In Lisbon alone, the most controversial part of the country regarding short-term rental spaces for tourists, registrations are expected to decrease from 19,000 to 11,000 to 12,000. This clean-up process is viewed optimistically by those responsible for the sector, both to create a more reliable and realistic database and to defocus the narrative of pressure on the housing market.
On this topic, Ana Jacinto, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Establishments (AHRESP), considers it a “distortion” that “has relevant practical effects”. “It artificially inflates the total number of short-term rental establishments, fuelling narratives that there is excessive pressure on housing,” she said in a report by Jornal Económico.
According to Ana Jacinto, the many inactive short-term rental registrations end up contributing “to an inflated perspective of the sector and also served as a basis for laws that could not, and cannot, be made from data detached from reality.” “With statistical clarification, the sector gains a more reliable database that is more adjusted to reality,” she adds.
The main association in the sector, the Association of Short-Term Rental in Portugal (ALEP), says that the updating of short-term rental registrations only began in March of this year, a process that should have started earlier. And it should be completed by the end of the year or the beginning of 2026.
“At the end of 2023, with the ‘More Housing’ law poorly drafted and full of illegalities, the system wasn't working, and this prevented the municipalities from cleaning it up. The database had an estimate of more than 40,000 inactive registrations. We had been warning for some years that this data is nowhere near the reality,” says Eduardo Miranda, president of ALEP, quoted by the publication.
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19000 or 12000 society leechs still is a leech problem. Zero would be the only good number. These people should get an actual job and be productive instead of leeching from society
By nunof from Lisbon on 10 Nov 2025, 13:56
Allow people to sell the property without the 95% capital gains on properties sold as AL, and properties that have stopped being AL for the past 3 years. The Capital gains causes people not to bother selling
By Dave G. from USA on 11 Nov 2025, 14:23
AL does need regulation, without a doubt. An making regulatory decisions without any accurate data is simply silly. (How did the municipal authorities get themselves into a situation where thousands of rental units are miscounted - shame on you).
To the first commentator on the question of "leeches" - you obviously have no clue about how the tourist economy works, do you.
1. AL allows home owners to rent out a room in their house, and they get the benefit. It also allows Portuguese property owners (80% of properties in PT are owned by Portuguese) to rent out a second, vacant home on their property, which is often the case in rural areas. (I know at least 8 of neighbours doing this - all Portuguese!).
2. AL means that revenue from tourists goes directly to the owners, after deductions for VAT, taxes and annual registration fees to municipalities. They are paying their dues, their licensing, electricity, water, etc. and then paying the agents (Booking.com, etc.) their commissions.
But at the end - they are earning the money locally, attracting people to the area, who then spend into the wider economy, at attractions, restaurants and other businesses.
3. However, when you build a hotel, managed by a local, EU or international hotel chain, then the profits are going to a corporation, who will extract to the maximum any profits to their headquarters. Please tell me what you would prefer?
Don't blame small, family-owned, (80% are Portuguese) properties from making a small addition income covering their own home costs through AL.
I suggest you go and cry a river at the doorsteps of thousands of rural Portuguese families who welcome travellers every week and supplement their incomes.
By Anthony Williams from Other on 15 Nov 2025, 15:25