Decree-Law no. 76/2024, of October 23, introduced significant changes to the legal framework for the operation of local accommodation establishments (LA), altering, among other things, the rules on registration, transferability, the powers of municipalities and those relating to condominium relations.
Coming into force on November 1, 2024, the new legislation also repeals several provisions of the Mais Habitação Program (Law 56/2023).
Changes to the LA Registration Regime
One of the main changes is the repeal of the suspension of new registrations, which previously limited new registrations of local accommodation establishments to apartments and lodging establishments integrated into an autonomous fraction of a building.
It is now up to the municipalities to suspend new registrations only in specific areas, such as containment areas and areas of sustainable growth, in the event of an overload of establishments.
LA registrations, which previously had a 5 year term renewable for the same period, no longer have this validity period either.
The transferability of registration has also undergone an important change. The registration is no longer personal and non-transferable, but remains valid even after the composition of the share capital of the company responsible for the operation has changed, and may also accompany the property when it is transferred.
Municipalities may, however, impose certain limitations on the transferability of registrations in municipalities.
Municipal Powers
Municipalities have been granted new regulatory powers and may now approve administrative regulations to regulate local accommodation activities in their territories.
For municipalities with more than 1,000 registered local accommodation establishments, the municipal assembly must decide, within a maximum period of 12 months, whether or not to exercise this regulatory power.
Under these regulations, municipalities may establish the existence of containment areas and sustainable growth areas, with a view to limiting and monitoring the issuance of new local accommodation registrations, as well as provide for the appointment of a local accommodation provider to support the municipality in managing disputes between residents, owners of local accommodation establishments and condominium owners or third parties with opposing interests.
Changes Related to Condominiums
The new legislation also changes the treatment of local accommodation activities in condominiums.
It is established that, in principle, the practice of AL in a condominium unit is not considered a use other than the intended purpose of the property, for the purposes of article 1422 of the Civil Code, but the activity may be prohibited if the title constituting the horizontal property, or the regulation that forms an integral part thereof, so stipulates.
If the condominium owners wish to amend the condominium regulation to prohibit AL activity, the resolution must be approved by a majority representing two thirds of the building’s percentage. It should be noted, however, that this prohibition does not have retroactive effects, and therefore, registrations already made will not be affected by this prohibition.
The opposition to AL activity in an autonomous unit of a condominium may be decided by the condominium owners’ meeting, by means of a reasoned resolution, approved by more than half of the percentage, provided that it is based on acts that demonstrably disturb the normal use of the building or that cause inconvenience to the other condominium owners.
Once this resolution has been approved, the condominium must request the city council to make a decision on the cancellation of the registration within 60 days.
In this case, the president of the city council may mediate an agreement between the parties, and may resort to the local accommodation provider, if applicable.
The content of this information does not constitute any specific legal advice; the latter can only be given when faced with a specific case. Please contact us for any further clarification or information deemed necessary in what concerns the application of the law.