Is Montenegro a Good Place to Buy a Holiday Home? Rental Income in Bar, With Real Numbers

It can be, but mainly as a place you use yourself, not as an income investment. On our numbers, a one-bedroom flat in Šušanj let to a long-term tenant earns about 2.5% a year after costs and tax, and letting it to tourists for 100 nights a summer earns less, unless you run it yourself and fill far more nights.

Prices and rents below are based on asking prices in Albatros listings, October 2026. The rules are current as of the same month.

Does a holiday home in Montenegro make sense?

Bar’s tourist season runs from June to September. Outside it, holiday demand drops sharply and a flat near the beach can stand empty for half the year. Long-term tenants are people who live and work in Bar, and they rent all year.

Then there is your own use: the weeks most owners want for themselves, July and August, are the weeks that earn the most. A week in your own flat in August costs about €490 in bookings at €70 a night.

So: for a summer base with rent covering the running costs, a holiday let fits. For the most income with the least work, let long-term.

What does a typical one-bedroom flat in Bar cost?

In Šušanj, the beach district of Bar, the median size in our listings is 57 m² and the median price €2,469 per m², so about €140,700. For a resale flat, add 3% transfer tax (€4,221), the notary (about €612 with VAT) and about €400 for an interpreter and admin. All in: about €146,000. Our guide to buying property in Montenegro as a foreigner explains each cost.

In the city centre (61 m² at €2,906 per m²) it costs about €177,300. A new build from the developer has 21% VAT in the price and no transfer tax. Other districts are in our Montenegro property prices 2026 post.

How much does a long-term let earn?

The median asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in our long-term rental listings in Bar is €475 a month (most between €390 and €600). That is €5,700 a year, a gross yield of about 4% on the asking price.

The tenant normally pays electricity and water; put that in the lease. You get one tenant, one handover and a steady income, but you can’t use the flat yourself.

How much does a holiday let earn?

A flat near the beach in Bar or Sutomore typically lets for €40 to €70 a night in season. Occupancy is the hard part. The table is our assumption for a well-run one-bedroom flat in Šušanj, not data from a real flat.

That is only a little more than the long-term rent, and a holiday let has far more costs.

What costs come off the rent?

• Management: agencies in Montenegro quote 15% to 30% of booking income, depending on what’s included. We use 20% for the holiday let and 10% for a long-term let.
• Platform fees: Airbnb now charges most hosts a single 15.5% fee, and Booking.com commission is typically around 15%. We use 15%.
• Cleaning and laundry: we assume five-night stays, so 20 changeovers at €25.
• Utilities: on a holiday let you pay electricity, water and internet all year. We allow €60 a month.
• Property tax: Bar charges 0.60% a year on a flat that isn’t your main home. The value comes from a base price per m² (€1,693.75 for 2025), adjusted for zone, build quality and age. For 57 m² that is roughly €350 to €600; we use €450.
• Repairs, building costs, insurance: our allowance is €400 long-term and €500 for a holiday let. Holiday hosts must insure guests against accidents.
• Income tax: 15%, plus Bar’s 13% surtax on the tax (see below).

If you live in Bar and manage it yourself, drop the management line: €4,174 long-term against €2,437 from the holiday let. To match the long-term let, a self-managed holiday let needs roughly 150 booked nights a year, so most of June and September as well as the peak. Changes in the flat’s value are left out.

How is rental income taxed in Montenegro?

Rental income is taxed at 15% under the Law on Personal Income Tax, on the rent minus costs. You deduct documented actual costs, or a standard deduction:

• 30% for an ordinary letting, such as a long-term tenant
• 50% for letting to tourists, if the tourist tax has been paid
• 70% for letting to tourists under a contract with a travel agency or the local tourist organisation, with average occupancy of at least 60 days a year

That is 10.5%, 7.5% or 4.5% of gross rent. Bar adds a 13% surtax on the tax, so the totals are about 11.9%, 8.5% and 5.1%. If your documented costs beat the standard deduction, as they can with a manager and platform fees, deduct those instead.

Unlike Croatia, Montenegro has no flat per-bed income tax for private hosts; the standard deduction is the flat-rate part. The tourist tax law does let municipalities offer hosts a fixed yearly tourist tax per bed instead of a charge per night. We couldn’t confirm that Bar offers one, so ask the Tourist Organisation of Bar.

The tax return is due by 30 April for the previous year, and non-residents file one for Montenegrin income not taxed at source. If a company rents your flat, it withholds the tax for you. Once registered to host tourists, you file even in a year with no bookings. Your home country may tax the same income, so ask a tax adviser there.

What do you need to rent to tourists legally?

1. A legal building

Since the Law on Legalisation took effect in August 2025, no business may be run in a building that hasn’t been legalised. Check the building and occupancy permits before you buy a flat you plan to let.

2. Registration with the municipality

Private hosts must be entered in the Central Tourist Register before taking guests. Owners and co-owners can register, foreigners included, for up to 10 rooms or 20 beds. In Bar you apply at the municipal citizens’ office (Građanski biro), and the Secretariat for Economy decides. You need:

• the title deed (list nepokretnosti) and a copy of your passport
• the building’s documents, such as the occupancy or building permit
• the register form and a notarised statement that the flat meets the minimum technical standards
• confirmations from the water and waste companies, and proof that property tax is paid
• a €5 administrative fee

Apply 8 days before you start. The decision is due within 8 days, and inspectors check within 15 days. Keep the decision in the flat, display prices and the tourist tax, keep a guest book and report guest numbers monthly.

3. Guest registration

The host must register foreign guests with the police within 12 hours of arrival, electronically or through the tourist organisation. The tourist tax law also requires reporting arrivals and departures to the local tourist organisation within 24 hours. The Tourist Organisation of Bar’s app, RegistracijaBoravka, handles registration and card payment of the tourist tax. A private host who fails to register a foreign guest faces a fine of €150 to €500.

4. Tourist tax

In Bar it is €1.00 per adult per night (since 2024). Ages 12 to 18 pay half, under-12s pay nothing, and stays over 30 days are exempt. You collect it, show it separately on the bill and pass it on. The guest pays it, so it isn’t in our cost table.

In June 2026 the government sent a new Law on Tourism and Hospitality to parliament. Check its status before you register.

Which areas of Bar rent best?

*Fewer than 10 sale listings, so indicative only. Rough yield is median rent × 12 ÷ median asking price; flat sizes differ.

For tourists: apartments in Šušanj sit by the beach and promenade. Sutomore is a beach resort north of Bar, in the same municipality. Dobra Voda and Utjeha are coastal villages to the south; Dobra Voda has the highest prices per m² and rents well long-term too, and Utjeha’s flats are small (median 43 m²).

For long-term tenants: the city centre has 23 of our 85 long-term rental listings and a median rent of €600. Ilino and Čeluga follow at €500, and Polje is cheapest at €325. Our guide on where to buy property in Bar describes each district.

So, should you buy a holiday home in Bar?

Buy it if you want to spend summers in it and are happy for rent to cover the running costs. Don’t expect a holiday let to beat a long-term tenant on income. If income matters most, a flat in the centre let long-term is simpler.

Browse apartments for sale in Bar; if you buy, we can find and vet a long-term tenant for you. Send us a message with your budget and plans, and we’ll run these numbers for the flats you like.

Frequently asked questions

Is a holiday home in Montenegro a good investment?

It works better as a home you use than as an investment. Based on Albatros asking prices in Bar in October 2026, a one-bedroom flat let long-term earns about 2.5% a year after costs and tax. A holiday let with 100 booked nights earns less after management, platform fees and utilities.

How much rent does a one-bedroom apartment in Bar make?

The median asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Bar is €475 a month, mostly between €390 and €600, based on Albatros listings in October 2026. Holiday lets near the beach typically get €40 to €70 a night in season, from June to September.

How is rental income taxed in Montenegro?

Rental income is taxed at 15% after costs. Without documented costs you deduct a standard 30%, or 50% for tourist lets with the tourist tax paid, or 70% when letting through a travel agency or the local tourist organisation. Bar adds a 13% surtax on the tax.

Do I need a licence to rent my apartment to tourists in Montenegro?

Yes. The owner must be entered in the Central Tourist Register by the municipality before taking guests, and foreign owners can register too. In Bar you apply at the municipal citizens’ office with the title deed, your passport and the building’s documents. Foreign guests must be registered with the police within 12 hours.

How much is the tourist tax in Bar?

The tourist tax in Bar is €1.00 per adult per night. Guests aged 12 to 18 pay half, and children under 12 and stays over 30 days are exempt. The host collects it from the guest and passes it on.

General information based on the rules in force in October 2026, not tax or legal advice. Occupancy and running costs in the examples are our assumptions. Confirm your case with an accountant in Montenegro and a tax adviser at home.