In the municipalities of Lisbon and Cascais (Lisbon district) and Lagos (Faro district), following the local authorities’ notifications to local accommodations lacking the legally required insurance, approximately 17,000 registrations have been completed, according to data provided to Lusa by the municipal councils.
The requirement for local accommodations to have civil liability insurance has been in place since 2018, but the submission of this document to the National Local Accommodation Registry platform was only introduced with the latest amendment to the law in 2024.
In June, the Local Accommodation Association in Portugal (ALEP) stated it was aware that “several municipalities” would begin notifying those who had not submitted the insurance, after allowing a period of tolerance, and was monitoring the situation with “some concern.”
Today, contacted by Lusa, ALEP President Eduardo Miranda mentioned that the administrative process by the municipal councils “is not yet finalized,” so “there are no concrete numbers yet.”
According to Miranda, the association received “many requests for support and clarification in June and early this month,” noting that the demand has significantly decreased this past week.
Miranda added that some councils that have not yet contacted local accommodation owners are expected to “send out notifications after the holiday month.”
Once notified by the municipality, operators have 10 working days to submit the insurance, risking cancellation of their local accommodation registration.
According to Cascais council data, led by Carlos Carreiras, by July 8, “1,573 insurance proofs were submitted as part of the regularization process.”
As of that date, the municipality had 2,659 active local accommodation registrations, according to a council source.
In a listing sent by the Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA) to the municipality, 1,619 local accommodation registration holders were notified to present the necessary insurance, as per the communication available on the gov.pt portal, in effect since March 13, 2025.
“To date, no registration cancellations have been executed by the Cascais municipality; the process is monitored in close coordination with relevant entities to ensure operators have an adequate opportunity to meet their legal obligations,” stated a response sent to Lusa, mentioning notifications started on June 23, “directly to economic agents.”
In the capital, which also began notifying “intentions to cancel registrations” on June 23, opening the window for stakeholder hearings, a council source explained that “not all entities were notified on the same day.”
Thus, considering the last notification dates regarding civil liability insurance regularization, the 10-working-day deadline ended on July 15.
By July 11, according to the council, 11,776 insurance proofs were submitted out of 18,747 registered local accommodations in Lisbon.
Notifications informed property owners that, to regularize their status, they must submit insurance proof on the gov.pt portal, which is also where they must report activity cessation if applicable, “under the penalty of incurring an offense.”
Once the 10-working-day deadline expires, “if not regularized, the municipality will proceed with cancellations,” clarified the executive led by Carlos Moedas, specifying that since the stakeholder hearing period is ongoing, “no registrations have been canceled yet.”
In Sintra, also in the Lisbon district, notifications will only start being sent on July 14.
The executive led by Basílio Horta (PS) highlighted, in a response to Lusa, that since March, there has been “gradual communication to local accommodation registration holders about the need to submit mandatory insurance data on the National Local Accommodation Registry platform.”
The municipality formalized with the Agency for Administrative Modernization the date of July 14 to notify registrations that have not submitted insurance information by then.
To date, no local accommodation licenses have been canceled in the municipality, which admits starting to do so in August “should the mandatory insurance submission remain absent.”
The Municipality of Oeiras, also in the Lisbon district, currently has no set deadline to begin notifying local accommodations that do not comply with the law.
The municipality led by Isaltino Morais (elected as an independent) stated it is responsible for reviewing local accommodation registration requests and, “during property inspections, asks the operating entity for proof of legally required insurance.”
In Lagos, Algarve, of the 5,877 registered local accommodations, around 2,300 have yet to present civil liability insurance, according to the mayor.
Hugo Pereira stated, “The AMA is expected to issue a mass notification on Monday (the 14th), prompting everyone to regularize their situation, and only after the AMA’s deadline will owners be notified of local accommodation license cancellations.”
Municipalities of Albufeira, Portimão, and Faro deferred sending data to Lusa.
In Porto, as of June 30, there have been 2,408 local accommodation registrations without the mandatory civil liability insurance, according to data sent by the council to Lusa.
The City Council of Porto has not yet begun notifying owners and also has no set start date for notifications.
The municipality, which claims to have been “developing a communication and awareness campaign with registration holders,” noted that the number at the end of June “aligns with a realistic estimate of inactive local accommodation registrations, or registries that do not conduct actual economic activities.”
