Sources suggest “government’s Mais Habitação programme “is working”
The city of Porto is seeing a “sharp cessation” of properties listed for AL, short-term rental, an official source from the city council has told Lusa, adding that this is a sign that “the market is responding” to the government’s Mais Habitação (More Housing) legislative package.
“Porto has 10,450 registered ALs (local acommodation’ units or short-term rentals), which means that we’ve been seeing a ‘sharp’ cessation of ALs on the initiative of AL owners, around 70 in the last week,” reads a response from an official city council source to questions from Lusa, with data that it said goes up to December 15.
However, according to figures available in the National Register of Local Accommodation (RNAL) for the municipality of Porto, consulted by Lusa, the number of properties has in fact dropped even more, by another 20 units, to 10,430.
In the opinion of the municipality, this is the market responding to Extraordinary Contribution for Local Accommodation – a new tax that is among measures approved as part of the Socialist Party (PS) government’s More Housing package.
As part of the same package which came into force in September, holders of AL registrations were given two months to prove they were maintaining their activity.
According to data from the Ministry of Housing, in the municipality of Porto a total of (only) 8,660 communications were registered.
This cannot be taken to mean however that roughly 1,800 properties are being pulled out of AL, more that the owners either were not aware of the rule on proving activity, or unable to access the site in time.
The municipalities of Lisbon and Porto have also stressed they are willing to go against the law, for the simple reason that it is ‘unworkable’.
Mayor Carlos Moedas has said his staff do not have the capacity to cancel the licences of AL establishments that haven’t provided proof of continued activity.
He replied to a recent question at a meeting of the council executive: “At the moment, the city council can’t, and doesn’t have the capacity (…) to cancel all these licences”.
He also said the same applied to any kind of ‘inspections’ of properties that could be “assigned for housing use” (ie forcibly rented, according to one of the most controversial aspects of the Mais Habitação programme).
Público has run with the story today “Lisbon and Porto have already admitted contravening the law and maintaining establishments open”, confirming the prediction made months ago by President Marcelo about this programme that it was “a poster law” – something to make people think the government was doing something, but which would be almost impossible to enforce. ND
Sources: Lusa/ Público
