In 2023, the association had already sent a preliminary complaint to the European Commission, before the Mais Habitação measures came into force. Now with the law published and the first impacts being felt, ALEP, in partnership with the European Holiday Home Association (EHHA), has returned to Brussels to present the definitive and updated version of the complaint, according to a report by Publituris.


The process was supported by a detailed legal opinion that highlights the numerous incompatibilities and the conflict between the Mais Habitação and Alojamento Local (AL) measures and European legislation.

Among the various measures of Mais Habitação concerning AL that conflict with community legislation, ALEP highlights the non-transferability of registrations, which prevents the sale of just 1% of the shares of a company dedicated to AL or the transmission of registration to the spouse in the event of divorce, which has no connection with the housing problem.

“Unfair competition”

In addition, there is also a ban on new registrations, even if in fractions of services or in the holder's permanent home, a restriction that has no practical effect on housing; the blanket prohibition of new registrations along the entire coast, including regions where the presence of AL is insignificant and whose urban pressure coefficient presented by the Government is low or close to zero; the limitation of the validity of registrations, which also affects holders who are already operating, leaving them subject to reassessment in 2030, without any guarantee of renewal being given, as well as the criteria for the same; and, finally, extraordinary taxes (CEAL) that strongly harm certain segments of Local Accommodation and favour other tourist accommodation offers, such as hotels, thus creating an environment of unfair competition.

Portugal was one of the first countries to create national and municipal regulations for Local Accommodation, which served as a reference in the European Union. For ALEP, the More Housing Program, “instead of improving this existing regulation, brought extreme and blind measures at a national level, completely ignoring the role and technical and local knowledge of Municipal Councils”.

For the president of ALEP, Eduardo Miranda, “Portugal went from the best to the worst example at the European level, exchanging balanced legislation aligned with community rules, for restrictive legislation, with unjustified, blind and disproportionate measures”.

The official adds “as ALEP has defended and made known to the European Commission, these measures do not bring solutions to the housing problem, they distort competition and harm small AL operators, favouring large urban hotel operators, whose supply continues to grow at a great pace.”