The Government is looking to slow down Local Accommodation (AL), through the Mais Habitação program – it will be up to the municipalities to assess whether they proceed with the suspension of new licenses. In less than two months, since February 16, when the Executive announced restrictions on the rental of houses for tourist purposes, new registrations have skyrocketed: 5,390 were made in Portugal, more than double compared to the 2,090 recorded in the same last year period.

According to Jornal de Negócios, which is based on data from the National Register of Local Accommodation (RNAL), the number of new registrations even exceeds those that occurred in the pre-pandemic period, that is, in the same almost two months 2019 – At the time, 2,064 new units were registered.

By region, the Algarve is highlighted with 2,482 new registrations in almost two months, between February 16th and the week starting April 10th. The district of Lisbon, one of the areas most affected by the containment, has over 665 units, 96 of which are in the municipality of Lisbon itself. Porto already registered 323 more AL, 50 more than in the same period last year.

The Mais Habitação package approved by the Government foresees, for example, the suspension of new licenses, the expiry after five years or the possibility for condominiums to put an end to licenses issued without their approval.

The entry into force of the new rules will only occur at the end of the legislative process and without any retroactive obstacles, so potential entrepreneurs are taking the opportunity to submit their requests for new registrations.