Alojamento local — Portugal’s short-term rental regime — is not a contract question. It is an administrative procedure. Whether a property may lawfully be operated as AL is decided by its use permit, by the municipal by-law and by the containment areas, not by what the listing says. I handle the registration, the response to the municipality’s opposition, disputes inside the building and the defence in administrative-offence proceedings, applying the same planning-law reading I bring to any real estate transaction.
When to act
- Before buying a property to operate as AL — viability depends on the use permit and the municipal by-law, not on the seller’s assurances.
- When filing the prior notice subject to a time limit, where the property is leased, held under the horizontal property regime, or located in a restricted area.
- Faced with the mayor’s opposition to the registration, or with cancellation proceedings already under way.
- Where the condominium resolves to oppose the activity or to levy an additional contribution.
- Faced with an inspection by ASAE or by the municipality, and the administrative-offence notice that follows.
What I handle
Registration and prior notice
- Filing the prior notice subject to a time limit through the Single Electronic Desk (Balcão Único Eletrónico), addressed to the mayor of the territorially competent municipality.
- Verifying the use permit or valid title of use and its compatibility with the activity — the point on which most applications fail.
- Preparing the statement of responsibility, the urban property tax register extract (caderneta predial urbana), the title legitimising the operation and, where the property is leased, the landlord’s authorisation.
- Selecting the correct category — detached house, apartment, lodging establishment or rooms — and the correct economic activity code (CAE 55201 or 55204).
- Checking the declared capacity and the per-building limits.
Containment areas and municipal by-laws
- Reading the municipal short-term rental by-law and the containment areas and sustainable growth areas applicable to the parish.
- Assessing the two-year residential tenancy restriction, which in a containment area can bar the registration outright.
- Reasoned response to the municipality’s opposition and, where the case warrants it, a request for a municipal inspection with a view to revising the decision.
- Administrative and judicial challenge of the decision to oppose or to cancel.
Condominium and disputes inside the building
- Defence against a resolution of the condominium owners’ meeting opposing the activity in the unit.
- Assessment of the additional contribution towards common-part expenses and of its statutory ceiling.
- Owners’ resolution required for hostels in buildings under the horizontal property regime.
- The operator’s liability for damage caused by guests, and the compulsory public liability insurance.
Inspection, cancellation and administrative offences
- Prior hearing and defence in cancellation proceedings.
- Defence in economic administrative-offence proceedings, including advertising an unregistered establishment or one whose registration is out of date.
- Bringing outdated registrations and overdue reporting obligations back into compliance.
Buying and selling a property with an AL registration
- Due diligence on the registration, the opening title and planning compliance.
- Conditions precedent and warranties in the promissory contract where the price rests on the AL operation.
- Transfer of the operation and updating of the registration.
The framework in force, and what changed
The regime is set out in Decree-Law No. 128/2014 of 29 August, as amended by Decree-Law No. 76/2024 of 23 October, in force since 1 November 2024. Three changes altered the operator’s position:
- Registration no longer has a fixed term. Article 6-A of the regime, which set a five-year term renewable by resolution of the municipal council, was repealed by Decree-Law No. 76/2024.
- The nationwide suspension of new registrations, the review of registrations already issued and the lapse of dormant registrations have all gone — Articles 19, 20 and 21 of Law No. 56/2023 were repealed by the same instrument.
- The extraordinary levy (CEAL) was repealed — by Article 3 of Decree-Law No. 57/2024 of 10 September, with effect from 31 December 2024.
What did not change is the essential point: registration still depends on prior notice to the municipality, the municipality may still oppose it, and municipalities may still restrict new establishments by by-law. The decision has moved down to municipal level — and that is where an AL application is now won or lost.
What you receive
- A viability assessment before you invest: use permit, municipal by-law, containment area and horizontal property regime.
- The filing and conduct of the prior notice through to the allocation of the registration number.
- Where required, the defence against opposition, cancellation or administrative-offence proceedings.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to operate a short-term rental in Portugal?
Not a licence — a registration. Alojamento local requires a prior notice subject to a time limit, addressed to the mayor of the municipality and filed exclusively through the Single Electronic Desk. If no opposition is raised within the statutory period, the reference allocated to the application becomes the registration number, and the document issued by the Single Electronic Desk is the only valid title to open to the public. Without that registration the operation is unlawful, and merely advertising the property constitutes a serious economic administrative offence.
How long does the municipality have to oppose the registration?
The mayor may oppose within 60 days of the prior notice being filed, extended to 90 days where the application concerns a property in a containment area. Opposition must rest on one of four grounds: defective filing of the application; a period still running as a result of an earlier cancellation; breach of the municipal restrictions or absence of an adequate use permit; or non-compliance with the applicable legislation. Opposition prevents the registration number from being allocated, but the applicant may request, once only and at its own cost, a municipal inspection with a view to revising the decision.
Does my AL registration lapse after five years?
No. The five-year renewable term was introduced in 2023 by Law No. 56/2023 and repealed by Decree-Law No. 76/2024, in force since 1 November 2024. Registration is now of indefinite duration. That does not make it untouchable: the municipality may cancel it, following a prior hearing, in particular where the registered particulars no longer match reality, where the statutory requirements are breached, or where there is no valid public liability insurance in force.
Is CEAL still payable?
No. The extraordinary levy on apartments in short-term rental use, created by Article 22 of Law No. 56/2023, was repealed by Article 3 of Decree-Law No. 57/2024 of 10 September, with effect from 31 December 2024. No chargeable event arises from that date onwards. Earlier periods, including assessments already issued and challenges still pending, remain governed by the rules applicable at the time.
Can the condominium stop me from operating an AL in my apartment?
It cannot prohibit the activity by simple majority vote, but it may oppose it by reasoned resolution of the owners’ meeting, carried by more than half of the building’s per-thousand shares (permilagem), on the ground of repeated and demonstrated acts disturbing the normal use of the building or causing nuisance and affecting the other owners’ rest. The resolution does not of itself extinguish the registration: it is addressed to the mayor, who decides. The condominium may also levy an additional contribution for the increased use of the common parts, capped at 30% of the annual service charge. For hostels in buildings under the horizontal property regime where residential use coexists, the owners’ authorisation is required at the outset and must accompany the prior notice.
How many guests may I take, and how many apartments may I operate in the same building?
Outside the “rooms” and “hostel” categories, maximum capacity is nine bedrooms and 27 guests. Capacity is calculated by multiplying the number of bedrooms by two, plus two guests in the living room for the apartment and detached-house categories; convertible or additional beds may not exceed half the number of fixed beds. Within the same building, the same owner or operator may not run more than nine establishments in the apartment category where that number exceeds 75% of the existing units — and registrations held by a spouse, descendants and ascendants count towards the limit.
Do I need insurance?
Yes, and its absence is a ground for cancelling the registration. The operator must take out and keep in force public liability insurance covering pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss caused to guests and to third parties, with minimum cover of €75,000 per claim. The operator is also jointly and severally liable with the guests for damage they cause to the building.
Does my municipality have a containment area?
That depends on the municipal by-law, and it is the first thing to check before buying or filing. Each municipality may adopt a short-term rental by-law and use it to delimit containment areas and sustainable growth areas, by parish or part of a parish, with caps on the number of new registrations. In a containment area the municipality may also bar registration of properties that have been let for residential purposes in the preceding two years. In municipalities with more than 1,000 registered establishments, the municipal assembly must resolve expressly, within twelve months, whether it will exercise that regulatory power. There is no national answer: it is confirmed in the by-law of the municipality where the property is located.
Related reading
- Short-term rentals: what changed and how to license
- Use permit: what it is and why it matters
- Urban planning and licensing
- Property taxes: IMT, Stamp Duty, IMI and AIMI
Areas covered
Support before the municipalities of Greater Lisbon — with particular proximity to Cascais, Oeiras, Sintra and the South Bank — and, by video conference, throughout the country.
Information and contact
Office at Lagoas Park, Building 7, in Oeiras. Meetings in person or by video conference, in Portuguese, English and Spanish.
Notice: before sharing documents, deadlines or the identity of the counterparty, please await confirmation that there is no conflict of interest and acceptance of the engagement. The information on this page is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice.