Some time back we talked about how the ASAE announced that they’ll be taking serious actions against this type of illegal holiday lets, heavy fines for those who fail to comply with the law.

The entire country has seen several inspection actions taking place, and obviously the Algarve has been by far the main target considering the fact that the region sports thousands of holiday homes which are in high demand at this period of the year.

The aim of the inspections is to clamp down on privately owned rooms or villas that are being let without being licensed under the Alojamento Local regime.

During last year, a total of 103 inspections took place and in 35 of them, infractions were detected. So far in 2013, 78 inspections have taken place and 26 infractions recorded, so this means that one-third of the rentals are illegal. Keep in mind though that only half of the summer season has gone in the Algarve, so more inspections are expected to take place before the end of this year’s season.

ASAE mentioned that the inspections are both ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’, which means that they are carried out both from an annual programme of actions as well as a result of investigations, complaints and denunciations.

The most common problem found by ASAE inspectors is the non compliance with minimum hygiene and safety standards.

The law which governs the ‘Alojamento Local’ lists a series of requirements which these establishments must comply with.

The Autoridade de Seguranca Alimetnar e Economica – ASEA – has said in a statement that they’ve started inspecting holiday accommodations in the Algarve region, with the aim of clamping down on privately owned apartments and villas that are being let for holidaying purposes without them being licensed under the Alojamento Local – Local Lodging – regime.

According to Decree-Law nr.39/2008 of March 7, you have to obtain a license to rent a private property on a temporary basis and be considered an ‘Alojamento Local’ unit. The ASAE’s mission is to inspect private properties that are being used for such purposes to make sure that they comply with this law.

The law also stipulates a list of requirements, which this type of establishments must comply with, like hygiene and safety standards.

This move has the double purpose of both protecting unknowing tourists from renting sub-par accommodations and then not having a great Algarve experience, as well as a source of extra and much-needed income to the government.

Ever since the 2008 legislation, the procedure for registering and licensing a property for temporary/holiday rentals has been considerably simplified, but there is still an issue with people’s awareness of this fact. The process itself is a rather easy and straightforward one, according to lawyers, but there might be some confusion in regards to it because of ‘hearsay culture’.

Property owners  in the Algarve can expect to be visited by council technicians following an application for their ‘Alojamento Local’ status; non-compliance with the legislation will result in the cancellation of the application and heavy fines starting at 2,500 euros and going up to 45,000.