Your tenant asks for address registration: what a landlord in Bulgaria signs, and what you do not risk
A foreigner who rents your room is recorded at your address in two separate steps. First the address card: within 3 days of their moving in, you as the person providing shelter notify the Migration service or the local police (Foreigners Act, art. 28 para 3); no notary, no fee. Second, their residence permit: for that the tenant brings the rental contract and, in practice, a declaration from the owner with a notarised signature plus a copy of the deed. The declaration gives the tenant no rights over the property. It does mean the rent is on record: you declare it and pay tax on it, which for a room is a few tens of euro a month.
By Strehana · Updated 29 September 2026
This guide describes practice and is not legal advice. The rules are in the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (art. 28 on the notice, art. 48b on the fine), its implementing regulation (art. 9 on the address card, art. 14 onwards on permit documents) and the Act on Entering, Residing and Leaving of EU Citizens; the document list is set by the Migration Directorate and changes. Check the current one or ask a lawyer.
Why they ask you at all
- An EU citizen can stay three months freely. For longer they apply for a certificate of long-term residence, and the address is part of the application.
- Everyone else declares their address after entering and after every move (the address card itself says «within 5 days»). On a visa D for work or study, Migration also wants proof of secured housing for the residence permit.
- A hotel enters its guests in the tourism register. A private host files the address card alone or together with the tenant: two forms and the tenant’s passport, one copy stays with you (regulation, art. 9 para 2). Miss the three days and the law provides a fine of 100 to 1 000 лв. (€51 to €511) for an individual (art. 48b).
What Migration wants for the residence permit
- A rental contract in the tenant's name, with the address.
- A declaration that you agree they live at that address, with your signature certified by a notary.
- A copy of the document showing you are the owner (the notarial deed).
The regulation says only «evidence of secured housing»; in practice the offices ask for these three documents, and for some cases (a family member of a Bulgarian citizen, permanent residence) the notarised declaration is written into the regulation itself. The certification is a short notary visit and a small fee. If you are not the owner but a tenant subletting a room, the declaration still has to come from the owner: one more person who has to agree.
What you do NOT risk
- The tenant gains no rights over the property. Address registration records where a person lives for the state; the rights and duties of the tenancy are in the contract alone.
- It does not make them harder to move out. Ending a tenancy follows the contract and the Obligations and Contracts Act, registered address or not.
- You are not responsible for their status. You certify that they live with you; the visa and the permit are theirs.
What it does mean
A declaration filed with a state authority means the rent is on record. Rental income is declared and taxed: for an individual, 10% on 90% of the rent. For a room at €350 that is about €31.50 a month, €378 a year. That is the honest price of a legal tenancy, and less than one agency fee.
How to do it without extra trips
- Say it in the listing or in the first conversation: «I can sign the address-registration declaration» or «I cannot». Either answer beats silence after the deposit.
- Write it into the contract as your obligation, with a date.
- Go to the notary together; the tenant customarily covers the fee.
- Give the tenant a copy of the deed with the other owners' personal data covered, if there are any.
On Strehana you can say in the listing whether you offer address registration. The newcomer who needs it finds you faster, and the one who cannot do without it does not waste your time.
- Do I have to sign an address-registration declaration for my tenant?
- The declaration for the permit is not mandatory: it is your decision, but say it before the deposit, because for many foreigners there is no residence permit without it. The address card is mandatory: within 3 days of their moving in you, as the person providing shelter, notify the Migration service or the local police.
- Does address registration give my tenant rights over the flat?
- No. It records where a person lives for the state. Tenancy rights are in the contract alone.
- What exactly do I sign?
- The address card in the first 3 days (two forms, no notary) and, if the tenant applies for a permit, a declaration that you agree they live at the address, with your signature certified by a notary, plus a copy of the deed. The rental contract goes with them.
- How much tax will I pay on a room?
- As an individual: 10% on 90% of the rent. For a room at €350 that is about €378 a year.