Failing to do so by the deadline may result in losing licences
Municipal councils across Portugal are warning ‘AL’ holiday rental property owners that they must present “proof of activity” until December 7 in order to retain their licences, in line with the government’s new controversial rules for the holiday rental accommodation sector.
In the Algarve, the municipal council of Olhão has released a statement warning local holiday rental owners about the December 7 deadline.
In its statement, the council repeated the information provided on Portugal’s public service website ePortugal, which explains that people who have a registered holiday rental property (or Alojamento Local, AL) “must prove that they are still operating the activity”.
The process can be completed on the website. To do so, they must submit a tax declaration and fill out the form available on the page.
If this is not done within the deadline, the holiday rental registration may be cancelled by the municipal council.
The ePortugal portal adds that if the holiday rental activity is conducted in one’s own permanent residence and does not exceed 120 days per year, it is not necessary to provide proof of activity.
Contacting municipal councils is advised to clarify any doubts about the process.
Despite going along with the government’s new rules for the sector, there are municipal councils which have been very vocal about their disagreements.
Such is the case of Porto council, which has revoked its Municipal Regulations for the Sustainable Growth of Local Lodging (Alojamento Local).
“This law creates huge amounts of confusion regarding this economic activity and the functioning of municipal powers, as it takes away responsibilities from the municipality,” the council says, cited by Expresso newspaper.
Rui Moreira’s administration further accuses the government of imposing a “huge administrative burden” on municipal services, obliging them to analyse the proof of activity that the holiday rental owners are required to submit.
As the council points out, there will be 10,500 tax declarations in Porto, which will entail “unmanageable administrative costs” for the municipality.
The new rules for the AL holiday rental sector fall under the government’s recently implemented ‘Mais Habitação’ (More Housing) programme. Click here and here.
By Michael Bruxo
