The National Association of Portuguese Municipalities will now be consulted before the government approves additional modifications to the local accommodation (AL) regulations on Thursday, August 8. These amendments remove the non-transferability of licenses stipulated by the previous executive and replace them with the new decree-law.
At a press conference held in Lisbon following the Council of Ministers, Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro made the declaration. The government official reiterated the initiative of the PSD/CDS-PP management to “correct some errors” of the socialist executive.
"We approved a previous version of the diploma that removes some egregious errors, like the licenses' non-transferability and five-year expiration date, allowing, on the other hand, to introduce a logic of decentralisation after much dialogue with several entities, including sector agents," the official stated.
According to the government, "decisions about the operating rules for local accommodations in areas of greatest pressure should be made by the municipalities."
It is anticipated that the diploma will be "very soon," or in a "matter of weeks," officially approved.
The vacation rental industry fiercely opposed the previous legislation, which was enacted by parliament in 2023 and made the activity license non-transferable even in cases of death, divorce, or succession.
Subsequently, the socialist package stipulated that holders of inactive ALs must furnish evidence of their continued involvement. The mayor of the relevant municipality would decide whether to cancel registrations in the event of noncompliance. However, the regulations stipulated that AL registrations would be reapppraised in 2030 and would be renewable for a further five years following the initial reappraisal.
Establishments that offered genuine guarantees for loan agreements that were not yet entirely repaid as of December 31, 2029, would be the only exemption. Leitão Amaro reminded everyone that "penalising measures," like the extraordinary contribution and the ageing coefficient for determining the Municipal Property Tax, have already been rectified for the sector, as announced by the government at the beginning of its term in office.
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