Political parties fail to agree Alojamento Local rule changes

The five law changes and additions to the Alojamento Local housing rental laws have been discussed in parliament but no vote was taken and no decisions made.

The different objectives from Portugal’s political parties seemed too much to handle in just one parliamentary session so voting has been postponed.

The Communists, the Left Bloc, the Socialist Party, the PAN and the Social Democratic party’s MPs all said they are "open to dialogue" in this specialised area and so agreed to postpone the debate that was due to finalise the laws on which many investment decisions will be based.

At the end of today’s session, the parties chose to go away and think about things for 60 days.

Today’s five bills from the above parties posed solutions to the suggestion that properties for rent within a condominum structure would require the say so of the other owners.

This is the amendment put forward by the socialists who stated that local rentals to tourists, has brought "a number of benefits to the growth of tourism, building renovation and employment, among others," but the party considers that it is not possible to forget that the activity "also potentially is causing conflicts and disruption to other condominium owners residing the same building."

As for the Left Bloc and Communist Party suggestions, they want to leave it all up to local councils as to whether they limit the number Alojamento Local licences issued.

The Communists also want local accommodation to be authorised by the other condominium owners and want councils to limit this type of activity to 30% of any building and up to a maximum of 30% of the properties in each parish.

The Left Bloc wants to limit the number of days that a property can be rented to tourists, suggesting that 90 days should be the maximum in any one year.

The lone MP from People-Animal-Nature, also presented an idea that for every three AL properties, there must be one long-term rental property in the same urban area, also that the Government studies the capacity of tourist volume in certain cities and promotes tourist activities in areas with lower population density.

The PAN party stated that, contrary to public perceptions that local housing is the domain of large investors, "81% of owners have only one unit and 11% between two to three units for rent - there are only 25 owners with between 51 and 300 properties."

In addition, the phenomenon of "gentrification is not exclusively caused by Alojamento Local - other phenomena are much more striking such as the establishment of foreign citizens in Portugal who are take advantage of the tax benefits promoted by the State and, with their greater purchasing power, settle permanently in our country, inflating real estate prices."

PAN has spotted the flaw in the government's tax breaks for incoming foreigners, that locals are less likely to be able to afford to live in the Algarve. This is highlighted in Olhão where the influx of mainly French retirees has pushed property prices to way over €1,000 per m2 for houses that need total refurbishment and which cost between a third and a half of this price three or four years ago.   

Property owners now have to wait a further 60 days to see what finally is decided from politicians that seem to have opposing points of view but all of which see further involvement by the State as preferable to a free, or lightly regulated market.

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For property owners looking to go legitimate, contact the National Association of Local Lodging Establishments at www.nalle.pt  and/or ask afpop for information.

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