Overtourism is becoming a problem in the city but the locals don’t blame it on tourists. The current law favors short-term rentals over long term rentals, with significantly better tax benefits for the first one. It’s not surprising that most property owners want to make the highest profit, especially if that piece of property is located in one of the hot zones for tourists. For that reason, long-term leases aren’t renewed and these houses are listed on sites like Airbnb.
Ridiculous prices range from €400 a month for a bedroom in a shared apartment to €1000 a month for a studio apartment not bigger than a closet in Bairro Alto. Property owners get cocky to the point of bragging how they will find tourists who don’t mind paying those prices – and, most of the times, they will.
Right now, despite a visible economic resurgence in Portugal, there is an abyssal discrepancy between the average income of the Portuguese and the prices of rent, particularly in Lisbon and Greater Lisbon.
But that’s a problem local authorities have to fix, not tourists.
However, you can contribute to the balance between locals and visitors while visiting Lisbon, especially if you’d rather rent an apartment for a week instead of staying in a hotel.
Since July 1st, 2017, all rentals in Portugal listed on websites like Airbnb, Booking.com or Homestay must be officially registered with the Tourism Office. This way, the owner of the property is forced to pay taxes so, in a way, you as a visitor are contributing to the local economy. It doesn’t solve all housing problems in Lisbon, but it’s a start to fix the accommodation crisis and the opportunistic endeavors of some.
Owners can no longer list a property without this number. If one of these websites list an unregistered property, they will be fined.
Before booking, look for a registration number that looks like this 12345/AL (AL stands for alojamento local, local accommodation in English). On Booking.com it’s usually mentioned in the Fine Print section and on Airbnb is mentioned in the description. Some apartment owners add the information (like the one below) to the photo gallery of the property.
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Hey Sandra,
Love Lisbon! Visited for the first time this June and I am HOOKED! Can’t wait to go back and seriously considering making the city home for a little while…! Thanks for sharing this!
That sounds like great news Amy. I am biased, of course, but I think Lisbon is one of the prettiest cities in the world 🙂
Love this! We are planning to be in Portugal at the end of May and I’m just beginning to thnk about where we might want to stay (we always do AirBnB). Bookmaking this =-D
That’s awesome Kasey! Do let me know if you need help 🙂
When to visit is right!! Lisbon is currently number one on my Europe bucket list and I am getting way too excited to visit… It should be next spring! Thank you so much for these tips, I’ve heard of locals complaining of over-tourism and it really makes me sad. I hope when I go there I can make the situation better, not worse! xx
I hope so too, Jamie! Feel free to email me if you need extra tips 😉
Thank you so much, that is such a detailed post. I am currently residing all the way on the other side of the world in New Zealand, but once I make it back to Europe I for sure will visit Lisbon, so this post will come in great! Will pin it for later!
Definitely visit! 🙂