Alojamento Local is the licence that makes a holiday let legal in Portugal, and for an Algarve property it sits underneath almost everything else an owner does. Without it a property cannot advertise, cannot take paying guests and cannot be listed on the large platforms. The registration itself is not complicated, though the rules around it changed in late 2024 and again in 2025, so it is worth understanding what the current position actually requires.
This piece looks at how Alojamento Local, usually shortened to AL, is registered for a property in the Algarve in 2026, what the registration obliges an owner to keep in place, and where the recent legal changes have moved the ground. None of it removes the need for your own advice on tax and ownership structure, and some of the detail varies by municipality.
What Alojamento Local registration is
AL is the national scheme that authorises a residential property to be let to tourists on a short-term basis. The register is run through the Registo Nacional de Turismo, and each property receives its own registration number once the process completes. That number is what separates a compliant let from an informal one.
Registration is made by prior communication through the national online counter rather than by asking for permission in advance. In most of the country the property can begin operating once the communication is filed, subject to the authorities being able to inspect it afterwards. Processing is reported to take around sixty working days, and longer inside the containment zones that some municipalities operate.
What the registration number obliges you to show
The registration number is not something that sits in a drawer. It has to appear on the advertising for the property, which in practice means every platform listing, the owner’s own website and any social media promotion.
- The AL registration number displayed on every listing and advert for the property
- An identification plate fixed at the entrance so the property can be recognised on the ground
- A complaints book, now kept in electronic form, available to guests
- The property let only within the capacity it was registered for, which runs up to nine rooms for the common categories
These are the visible signs that a property is operating properly, and they are among the first things an inspection checks. A listing that carries no registration number is the clearest marker of an unregistered let.
What changed under Decreto-Lei 76 of 2024
The rules were reset at the end of 2024. Decreto-Lei 76 of 2024, in force from November that year, unwound much of the earlier Mais Habitação package that had restricted the sector.
- AL licences became permanent and transferable, ending the previous model where a registration could lapse after a fixed term
- The nationwide freeze on new registrations was lifted, so new AL can again be registered across most of the country
- Municipalities kept the power to set their own containment zones where new registrations remain restricted
- Condominiums gained a clearer route to seek cancellation where there are serious and repeated disturbances, generally on a majority vote
For an Algarve owner the practical effect is that a registration now carries forward with the property and can pass to a buyer on sale, which matters when the let is part of what is being sold. The containment rules are mostly a concern in the larger cities rather than across the Algarve, though it is still worth checking the position in the specific municipality.
Insurance and safety obligations
Registration comes with conditions that have to stay in place for the licence to remain valid. The one that has firmed up most recently is insurance. A multi-risk policy covering civil liability is required, and since early 2025 proof of it has to be filed on the official portal, with the registration at risk of cancellation if it is missing.
- A multi-risk policy covering fire and civil liability for guests and third parties
- Basic safety equipment such as a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, a first aid kit and emergency contact information
- The property meeting the habitability and safety standards set for its category
The reported minimum cover figures move around and are worth confirming against the current rules, so the sensible course is to hold a policy written for short-term letting rather than a standard home policy that may exclude paying guests.
How registration connects to tax
Registering for AL is a separate step from registering the activity with the tax authority, and the two should not be confused. Opening the activity is done through the Portal das Finanças, and since 1 July 2025 a non-resident owner has had to register for VAT from the first Euro of income, because the small-business exemption no longer applies to them.
Accommodation is charged at the reduced IVA rate of 6 per cent, and the income itself is taxed again on a separate basis. The full picture of VAT and IRS obligations is beyond the scope of a note on registration, and it is where an owner’s own accountant earns their fee.
What this looks like on a managed let
On a property we manage the registration and its conditions are treated as a standing part of running the let rather than a one-off form. The registration number is carried correctly on the listings, the plate and complaints book are in place, and the insurance and safety items are kept current so an inspection finds nothing missing.
That housekeeping is easy to let slip on a property run at a distance, particularly when a rule changes partway through a year. Keeping it in order protects the licence if the property is ever inspected or sold, which is worth more than the fine it avoids.
Summary
AL registration is the licence that lets an Algarve property take paying guests, and in 2026 it runs through the national tourism register, obliges the owner to show the registration number and to keep insurance and safety items in place, and now carries forward permanently under the 2024 reforms. The tax side sits alongside it and needs handling separately. Most of the work is in keeping the conditions current rather than in the initial filing.
If you own or are considering a holiday property in the region and want the registration and its ongoing conditions handled properly, we manage Algarve rentals from end to end, from the AL paperwork through to the day-to-day operation of the let. We are glad to look at where your property stands and what keeping it compliant would involve.
