Changes to Local Accommodation legislation (AL)

Decree-Law no. 76/2024 of 23 October was published in the Official Gazette, amending the legal framework for the operation of local accommodation establishments. The new rules come into force on 1 November.

The main changes to local accommodation legislation are summarised below:

• Elimination of the expiry date for licences: if you hold a local accommodation licence, it will no longer expire in five years, and it will have no expiry date.
• Possibility of transferring licences: licences are once again transferable, as are companies that hold registrations.
• Reduction of the condominium's powers: it is possible to apply for a licence without needing the condominium's permission, although you will still have to comply with the regulations of the building in question, and these regulations may in fact prohibit the installation of new AL licences.
• Possibility of obtaining local accommodation licences: the mainly general ban imposed by Mais Habitação has been reversed, giving municipalities back the ability to legislate for local accommodation in their territory, including the ability to issue or prohibit the issue of new licences based on the housing profile of each parish or part of a parish.