In recent weeks, Lisbon and Porto, the two largest municipalities in the country and which account for a quarter of the total local accommodation in mainland Portugal, temporarily froze the registration of new establishments in some of the most pressured areas of the cities. But there are other municipalities implementing regulations to control the creation of these spaces, after the change in law by the Government of Luís Montenegro, in force since November 1st, gave city halls this possibility.

According to Jornal de Notícias, Sintra has the opening of new processes frozen, Vila Nova de Gaia will keep authorisations suspended, which has already been in force since January, and in Viana do Castelo “accommodation registrations are suspended in the form of an apartment”. Other municipalities in the districts of Porto and Lisbon are preparing to follow the same path, such as Cascais, Odivelas, Vila do Conde and Braga. Aveiro, in turn, disagrees with a municipal brake.

The president of the Local Accommodation Association in Portugal (ALEP), Eduardo Miranda, hopes that “the regulations are made calmly and as quickly as possible” and that they “follow the rules, studies and ratios”, ensuring that “local accommodation is not the problem of housing” and that the “coexistence” between the two is possible. Local accommodation “is essential to spread tourism across the country”.