Local Accommodation Law

Here you will find some relevant information about the legislation of "Local Accommodation". This information provided has been selected in order to summarize and focus on the most important components for Sul Online advertisers (Apartment and Housing).
This information, because it is incomplete, or because it is out of date, does not exempt the reader from seeking information from the respective City Council, or another competent entity or person with knowledge of the matter.

Topics covered about Local Accommodation:
- necessary documentation and information to be filled in when registering in AL
- Journals of the Republic;
- Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
- Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE) and the complaints book


Documents required for registration of housing in Local Accommodation:
- A simple copy of the identification document of the holder of the operation of the establishment (natural person), or indication of the access code to the permanent certificate of the commercial register (legal person);
- Term of responsibility, signed by the owner of the operation of the establishment, ensuring the suitability of the building or its autonomous fraction for the provision of accommodation services and that it respects the applicable legal and regulatory standards;
- Simple copy of the urban land register referring to the property (if you are the owner); or a simple copy of the lease or other title that legitimizes the exploration holder to exercise the activity and, if the lease or other contract does not contain prior authorization for the provision of accommodation services, a simple copy of the document containing such authorization
- Simple copy of the declaration of commencement of economic activity for the provision of accommodation services (CAE 55201 or 55204)
- The mere prior communication is exempt from fees.

In the Local Accommodation registration, the following information will be requested:
- number of the authorization to use the property (housing license);
- matrix number;
- complete identification of the owner of the holding of the establishment;
- address of the owner of the establishment, and accommodation address; - contacts (email, phone, etc.)
- name adopted by the establishment and its address;
- Capacity (rooms, beds and users) of the establishment (must match the land register);
- date of opening to the public;
- name, address and telephone number of the person to contact in an emergency.

Recent Republic Gazettes:
- Diário da República, N166 - August 29, 2014
- Diário da República, N079 — April 23, 2015

Diário da República, N166 — August 29, 2014

Article 2 - Notion of local accommodation establishment
1 — "Local accommodation establishments" are considered to be those that provide temporary accommodation services to tourists, for remuneration, and that meet the requirements set out in this decree-law.
2 — It is prohibited to operate, as local accommodation establishments, establishments that meet the requirements to be considered tourist developments, under the terms of Decree-Law No. 39/2008, of March 7, amended by Decree-Law No. 228 /2009, of September 14th, and 15/2014, of January 23rd.

Article 3 - Arrangements for Local Accommodation
1 — Local accommodation establishments must be part of one of the following modalities:
a) Housing;
b) Apartment;
c) Hosting establishments.
2 — A “housing” is considered to be the establishment of local accommodation whose accommodation unit consists of an autonomous building, of a single-family nature.
3 — An “apartment” is considered to be the establishment of local accommodation whose accommodation unit consists of an autonomous fraction of a building or part of an urban property capable of independent use.
4 — “Accommodation establishment” is defined as the establishment of local accommodation whose accommodation units consist of rooms.

Article 4 - Provision of hosting services
1 — For all purposes, the operation of a local accommodation establishment corresponds to the exercise, by a natural or legal person, of the activity of providing accommodation services.
2 — It is assumed that there is exploration and intermediation of the establishment of local accommodation when a property or fraction thereof:
a) Is advertised, made available or intermediated in any way, entity or means, namely in travel and tourism agencies or Internet sites, as accommodation for tourists or as temporary accommodation; or
b) When furnished and equipped, in addition to accommodation, complementary services to accommodation, including cleaning or reception, are offered to the general public for periods of less than 30 days.
3 — The presumption referred to in the previous number can be rebutted under the general terms of law, namely by presenting an urban lease contract duly registered with the finance services.

Article 5 - Local Accommodation Registration
1 — The registration of local accommodation establishments is carried out by means of a mere prior communication addressed to the President of the territorially competent Municipal Council, pursuant to the following article.
2 — The mere prior communication is carried out exclusively through the Electronic Single Counter provided for in article 6 of Decree-Law No. 92/2010, of 26 July, which gives each request a number, which constitutes, for the purposes of this decree-law, the registration number of the local accommodation establishment, and which automatically sends the communication to Turismo de Portugal, IP, for the purposes set out in article 10.
3 — The mere prior communication is mandatory and a necessary condition for the operation of local accommodation establishments.

Article 6 - Mere prior notice
1 - The following information must be included in the mere prior communication addressed to the Mayor of the City Council:
a) Authorization to use or valid title to use the property;
b) The identification of the holder of the operation of the establishment, with mention of the name or company and the tax identification number;
c) The address of the owner of the establishment;
d) Name adopted by the establishment and its address;
e) Capacity (rooms, beds and users) of the establishment;
f) The intended date of opening to the public;
g) Name, address and telephone number of person to contact in case of emergency.
2 — The mere prior communication must be accompanied by the following documents: a) A simple copy of the identification document of the holder of the operation of the establishment, in case he is a natural person, or indication of the access code to the permanent certificate of the commercial register , in case it is a legal person;
b) Term of responsibility, signed by the owner of the operation of the establishment, ensuring the suitability of the building or its autonomous fraction for the provision of accommodation services and that it respects the applicable legal and regulatory standards;
c) Simple copy of the urban land register referring to the property in question, in case the applicant owns the property;
d) AMENDED in the Diário da República, N079 — April 23, 2015
e) Simple copy of the declaration of commencement or change of activity of the holder of the operation of the establishment for the exercise of the activity of providing accommodation services corresponding to section I, subclasses 55201 or 55204 of the Portuguese Classification of Economic Activities, Revision 3, approved by the Decree-Law No. 381/2007, of 14 November, submitted to the Tax and Customs Authority (AT).
6 — The mere prior communication and the communications provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4 are simultaneously sent to Turismo de Portugal, IP, and are exempt from fees.

Article 7 - Opening Title to the Public
The document issued by the services' single electronic counter containing the registration number of the local accommodation establishment is the only valid document to open to the public.

Article 8 - Inspection
1 — The territorially competent municipal council carries out, within 30 days after the presentation of the mere prior notice, an inspection to verify compliance with the requirements set out in article 6, without prejudice to other supervisory powers that are legally available to it.
2 — The city council may request Turismo de Portugal, IP, at any time, to carry out inspections to verify compliance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 2

Article 10 - Information 5 — Turismo de Portugal, IP, provides information on local accommodation establishments on its website.

Article 11 - Capacity
1 — The maximum capacity of local accommodation establishments, with the exception of those qualified as “hostel”, is nine rooms and 30 users.
2 — AMENDED in the Diário da República, N079 — April 23, 2015
3 — AMENDED in the Diário da República, N079 — April 23, 2015

Article 12 - General requirements
1 — Local accommodation establishments must comply with the following requirements:
a) Present adequate conditions for the conservation and operation of facilities and equipment;
b) Be connected to the public water supply network or have a private water supply system with a duly controlled origin;
c) Be connected to the public sewer system or equipped with septic tanks dimensioned for the maximum capacity of the establishment;
d) Have hot and cold running water.
2 — The accommodation units of local accommodation establishments must:
a) Have a window or balcony with direct communication to the outside that ensures adequate ventilation and ventilation;
b) Be equipped with adequate furniture, equipment and utensils;
c) Have a system that makes it possible to block the entrance of outside light;
d) Have doors equipped with a security system to ensure the privacy of users.
3 — The sanitary facilities of local accommodation establishments must have a security system that guarantees privacy.
4 — Local accommodation establishments must always meet hygiene and cleanliness conditions.

Article 13 - Security requirements
1 — Without prejudice to the provisions of the following number, local accommodation establishments must comply with the safety rules against fire risks, pursuant to the provisions of Decree-Law No. 220/2008, of 12 November, and the technical regulation contained in Ordinance No. 1532/2008, of December 29th.
2 — The provisions of the previous number do not apply to local accommodation establishments that have a capacity of less than 10 users, who must have:
a) Fire extinguisher and fire blanket accessible to users;
b) First aid equipment accessible to users;
c) Indication of the national emergency number (112) in a place visible to users.

Article 17 - Identification and Advertising of Local Accommodation
1 — The establishments provided for in this decree-law must be identified as local accommodation establishments, and may not, under any circumstances, use the qualification of a tourist enterprise, or any type of tourist enterprise, or any classification system.
2 — Advertising, commercial documentation and merchandising of local accommodation establishments must indicate the respective name or logo and registration number, and may not suggest characteristics that the establishments do not have or suggest that they are part of one of the types of tourist developments provided for in Decree-Law No. 39/2008, of March 7, amended by Decree-Law No. 228/2009, of September 14th, and 15/2014, of January 23rd.

Article 18 - Nameplate
1 — In local accommodation establishments provided for in subparagraph c) of paragraph 1 of article 3, an identification plate must be posted outside, near the main entrance.

Article 19 - Period of operation
1 — Without prejudice to legal or contractual provisions, local accommodation establishments may freely establish their operating periods.

Article 20 - Complaints Book
1 — Local accommodation establishments must have a complaints book under the terms and conditions established in Decree-Law no. 156/2005, of 15 September, amended by Decree-Laws no. 317/2007, of 6 November , 118/2009, of May 19th, 317/2009, of October 30th, and 242/2012, of November 7th.
2 — The original of the complaint sheet is sent to ASAE, under the terms provided for in the legislation referred to in the previous number.

Article 21 - Inspection
1 — The ASAE is responsible for supervising compliance with the provisions of this decree-law, as well as instructing the respective processes and applying the respective fines and additional sanctions.
2 — It is incumbent upon the AT to supervise, under the terms of the legislation in force, the fulfillment of the tax obligations arising from the activity carried out under this decree-law, namely through the use of the information received under the terms of article 10.
3 — ASAE may request Turismo de Portugal, IP, at any time, to carry out inspections to verify compliance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 2
4 — If the inspection referred to in the preceding paragraph or in paragraph 2 of article 8 is found to have failed to comply with the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 2, Turismo de Portugal, IP, fixes a period not less than 30 days, extendable, for the establishment to initiate the legally required authorization process for tourist use.

Diário da República, N079 — April 23, 2015 (amendments to DR166 of 2014)

Article 6 - Mere prior notice
2-d) Simple copy of the lease or other title that legitimizes the exploration holder to exercise the activity and, if the lease or other contract does not contain prior authorization for the provision of accommodation services, a simple copy of the document containing such authorization;

Article 11 - Capacity
2 - The exploitation, by the same owner or owner of the exploitation, of more than nine local accommodation establishments in the apartment modality per building is prohibited, if that number of establishments exceeds 75% of the number of existing fractions in the building.
3-If the number of local accommodation establishments exceeds nine in the same building, Turismo de Portugal, IP, may, at any time, carry out an inspection for the purposes of verifying the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 2 , without prejudice to the other procedures provided for in this decree-law.
4 - For the calculation of the holding referred to in paragraph 2, local accommodation establishments in the form of apartments registered in the name of the spouse, descendants and ascendants of the owner or holder of the holding, as well as those registered in name of distinct legal persons in which there are common partners.

Aliens and Borders Service (SEF)
The accommodation of foreign citizens must be communicated to the SEF, via the Accommodation Bulletin (BA).

Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE) and the complaints book
- Decree-Law No. 156/2005, of September 15, amended by Decree-Law No. 371/2007, of November 6, establishes the obligation to make the complaints book available to all suppliers of goods or service providers
- the originals of the complaint sheets must be sent, within 10 working days, to the following address:
Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE)
Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca, No. 73
1269-274 Lisboa
- Identification and complete address of the ASAE must also appear on the mandatory display sign, and in a visible place, in the establishment;
- employees of establishments with the obligation to have a Complaints Book must:
Ensure that the user enters all the elements relating to their identification and address; Ensure that the user correctly fills in the identification and location of the supplier of goods or service provider, providing them with all the necessary elements for this correct filling;
Collaborate in order to ensure that the facts that constitute the reason for the complaint are described in a clear and complete manner;
- It is essential to correctly and completely fill in the requested elements in the header of the Complaints Book sheet, otherwise the respective notification will not be possible;
- If a particular complaint is Annuled or Unused, this mention must be expressly entered by the complainant, and the service provider must send it to the competent market control entity, as if it were a normal complaint.
- In view of the refusal to make the Complaints Book available, the complainant must request the presence of an agent of the authority so that it can be provided, or, for the agent to take note of the occurrence. The refusal in question may also be communicated to the competent authority.
- The complaint is written on 3 sheets. Highlight the original and duplicate of the complaints book; Deliver the duplicate to the user and send the original complaint sheet to the competent authority (ASAE) within 10 working days;
- the professional will be able to add allegations when sending the original to the competent authority; - The complaints book must exist and be made available in each “store”/establishment regardless of whether this location belongs to the same supplier of goods or service provider;
- The Complaints Book (includes the sign) can be purchased from the Consumer Institute, from the National Mint Press, from the competent regulatory bodies and market control entities that have expressed an interest in proceeding with the respective sale, and also, associations representing the different sectors that have requested authorization from the Consumer Protection Institute for this purpose.

Information prepared in 2015-06-25 . It does not dispense the reader to consult official and up-to-date sources of information. Sul Online is not responsible for incomplete or outdated information.