Municipalities in Portugal are suspending holiday rental licenses to control the creation of these spaces. Regions including Sintra, Viana, and Castelo have already frozen the registration.
Regions Suspending Holiday Rental Licenses
Many regions in Portugal are joining hands to suspend the holiday rental licenses. Areas including Viana do Castelo, Vila Nova de Gaia, and Sintra have already disallowed any new registrations for local accommodation. Some other regions like Odivelas, Vila do Conde, Cascais, and Braga are making regulations to join the cause.
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The first two cities to freeze the registration of new establishments in Portugal were Lisbon and Porto. These two municipalities are the biggest in the country and account for one-quarter of the local accommodation in cities. This decision has been taken to reduce the pressure in some areas of the city. Some other municipalities have joined in after Lisbon and Porto decided to freeze registration.
Government Makes Changes In Law
Many municipalities in Portugal are imposing new regulations that will control the creation of new spaces. This decision has been emphasized by the Government, which has made some changes in law. The Government of Luís Montenegro has been in effect since 1 November, and it has made some changes. One of these changes includes the power attained by the city halls to freeze the registrations of local accommodations to create spaces.
Jornal de Notícias states that municipalities are taking drastic measures to ensure the suspension of holiday rental licenses. Some regions that have started to take measures include:
- Sintra: It has begun the process by opening a new forum for freezing the local accommodation.
- Viana do Castelo: The registrations of the accommodations are suspended in the form of an apartment.
- Vila Nova de Gaia: This region focuses on suspending the authorizations and this process in in progress since January.
Other Municipalities Will Join Soon
Some of the other municipalities are willing to follow the same road. Most of these municipalities lie in Porto and Lisbon, which have decided to take strict action to enforce this rule. The areas in these two cities which will follow the same path include Odivelas, Braga, Cascais, and Braga. However, Aveiro is one state that does not believe in suspending the holiday rental license for local accommodations.
Eduardo Miranda, the president of the Local Accommodation Association in Portugal (ALEP) hopes that these new regulations are made very quickly. Eduardo wants a solution which includes coexistence. He also believes that local accommodation is vital to promote tourism in the country. He stated:
The regulations are made calmly and as quickly as possible. [Municipalities should] follow the rules, studies, and ratios [to ensure] local accommodation is not the problem of housing.
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