Sanitary Approval and Hygiene Requirements for Accommodation and Food in a Rural Household

If you plan to host overnight guests in your rural household or to offer them home-made food and drink, the hygienic soundness of your premises, water and staff is not a formality but a legal requirement. In Republika Srpska, providing hospitality services in a rural household is governed by rules from the fields of hospitality, health and food safety, and "sanitary approval" is the common name for the set of proofs by which you confirm that your facility and you as a host meet the sanitary-hygienic conditions. Without these proofs, categorization of the household and lawful operation are not possible.

This text explains the three things that most often confuse hosts in municipalities such as Trebinje, Bileća, Nevesinje, Gacko, Ljubinje, Berkovići and Istočni Mostar: what is required of people (the sanitary check and the sanitary booklet), what is required of the premises and the water, and how the procedure with the competent authorities unfolds. Figures are given for orientation only; before you apply, verify the current conditions with your municipality and health institution, because details and fees change.

Why sanitary approval is mandatory

Once a household begins to offer accommodation and, especially, food and drink to third parties, it enters the circle of facilities under sanitary supervision. The purpose of the rules is clear: the guest should eat safe food, drink healthy water, and stay in premises that do not endanger their health. That is why, alongside the categorization conditions from the hospitality field, the hygiene conditions are checked as well.

Key point: sanitary approval is not a single sheet of paper but a set of proofs — about the health of staff, the safety of the water, and the hygienic suitability of the premises. All parts must be in order at the same time.

In practice, the "sanitary part" of the documentation is usually required during categorization of the rural household too. The Republika Srpska Law on Hospitality provides that the competent minister, with the consent of the ministers for health and spatial planning, prescribes the conditions that facilities must meet. This means that hygiene and health requirements are not viewed separately from tourism registration but as an integral part of it.

Competent authorities

Several institutions touch this procedure, so it helps to know whom you approach for what:

• Municipality / city (unit of local self-government) — runs the categorization procedure for the rural household and receives the application; this is where you start.
• Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Republika Srpska — the framework for hospitality and rural tourism.
• Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska — the framework for sanitary supervision and health checks.
• Institute of Public Health of Republika Srpska and authorized health institutions — carry out sanitary checks of staff, issue sanitary booklets, and perform laboratory water analyses.
• Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs (Inspectorate of RS) — the health-sanitary and market inspection that supervises on the ground.
• Food Safety Agency of BiH — the state framework for food safety, relevant when you offer prepared dishes.

For the exact list of documents and their sequence, always turn first to your municipality and consult the official information of the RS Government at www.vladars.net.

The sanitary check and the sanitary booklet

Every person who prepares, serves, or comes into contact with food and drink — that is, the host and household members who work with guests — must hold a valid sanitary check and a sanitary booklet.

What the check covers

The sanitary check is performed by an authorized health institution and typically includes:

1. A medical examination confirming health suitability for working with food.
2. Laboratory analyses (microbiological tests) that rule out certain communicable diseases and carrier status.
3. Basic hygiene training (a "hygiene minimum") on food handling and personal hygiene.

The findings are recorded in the sanitary booklet, which is kept at the facility and must be available to inspection. The booklet has a validity period, so the check is repeated periodically; as a rule it is renewed once a year or per the health institution's instructions. Alongside the booklet, categorization of the rural household usually also requires a medical certificate of fitness for the holder and the members involved in providing services.

Requirements for the premises: accommodation and kitchen

The space where the guest stays and where food is prepared must be easy to clean, maintain and ventilate. Although the specific standards vary by type and category of facility, the hygiene logic is the same everywhere.

Accommodation area

• Rooms and shared spaces made of washable, disinfectable materials; sufficient natural light and ventilation.
• Clean bedding and towels changed between guests; a separate area for clean and soiled linen.
• A sanitary unit with running hot and cold water, working drainage, and supplies for hand hygiene.

Kitchen and food preparation

• Work surfaces and equipment of non-absorbent materials; separate handling of raw and cooked foods.
• Refrigeration with temperature control for perishable foods.
• A separate area or regime for washing dishes and for waste disposal; protection against insects and rodents.
• Work clothing and footwear for people handling food, and hand-washing facilities near the kitchen.

Drinking water and drainage

Healthy water is one of the most common stumbling blocks in the rural households of East Herzegovina, where facilities rely on their own springs, wells or cisterns.

• If you are connected to a public water supply, the supplier usually confirms compliance; keep the proof.
• If you use your own spring, well or cistern, the water should be sent for laboratory analysis (microbiological and physico-chemical) to an authorized institution, such as the Institute of Public Health of RS. The analysis is repeated periodically.
• Wastewater drainage must be arranged so it does not contaminate the water source or the surroundings (a sound septic tank or a sewer connection), and solid waste is separated and removed regularly.

Tip: do the water analysis early. If the finding is not compliant, corrective steps are needed (e.g. disinfection, well remediation) and a re-test, which takes time — and without safe water there is no food preparation for guests.

Food safety and hygiene practices

When you offer guests home-made dishes, cheeses, honey, rakija, jams or other products, food-safety principles based on the HACCP approach apply — systematic control of risks across every step, from sourcing to serving. For a small rural household this does not mean costly bureaucracy but clear habits:

• Know the origin of ingredients and keep perishables at the required temperature.
• Prevent cross-contamination (raw/cooked, clean/dirty).
• Keep simple records (fridge temperatures, cleaning, goods received).
• Regular personal hygiene of staff and clean work clothing.

If you produce food for sale beyond guest service, additional food-facility registrations may be required — check with the veterinary/sanitary inspection and the Food Safety Agency of BiH.

Inspection oversight and common mistakes

The health-sanitary inspection may visit both before you start operating and during operation. The most common irregularities among hosts are: an expired or missing sanitary booklet, the absence of a water analysis from an own source, poorly arranged drainage, insufficiently separated food handling, and untidy records. All of these are easily avoided if the documentation is prepared in time.

Practical steps

1. Contact the municipality and request the exact list of conditions for categorizing a rural household, including the sanitary part.
2. Undergo the sanitary check at an authorized institution and obtain sanitary booklets for yourself and members who work with guests.
3. Analyze the water if you are not on the public supply; keep the finding and plan periodic re-tests.
4. Arrange the premises — rooms, sanitary unit, kitchen and waste disposal per the hygiene requirements.
5. Introduce food-hygiene practices (temperatures, separation, records, cleaning).
6. Complete the documentation and submit the categorization application; await the inspection and the decision.
7. Maintain compliance — renew booklets and analyses, keep records, and be ready for inspection.

With orderly preparation, sanitary conditions are not an obstacle but a mark of quality that guests recognize. For accurate and up-to-date information, rely on your competent municipality, the Institute of Public Health of RS, and the official pages of the Government of Republika Srpska.