Short-term letting: Lisbon

On November 5, 2024, the Lisbon Municipal Council approved the immediate suspension of authorizations for new registrations of short-term letting establishments for a period of six months, according to Proposal 684/CM/2024. This suspension may be renewed for the same amount of time until the amendments to the Municipal Regulation on Short-Term Letting enter into force.

Suspension terms:

•    Duration: Six months, but may be renewed for another six months.

•    Affected areas: The suspension applies to all parishes where the ratio between the number of short-term letting establishments and the number of permanent dwellings is at least 2.5%.

Let us recall that Decree-Law 76/2024 of October 23 lifted the suspension of new short-term letting registrations. As we mentioned in the post Amendments to short-term letting regime, this decree-law revokes and amends several measures previously established in the More Housing Program (Law 56/2023) by lifting the suspension on new registrations, changing the validity and transferability of registrations, and granting new powers to the municipalities.

Under that decree-law, municipalities have the power to:

• approve specific administrative regulations for short-term letting in their territories;
• designate containment areas and sustainable growth areas; and
• establish in that same regulation conditions and limits applicable to new registrations.

This decree-law also establishes that the municipal assembly can suspend new registrations in designated areas for up to a maximum of one year until the administrative regulation enters into force. It was in precisely this context that the Lisbon Municipal Council’s Municipal Assembly decided to suspend new short-term letting registrations, as mentioned above.

A public consultation regarding the amendment of the Municipal Regulation on Short-term Letting is open until April 15, 2025.

Main changes proposed in the regulation:

Designating containment areas:

• Absolute containment areas: Parishes or neighborhoods with a short-term letting establishment ratio of at least 5% compared with permanent dwellings.
• Relative containment areas: Parishes or neighborhoods with a ratio of between 2.5% and 5%.

Rules for new registrations:

• Prohibition of new registrations: In absolute containment areas, no new short-term letting establishments can be registered.
• Exceptional authorizations: In relative containment areas, new registrations can be authorized in specific cases, such as the rehabilitation of derelict buildings or the “room” type in two-bedroom dwellings or larger, which constitute the owner’s habitual residence.

Additional limitations:

• Transferability of registration: Limited in containment areas.
• Complementary uses: Complementary uses such as retail and service establishments, including restaurants and bars, are not permitted in short-term letting establishments.

Participating in the public consultation:

Contributions can be sent electronically through the website https://informacao.lisboa.pt/agenda/municipal/regulamento-municipal-do-alojamento-local, by email to regulamento.alojamento.local@cm-lisboa.pt, or by mail to Campo Grande, 25, 4.º-A, 1749-099 Lisboa.