SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Blaž Ogorevc, Miha Štravs and Blaž Murko, Odvetniki Šelih & partnerji, o.p., d.o.o.
become disruptive to these services in the next year. Conversely, proptech has had a significant impact on the real estate industry, most signifi - cantly through online marketplaces for short- term housing leases (eg, Airbnb, Booking). The emergence of such online marketplaces resulted in increased interest from investors in the pur - chase of real estate in order to lease it short term, which resulted in increased housing property prices. Due to the increased tourist count each year and, consequently, the increase in demand for accommodation, it could be expected that online marketplaces will continue to impact the real estate industry in the year ahead. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the City of Ljubljana announced a plan aimed at addressing housing availability and affordability by restrict - ing the short-term leasing of residential proper - ties to the summer months, when students are not present in Ljubljana. 1.3 Proposals for Reform A new real estate tax is being proposed for implementation. The ruling political parties have announced the introduction of a wealth tax, which would encompass reform in the taxation of residential real estate. Reform in the taxation of real estate is a measure that has long been proposed by international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the current proposal, any real estate, including both land parcels and build - ings (or parts of buildings), classified as residen - tial would be subject to a flat tax rate of 1.45% of its estimated value per year. The estimate is provided by the Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (GURS).
The taxpayer would be the owner of the real estate, both natural and legal persons. If there are multiple co-owners of a land parcel, each would pay tax proportional to their ownership share. Some deductions have been proposed. The main exemption applies to real estate that is actually occupied by the owner. Simply having an address registered at the property is insuffi - cient as, under the current proposal, occupation will be verified by utilities usage. The second exemption is a tax reduction equal to 25% of the rental income from residential lease agreements reported in the income tax return. However, legal persons would not qualify for this reduction, as they are taxed under a dif - ferent system than natural persons. The reform in the taxation of real estate is intend - ed to discourage speculative purchases and force owners of real estate, specifically vacant ones, to purposeful use thereof, by selling it or concluding residential lease agreements. Real estate tax reform has consistently encoun - tered strong public opposition, making it unlikely to be adopted in 2026 as scheduled. A similar proposal was struck down by the Slovenian Constitutional Court in 2013, with the current proposal failing to address all constitutional issues identified at the time. After severe floods in Slovenia in August 2023, an Act on intervention measures to deal with the consequences of floods and landslides was adopted in 2023 (the “Intervention Act” ), which, among others, amended certain provisions of the Spatial Management Act, Building Act, Agri - cultural Land Act, Act on Forests, Water Act, etc.
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