Key points

  • Decree-Law No. 76/2024 of 23 October revised the Alojamento Local regime: registrations are no longer subject to the five-year review introduced in 2023, and transferability is restored — with preserved exceptions (succession, transfer to a spouse, dissolution of a union).
  • Municipalities keep control through containment zones: new registrations can be limited there, and existing ones lose transferability. In the Algarve, Lagoa has such zones; other municipalities, including Faro, have proposals under way according to analyses published in 2026.
  • Since 20 May 2026, EU Regulation 2024/1028 requires short-term rental platforms to collect and verify registration numbers; non-compliant listings are removed.
  • Operations remain regulated: prior registration through the electronic single desk, mandatory civil liability insurance, and reporting of foreign guests within 48 hours.
  • The operator's tax position (Category B income, non-resident withholding, capital gains implications on exit) deserves its own analysis before any commitment.

A registration that is an asset again

Between 2023 and 2024, an AL licence had become uncertain in value. Decree-Law 76/2024 reversed that: outside containment zones, the registration follows the property and survives a sale. A stable licence is valued; a precarious one is provisioned.

The map matters more than the statute

Inside a containment zone, new registrations are rationed and existing ones become personal — they lapse on sale. Parish-level verification therefore precedes any promissory contract: the same national text produces, a few kilometres apart, two different economics.

Platforms now verify

Since 20 May 2026, EU law made platforms part of enforcement: registration numbers collected, verified, non-compliant listings removed. The same logic we describe in Bali the same year — control through distribution, not inspection.

What the house takes from this

Our Portuguese operations treat the rental question as part of asset selection: municipal AL zoning, containment status, registration regularity. Since 2026, any co-investor can verify that piece of the file online.

General information, verified at the date of publication. Local rules change municipality by municipality: every operation requires advice from qualified local counsel.