Short-term rental regulations in Tunisia: authorisation, ONTT and tourist tax

Short-term rental regulations in Tunisia, as of 3 October 2026: no published text creates a specific authorisation to let a whole flat on Airbnb. The bill that would create one is still under committee review in Parliament. Three obligations are written down: the tourist tax (4 dinars per night for each foreign guest over 12), reporting foreign guests to the police or National Guard, and an ONTT authorisation once the activity counts as a tourist establishment.

Short-term rental regulations in Tunisia: what authorisation for a whole flat?

Short-term rental regulations in Tunisia give no single answer on authorisation, because Tunisian law does not yet treat letting a whole furnished flat to tourists as a category of its own. The available sources agree:

• 21 April 2025: fifteen MPs table bill no. 031/2025 on the operation of furnished flats and homes in the Assembly of the Representatives of the People (ARP). La Presse de Tunisie and Webdo describe the sector at the time as a "legal vacuum". The bill would place the activity under specifications (cahier des charges) approved by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Penalties in that bill: a 20,000 dinar fine for operating without prior authorisation, 5,000 dinars for contractual breaches.
• 11 March 2026: the ARP's tourism committee hears the bill's authors. Committee members distinguish organised tourist accommodation from letting a privately owned home, which falls under civil law. The committee decides to hold further hearings to rework the text.
• Status on 3 October 2026: the bill's page on the ARP website lists it among proposals "before the committees". No plenary session is recorded. The bill is therefore not adopted, and its penalties do not apply.

Separately, the Ministry of Tourism is preparing specifications (fixed rules that replace case-by-case authorisation) for alternative tourist accommodation: guesthouses and family hosting, rural lodges, campsites. The drafts were presented on 16 April 2025, with publication announced for mid-June 2025. On 16 November 2025, the minister still announced it "in the coming weeks". As of 3 October 2026, we found no publication notice on the ministry's website and no press report of one. These specifications do not cover a flat let whole.

Some pages online mention a mandatory ONTT registration number in 2026: none of them cites a law, a decree or a JORT reference. We do not treat it as a rule in force.

When the ONTT steps in: family hosting and tourist establishments

The ONTT (Tunisian National Tourism Office) issues opening authorisations for tourist establishments and classifies them. Two texts can apply to a private owner.

• Family hosting (the Tunisian guesthouse category): the Minister of Tourism's order of 29 July 2013 (JORT no. 64-65 of 9 and 13 August 2013) sets a maximum of 5 rooms and 15 guests per home. The host is the owner or lawful operator who lives with the guest. Classification is requested from the ONTT. The host must hold civil liability insurance and answer complaints within 48 hours.
• Tourist establishment: the ministry's "opening authorisation for a tourist establishment" procedure sheet refers to Decree-Law no. 73-3 of 3 October 1973. The file goes to the ONTT's director general and includes a civil protection certificate and a health certificate. The sheet states a 15-day response time.

A whole flat let while the owner is away does not match family hosting, which requires the host to live there. An owner who opens several rooms in their own home, or sets up a guesthouse, does fall within the ONTT's remit.

Tunisia tourist tax for a rental apartment or villa

The tourist tax (taxe de séjour) is the only tax rule that expressly covers flats and villas let to tourists. Article 46 of the 2024 Finance Law extended it beyond hotels to "all other premises intended for rental as rooms, apartments or villas for stays of limited duration". The Ministry of Finance's common note no. 8/2024 sets out how it has applied since 1 January 2024.

• Rate: 4 dinars per night for a foreign guest, 1 dinar for a Tunisian or a national of the Arab Maghreb Union.
• Exemption: guests aged 12 or under.
• Cap: the tax is calculated on at most 10 consecutive nights in the same property.
• Collection: the operator collects the tax and issues a receipt.
• Payment: through the monthly tax return at the local tax office, within the first 15 days of the following month for an individual, 28 days for a company (20 days if filed online).
• Late or short payment: the same penalties as for withholding tax.

Grey area: the common note does not explain how a private individual with no registered activity signs up to file this monthly return. We also found no official source stating that a platform collects the tax on the owner's behalf.

Foreign guests: reporting to the police or National Guard

Law no. 68-7 of 8 March 1968 on the status of foreigners requires two declarations to the local police or National Guard station:

• Article 21: anyone who houses a foreigner, even free of charge, informs the station where they live within 48 hours. Hoteliers and furnished-room landlords follow the deadline set by a 1919 decree.
• Article 22: anyone who rents residential premises to a foreigner informs the station where the premises are within one week.
• Article 28: knowingly failing to declare is punishable by 1 to 15 days' imprisonment and a fine of 1 to 6 dinars.

The law does not say which deadline applies to a stay of a few nights. The shorter one, 48 hours, is the safer choice.

Short-term rental regulations in Tunisia: what is settled and what is unclear on 3 October 2026

Checklist: an owner's steps in Tunisia, in order

1. Define the project: a flat or villa let whole, or rooms in the home you live in. The second case is family hosting and falls under the ONTT.
2. Read the residence or building rules, which may restrict short stays.
3. Take out civil liability insurance covering paying guests. It is mandatory for family hosting (article 7 of the 2013 order).
4. If you open a family hosting business: file the classification request with the ONTT, with no more than 5 rooms and 15 guests.
5. Set up the tourist tax: a receipt for each guest, then a monthly return and payment at the tax office.
6. Report each foreign guest to the police or National Guard station, ideally within 48 hours.
7. Declare the income in the annual income tax return. If you live in France, have an accountant check how the income is treated.
8. Follow the reform: bill no. 031/2025, before an ARP committee, provides for prior authorisation of furnished rentals if it is adopted.

Compliance is only part of the calculation. To compare Tunisia with your other options, read our comparison of Dubai, Nice or Tunis, and our method to estimate what a property earns.

What Flatlab does

We manage 17 properties in Dubai, Nice, Paris and Tunisia, including homes in Tunis, La Marsa, Sidi Bou Saïd, Carthage, Gammarth and Hammamet. A French-speaking on-site team coordinates with residences and condominiums, handles tourist tax and deals with ONTT paperwork. Your revenue is received in dinars (TND) and converted per your preferences, and we coordinate with your Tunisian bank. The fee is 20% all-in, housekeeping included. Details are on our page on rental management in Tunisia.

FAQ

Is Airbnb legal in Tunisia?

No published text bans letting your flat on Airbnb in Tunisia, and none yet creates an authorisation specific to furnished rentals. Existing obligations apply: tourist tax, reporting foreign guests, declaring the income.

Do I need ONTT registration for a holiday rental?

Yes for family hosting, where the owner lives with the guests: classification is requested from the ONTT. For a flat let whole, we found no published text requiring ONTT registration.

How much is the Tunisia tourist tax for a rental apartment?

4 dinars per night for each foreign guest over 12, 1 dinar for a Tunisian or Maghreb guest, up to 10 consecutive nights.

Do I need the governorate's authorisation to rent short term?

We found no official text requiring governorate authorisation to let a whole flat to tourists. Bill no. 031/2025 provides for prior authorisation. On 3 October 2026 it is still under committee review: if it is adopted, the rule will change.

This article is for information only. It does not replace professional legal or tax advice. Tunisian tourist rental law is changing: check each point with the ONTT, the tax office and a professional before letting.