The number of short-term renters booking through Airbnb in the Lisbon area has doubled in the past year with four nights now the average length of stay.
Rents in Lisbon are rising, especially in the more touristy areas, with average earnings now at €530 per month, equivalent to the current national minimum wage, but much of this income may not be registered for tax purposes.
The properties listed are only let for an average of 76 days a year through Airbnb but the earnings make it worthwhile as they will be topped up by unofficial lettings through word of mouth, repeat bookings and by using other short term rental web sites.
Airbnb says it has forwarded almost €43 million to owners during 2015 and claims to have made a ‘significant contribution to the economy of the city.’
The website owner estimates that visitors who have booked through the popular portal have spent close to €225 million when enjoying their Lisbon breaks, a third of this being spent in local restaurants.
The growth of Lisbon as a tourist destination is at odds with the national picture which has seen average monthly income falls considerably to €290 with the number of days each property is booked falling to 68.
APEMIP, the national association of real estate companies, estimates that rents in the central areas of Lisbon increased between 30% and 40% in 2015 with the supply of homes for permanent lease falling by over 65% in the last five years. The buoyant local lodging market has been cited as one of the reasons for the increase in domestic property prices in Lisbon.
The number of guests in the capital doubled last year, to 433,000 people. On average people are staying for four nights, one night more than the average stay in the capital’s hotels.
A significant percentage of the money earned by owners using Airbnb and from other short term rental sites is staying in the black economy.
Airbnb are unable to say which of the properties listed on its site are paying tax on the income generated but the company is collecting and passing on the new ‘Lisbon tourist tax’.
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, acknowledged that this is a sector where some are continuing to avoid their legal obligations regarding the registration of property under the Alojamento Local system, and said she “was working with Airbnb to alert owners as to the need to register.”
Godinho stated in February this year that she would rethink the Alojamento Local scheme as very few owners has joined despite the legal necessity of doing so. She has not done so and the current estimate of those complying is under 19% of the total.
The conclusion by many owners and members of the public is that the State is not interested in tackling this lack of Alojamento Local registration, despite potentially hefty fines, as those evading tax are easy to spot if they use any of the many websites that cater for the holiday rental market.
Complaints that the registration process is over-complicated are not justifiable for the majority of owners but the schemedoes need an overhaul and a rethink, this time with the involvement of property owners and not the hotel owners' lobby.
A recent article in Travel sites looks at rents and short-term lets in Lisbon
"Lisbon - Alfama, one of the oldest and most picturesque areas of Lisbon, is becoming a victim of its own charm. Short-term lets to tourists are driving up rents and driving out old residents,
"They want to throw me out to rent my home to tourists," complained retired salesman Antonio Melo, 70. His house has changed owners four times over the last year and his new landlord has just told him his lease will not be renewed.
"Soon there will only be tourists in Alfama," he said. Melo has lived in the district since he was five years old but now fears he will have no choice but to leave because his 600-euro pension won't cover the rent of any property there.
Local mayor Miguel Coelho echoed the concerns of many in Alfama.
"Real estate speculation in Lisbon's historic centre, which is particularly evident in Alfama, is causing a lot of stress," he said.
"House prices and rents are exorbitant and people are having to think about other options," he added.
The mayors of three of Lisbon's central districts have called on the government to intervene urgently. They attributed spiralling prices to an "excessive proliferation" of short-term rentals.
'Threatened identity'
Coelho said that while tourism was a boon to the local economy, "when it becomes excessive it's a real threat to the district's identity".
This is especially so in Alfama, a pretty maze of narrow streets leading up from the Tagus estuary that is one of Lisbon's biggest tourist attractions.
"Every day we see estate agents going door to door to find people willing to leave," said Ana Gago, a 28-year-old geography student who is conducting a survey of people moving out of the district because of the rising costs.
Airbnb, the world's leader in short-term private rentals, says bookings in Lisbon using its service doubled in 2015, to 433,000 visitors. The traditional hotel sector saw bookings by foreign tourists rise by a more modest 7.5 percent.
In Lisbon, which is among Airbnb's top 10 global destinations, those renting space via the company are not just "hosts" offering a spare room to "guests": over a quarter of owners place more than one advertisement on the site, and 73 percent have whole apartments available.
Population flight
Cities like Berlin and San Fransisco have taken steps to prevent landlords abandoning residential leases in favour of short holiday lets, and have kept rents in check as a result.
Conversely, Portugal, hit hard by a financial crisis in 2011, levies less tax on income derived on rent from tourists than it does on that from longer term tenants.
The idea was to attract foreign investment and boost the real estate sector, and the policy has contributed to the renovation of many dilapidated buildings.
But it risks accelerating Lisbon's population flight: half a million people now live in the city, against 800,000 in the early 1980s.
"It's good to renovate, but the problem is all the work is aimed at tourists. People who live here would like their children to stay in the district, but that has become impossible," said Maria de Lurdes Pinheiro, who heads the Alfama Heritage and Population Association.
Long-term rental housing stock in Portugal has shrunk by a third over the past five years. In Lisbon, rents rose by an average of 7.6 percent between 2014 and 2015.
Airbnb hosts in the city earned 43 million euros in rent from tourists last year, according to the company, which added that the visitors spent a further 225 million euros during their stay.
"There's more money going around but the local community is disappearing," said retired psychologist Leonor Duarte, 63, who has lived in Alfama for five years.
Duarte has joined forces with other Lisbon citizens to urge authorities to "halt the bleeding-dry of the historic centre".
She is also among many people from Alfama who complained about the noise tourists make late into the night and the space they take up in the ancient trams that snake through the district's narrow streets.
For local lettings compliance and related advice, see:
Priced out by tourists: Lisbon population's exodus from historic centre
Lisbon - Alfama, one of the oldest and most picturesque areas of Lisbon, is becoming a victim of its own charm. Short-term lets to tourists are driving up rents and driving out old residents,
"They want to throw me out to rent my home to tourists," complained retired salesman Antonio Melo, 70. His house has changed owners four times over the last year and his new landlord has just told him his lease will not be renewed.
"Soon there will only be tourists in Alfama," he said. Melo has lived in the district since he was five years old but now fears he will have no choice but to leave because his 600-euro pension won't cover the rent of any property there.
Local mayor Miguel Coelho echoed the concerns of many in Alfama.
"Real estate speculation in Lisbon's historic centre, which is particularly evident in Alfama, is causing a lot of stress," he said.
"House prices and rents are exorbitant and people are having to think about other options," he added.
The mayors of three of Lisbon's central districts have called on the government to intervene urgently. They attributed spiralling prices to an "excessive proliferation" of short-term rentals.
'Threatened identity'
Coelho said that while tourism was a boon to the local economy, "when it becomes excessive it's a real threat to the district's identity".
This is especially so in Alfama, a pretty maze of narrow streets leading up from the Tagus estuary that is one of Lisbon's biggest tourist attractions.
"Every day we see estate agents going door to door to find people willing to leave," said Ana Gago, a 28-year-old geography student who is conducting a survey of people moving out of the district because of the rising costs.
Airbnb, the world's leader in short-term private rentals, says bookings in Lisbon using its service doubled in 2015, to 433,000 visitors. The traditional hotel sector saw bookings by foreign tourists rise by a more modest 7.5 percent.
In Lisbon, which is among Airbnb's top 10 global destinations, those renting space via the company are not just "hosts" offering a spare room to "guests": over a quarter of owners place more than one advertisement on the site, and 73 percent have whole apartments available.
Population flight
Cities like Berlin and San Fransisco have taken steps to prevent landlords abandoning residential leases in favour of short holiday lets, and have kept rents in check as a result.
Conversely, Portugal, hit hard by a financial crisis in 2011, levies less tax on income derived on rent from tourists than it does on that from longer term tenants.
The idea was to attract foreign investment and boost the real estate sector, and the policy has contributed to the renovation of many dilapidated buildings.
But it risks accelerating Lisbon's population flight: half a million people now live in the city, against 800,000 in the early 1980s.
"It's good to renovate, but the problem is all the work is aimed at tourists. People who live here would like their children to stay in the district, but that has become impossible," said Maria de Lurdes Pinheiro, who heads the Alfama Heritage and Population Association.
Long-term rental housing stock in Portugal has shrunk by a third over the past five years. In Lisbon, rents rose by an average of 7.6 percent between 2014 and 2015.
Airbnb hosts in the city earned 43 million euros in rent from tourists last year, according to the company, which added that the visitors spent a further 225 million euros during their stay.
"There's more money going around but the local community is disappearing," said retired psychologist Leonor Duarte, 63, who has lived in Alfama for five years.
Duarte has joined forces with other Lisbon citizens to urge authorities to "halt the bleeding-dry of the historic centre".
She is also among many people from Alfama who complained about the noise tourists make late into the night and the space they take up in the ancient trams that snake through the district's narrow streets.
Comments
If Portugal had been genuinely open for business then the solution has only ever been train up more tourism inspectors. Perhaps initially having 2 kinds - a lower basic level of inspector checking on new and recent builds that would or should have all their papers in order - and a higher trained inspector for the older, more complicated applications from 'irregular' builds.
We learnt to our cost, as with a number of other foreigners that what was dressed up as bureaucracy was only ever intentional obstruction. Repeatedly finding new things that needed expensive changes or new applications. Time and again - the intent to make us lose interest and penniless go away. It did - and hence we voted for Brexit.