Letting your Property

Rental Information     

Legal Requirements for Renting your property in Portugal

Over the last few years there have been many changes to the legal requirements for renting your property within the short term lettings market (holiday rentals) within Portugal. On a number of occasions this has led to ‘false starts’ in terms of the administration and enforcement of the regulations and legislation that covers this process. This has also meant that there has been much confusion and a reluctance within the expat community to engage with the system.

The implementation of the legislation took place at the end of November 2014. Since that time, any owner who rents their property and is not compliant with the requirement commits offences under Portuguese Law and is therefore liable to significant financial penalties.

Brief summary of the requirements

Outlined below is a brief summary of the requirements that you, as an owner, need to have in place to ensure that you are acting lawfully whilst renting your property. 

• Alojamento Local (AL) or Tourist Licence
• The Alojamento Local (AL) is the licence that is required to operate a rental property in Portugal. 

The licence is issued by the Tourist Board of Portugal and forms part of the process that is required to ensure that your property meets the necessary safety standards to accept lodgers and also that you, as the owner of the property, are registered so that your personal tax liabilities in Portugal are met. In order to obtain the AL, the first stage of the process is for you to register a business interest in Portugal. 

In essence you have to register as a sole trader so that you then enter in the Portuguese fiscal system. Algarve Retreats are able to assist you to obtain this status. 

Standard documents, as the property owner, you will need.

Outlined below is a list of the documents that as the property owner, you will need in order to progress an application. All are standard documents that you or your Portuguese lawyer will already hold.  

• Passport
• Fiscal Card or Papers 
• Caderneta predial -  Official tax document relating to the property
• Licença de habitação - Habitation Licence 

Once all of the documentation is collated and the application forms completed, the final stage of the process is ensuring that the property meets the necessary safety standards to accept paying guests. 

These standards relate to Fire, Gas, Electricity and Water and include the installation of:   

• Fire Blankets
• Fire Extinguishers
• Smoke Alarms
• First Aid Kit
• Locational glow in the dark Signage for all of the above.  

All must be installed and located in the correct positions within the property.

Finally, In order to ensure that a property meets the legal requirements in relation to gas safety (carbon monoxide) and the relevant safety standards relating to electrical installations and appliances Algarve Retreats can arrange to undertake certified electrical inspections and gas inspections where required.

A final inspection will be carried out by inspectors from the City Hall once the AL has been issued to ensure all the above procedures have been carried out fully.

Algarve Retreats can arrange all of this work to be carried out on your behalf and forms part of the overall cost of our service to obtain the licence.

To discuss your requirements and any of the information above please Contact us today.