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THE ASAE inspects unlicensed tourism businesses in the Algarve
• 19 Apr 2007 •
 THE ASAE, the national authority which controls food safety and operating procedures at shops and businesses, has been carrying out a series of inspections throughout the Algarve to identify villas and apartments that are being rented to tourists without having the mandatory tourism rental licences.
Between April 10 and 12, during the second phase of the “Operação Camas Paralelas” (Operation Parallel Beds), the ASAE announced that 147 fines had been issued. The operation started in March, when nine ASAE groups made the first surprise inspections to 44 rented properties in the region. Only five of those properties were found in full compliance with Portuguese tourism law.
According to the ASAE report, out of the 39 property owners who were fined, 32 didn’t have their properties licensed for tourism and seven didn’t have their price lists posted in a visible place. ASAE spokesman Manuel Lage explained that the fines for failure to produce licences range from 500 to 2,500 euros for property owners, an amount which could rise to 33,000 euros if the property is owned by a company.
Elidérico Viegas, president of Algarve’s Hotels and Resorts Association (AHETA), said that although there aren’t any consistent estimates on the number of unlicensed properties being rented for tourism, he believes that at least half of the tourists visiting the Algarve end up staying at villas or apartments which haven’t been licensed by the tourism authorities.
“Out of the six million tourists that visited the Algarve in 2006, about three million stayed in villas and apartments owned by themselves or their relatives or friends, but many rented properties in the parallel market,” said Viegas.
According to the latest figures released by tourism authorities, the Algarve has around 120,000 licensed bed spaces in 500 tourist establishments. However, unofficial estimates point out the existence on the parallel market of more than 120,000 unlicensed properties, with capacity for 500,000 unlicensed bed spaces.
To put an end to the unfair competition posed by unlicensed properties to the region’s hotel and resort industry, the AHETA president defends a change to the law which would “ease the register of the properties which are fit to be rented for tourists and the withdrawal from the rental market of all properties which don’t have the conditions requested by the tourism authorities.”
António Nóbrega, one of Portugal’s top experts on law regarding the tourism industry, told The Euro Weekly News: “Portuguese law requires that all properties rented for tourist accommodation fulfil a series of requirements concerning the safety and comfort of tourists. Those apartments and villas that are still operating without a tourist rental licence and have never been inspected to check if they were fit to be used as tourist accommodation increase the possible risk of unsatisfactory experiences for visitors to the Algarve.
“The government became aware of this problem and a new law was created to regulate this sector. The final version of the law, in effect since 2002, is also a bit complex and it is not easy for the owners to clearly understand what the necessary steps are when they wish to register their property to be fully legalised to be rented for tourist accommodation.
“So I advise them to go to the town hall of the area where the property is located and ask for instructions because the new law has given the town halls the responsibility of awarding tourist licences to all of the privately-owned apartments and villas located outside hotels or resorts and they should do it immediately because the fines are now quite heavy.” |  Return to Top
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