedom, but that it must not be exercised against the public interest.
These explanations have been met with opposition from the civil society. Former Minister Žiga Turk wrote on the social network X: “Yet another colossal stupidity! A legitimate right ‘within a limited period of time’. It’s like saying that people have a ‘legitimate right to freedom of speech within a limited scope’ – as long as they don’t criticise the authorities.”
“Renting out rooms and flats for a maximum of 60 days a year?! Is this horde of lunatics who call themselves “the government” normal???? How much longer will it take for you to realise that we are living in a dictatorship????” commented an online user on the government’s proposal.
Landlords: This will lead to the cancellation of 90 percent of providers
The landlords believe that the new law would wipe out 90 percent of private short-term accommodation providers. According to a survey they conducted, the vast majority of landlords would not opt for long-term rentals if the law were to be adopted, the Slovenian Press Agency reports. Landlords, who are directly targeted by the law, were not involved in the drafting of the bill. So far, they have managed to collect 3,200 signatures on a petition asking the government to resubmit the bill for public consultation.
Marko Petković, President of the Board of the Slovenian Hospitality Homes, described the bill as a “minefield of unviable and unworkable provisions”. As for the impact of the bill, he said that 90 percent of private short-term accommodation providers would be wiped out, representing 25 percent of the country’s accommodation capacity. “This represents about 50,000 citizens, that is to say, people related to the landlords and their families,” Petković said.
Ž. K.
