The revamped bill lays out a number of alterations to the existing legislation which regulates the process of legalising private properties as Alojamento Local (AL).
However, the changes will mostly affect new properties signing up, with fewer ramifications for existing AL properties.
Chiefly, as of Tuesday this week, under the new regime, all types of properties that provide short-term rental accommodation in exchange for payment can be considered AL, and not just those intended for tourists.
Among other key changes, the new bill gives power to local councils and condominiums to intervene in future AL registrations.
This means councils and other property-owners in a building can have a say in whether or not a particular property can be let for short-term rentals.
The new rules also foresee ‘areas of containment’ to preserve the social character of neighbourhoods and places.
In comments to Expresso newspaper, Patricia Viana, partner in the Abreu Advogados Real Estate Law firm, explained these ‘containment zones’ are “areas defined by the local authority where a single owner can only operate a maximum of seven local accommodation establishments”. These areas should be re-evaluated at least every two years.
This measure, however, only applies to new registrations; that is, only those who want to start a new AL in these areas require authorisation from local authorities.
On the other hand, the revised law also forces current AL owners to implement changes, such as acquiring mandatory multi-risk insurance and having an onsite information book in four languages.
AL owners could also be asked to pay up to 30 percent more on their annual condominium quota, if the condominium or home-owners’ association sees fit, according to Expresso.
Owners failing to comply with the AL law – for example, if a property accommodates more guests than legally allowed, or if it falls short of hygiene or safety standards – now face heftier fines, which have been upped from €2,500 to €4,000 in the case of individual owners, and from €25,000 to €40,000 if the property is owned by a company.
Hostels are also addressed in the revised legislation; anyone wanting to create a hostel in a horizontal property regime (where some of the houses are for permanent residence), must ask the condominium for prior authorisation.
Condominiums have also been given leverage to oppose or even ask for AL licences to be revoked, if the property in question is in an apartment block, but, according to the legal expert’s analysis of the new law, this would happen “only if there is a repeated practice of acts that preclude or disturb the normal enjoyment of the building by the condominium owners” and which are reported to the local council.
Ms. Viana said under the new changes, councils have been given more power in ensuring AL properties comply with the regime, and can also order the temporary suspending of licences, should the functioning of the property be considered a matter of public health.
Furthermore, councils are now the first port-of-call for those wanting to register properties as AL, instead of the national tourism board Turismo de Portugal. Councils have ten days in the case of privately-owned properties or 20 days if the request is for a hostel, to decide if they will accept the registration or not.
The number of days an owner has to inform the authorities of closure of an AL property has also been slashed, from 60 days to 10.
Lastly, all AL properties are obliged to have an information book in four languages – Portuguese, English and at least two other foreign languages.
In related news, about a week ago, Lisbon council announced that it would suspend new AL registrations in the historic neighbourhoods of Madragoa, Castelo, Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto. This suspension is, according to the law, valid for only one year, after which it will be reassessed.
Recent reports claim the number of new AL registrations has skyrocketed, making existing ratios calculated by councils outdated.
A current estimate puts the number of AL properties along Lisbon’s main avenues at over 25 percent and at around 40 percent in the historic heart of the city, having risen from 34 percent in the space of two and a half months.