The Secretary of State for Tourism gave a keynote speech in Faro yesterday at the 'Local Lodgings as an Asset to the Algarve Tourism Industry' seminar.
Adolfo Mesquita Nunes said that there are 140,000 private properties in the tourism rental market in Portugal and, far from discouraging them, he accepts that they are what tourists want and should be encouraged – and regulated.
There are 6,412 rental properties now registered at Finanças for the Algarve but there is no official data on the number of illegal rental properties which can expect increasing attention as nationally only 9% have bothered to register.
Nunes said the new legislation, which he drafted and saw through parliament, has done away with much of the old red tape and has left an easy to use system for registering guest accommodation in two main categories, hostels and private villas/apartments.
The Secretary of State said that this type of accommodation is what people want and it helps to boost off season tourism. The new laws have started to have the required affect with more registrations in the past three months than in the past six years of the old legislation.
Nunes added that he did not see private lettings as unfair competition for the traditional hotel market, “The competition from registered apartments and villas is not unfair, is competition for the market and it is the tourists who decide where they want to stay, the state must not tell them where they should be," he argued, stressing that illegal rentals are unfair competition and will be eradicated over time as the new registration process gains momentum.
The well-attended seminar was held at the School of Hospitality and Tourism of the Algarve and was organised by the crime prevention organisation Safe Communities Algarve and the Algarve Tourism Board.
There were presentations from Tourism of Portugal, the Authority for Food and Economic Security (ASAE), the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), the Judicial Police (PJ) and the GNR.
The highly topical seminar was attended by around 300 delegates who heard also from Eurofinesco's tax expert Dennis Swing Greene about the launch of NALLE, a new association dedicated to helping those who let their properties and wish to be legal.
The Secretary of State said that the compliance system was simpler despite involving, as still it does, the local council, the national tourist board, Finanças, ASAE and the SEF.
NALLE provided a 72 page booklet covering key aspects of the legislation and taxation requirements for local lettings to help avoid fines of between €2,500 to €3,740 for individuals and €25,000 and €35,000 for companies.
The presentation papers are available on Safe Communities Algarve's website:
http://www.safecommunitiesalgarve.com/crime-prevention-advice/property/
Comments
after all the foreigners must not be the only ones under threat
I am Portuguese and when i told this story to my
91 year old mum, she fell off her chair in fits of laughter,
no Portuguese will register unless they have to, just another way to steal more money from the people my mother said, time will tell where this will end up, (no where - another government bluff) let's see ?
Is it really true what "LIVEABOARD" herebove says: ASAE prefers to hunt down the licensed properties in stead of going after the illegal ones ? Let me say that
in fact the licensing process is the responsability of the camaras.... and they know exactely who is licensed and who is not... so they can help ASAE by providing the lists of the perpetrators. Easy as that.
shurely there will no problems
She reported that the ASAE said they'll be conducting raids on registered tourist accommodations to check whether tourists are properly registered.
They normally arrive with automatic weapons and a legendarily aggressive attitude.
Welcome to Portugal!
That foreigners could not apply in their own right as only Portuguese citizens could get the necessary digital certificate. And that, in any case, all municipals as always did things differently. 30 years after joining the EU!
All wanting registration at Financas first then with them. But apparently some municipals then saying start up your B & B and we will get round to checking you. Others wanting some degree of prior inspection. Still more not yet having any intention of allowing more accommodation in their concelho.
Is this yet another illegal but invisible Portuguese 'red line' restricting competition ?
Or can we all do tourism now ?
It was a useful seminar although there are still some points to be clarified: do we have to register now all foreigners in the Sef system (babies included as the regional director said) but that is totally different from the usance in the hotels or did maybe the law in silence changed? And how will ASAE try to detect the 200.000 illegal beds "in a more civilised way than the denunciation system" (that dates from another time in history) ?Fact is that 200 internet websites advertise about 95% of all Portugese properties in the renting business. Till now they all quasi refused to help and collaborate in order to apply with the (Portugese law)
Maybe some actions have to be undertaken on this level because that can immediately have a strong effect and generate a complete change.