Tourist accomodation units have until 2020 to apply new law
Tourist accommodation units, have until 2020 to apply the new regulations. The new units however, will be subject to the new legislation starting October this year, while hostels have five years.
On Diário da República, this Wednesday, the new framework for the legislation set to change tourist accommodation in Portugal was released.
The new legislation will be applicable starting October this year, and owners will have two years from then to get accustomed to the new regulations.
Creating a hostel will be subject to the building administration’s approval, in case there are residents in the same building, and these local accommodation units will have five years to get used to the idea.
The legislation was approved in July at the Portuguese Parliament, and it was enacted by the President beginning of the month of August. With this publication, the deadlines for applying the new legislation are now known by local accommodation owners.
The document reads that “the local accommodation units already established will now dispose of two years to apply the regulations, starting from the date of publication of this document, so that they have sufficient time to get accustomed to all the new predicaments they will be subject to.”
This deadline is applicable to three of these new regulations, namely the new security measures, the mandatory insurance, the proper identification of the property, and the payments to the housing association: extra contribution from tourist accommodation owners.
Regarding the new security measures, the local accommodation units will be subject to the law on fire hazard in buildings, unless it accommodates less than ten tourists at a time, in which case they should have a special blanket, a fire extinguisher, and the national SOS number visible.
Regarding the mandatory multi-risk insurance, it stipulates that local housing owners will be forced to get an insurance and that they are responsible for any damage caused by their guests in the building where the unit is inserted.
Apart from that, there will be another mandatory rule for tourist accommodation owners that will imply the use of an identification sign, applicable to all types of tourist accommodation that are recognised by law.
Also, the owners of this type of property might pay up to 30% of the total expenses for the housing association.
Containment areas will limit new tourist accommodation owners
One of the major changes to the tourist accommodation legislation is the stipulation of containment areas, which means in practice that the municipalities and its leadership will be given the right to limit the number of tourist establishments opened in certain areas.
In these containment areas, tourist accommodation holders will only be allowed to own up to seven of these units per area.
