When you're looking to book a villa to rent in Portugal, make sure you look for the AL (Alojamento Local) number for the property. The Portuguese Government introduced a licencing procedure for smaller holiday rental properties such as villas, apartments, rooms and guest houses. These are all classed as ‘Local Lodging’, or ‘Alojamento local’. All rental properties are meant to be registered with the local Câmara (Town Hall) and are inspected by the local council to ensure the property meets certain quality requirements. This means that if you rent a property with an AL number the property must fulfil the following requirements: Hygiene requirements The properties for local lodging must always meet good standards of tidiness and hygiene. Cleaning and maintenance, as well as changing bed linen and towels, must be done at least once a week and every time there is a change of client. The lodging units must have a minimum of 1 sanitary facility for every 3 rooms, with washing basin, toilet and bath or shower. All sanitary facilities must have security equipment that allows the client’s privacy. Safety requirements The local lodging properties must comply with the general fire safety regulations and the following requirements: a) Accessible fire extinguishers and fire blankets in an amount adequate to the number of bedrooms. b) First aid equipment to EU standard (Carrying the ‘CE’ symbol) c) Instruction Manuals of all electric appliances existing in the units, in the absence of this, information about the use and functioning of these appliances must be provided. d) Visible information of the national emergency number (112). Fire safety requirements vary depending on the kind of property; however there is a minimum standard as required by the Bombeiros (Fire Brigade), which is one fire blanket in the kitchen by the oven and one large fire extinguisher or two medium ones. Publicity The publicity, commercial documentation and merchandising of the rental property, must show the name of the place followed by the “Alojamento local” registration number. The AL number for Drumlin Villa is 11942/AL. Identification plate The rental properties may have outside the property and near the main entrance, an informative board provided by the local Câmara. This board will be transparent and sized 20cm long by 20cm tall (like the one in the image above). This is mandatory. As any place open to the public these properties for rent are also required to have a complaints book (Livro de Reclamações). Information Book The owners must provide a document with all the rules of use of the building, as well as with all the rules concerning “waste disposal and noise levels”. The document must also have the telephone contact of the person in charge of the operation of the establishment. Fines Parliament approved fines on owners of Alojamento Local accommodation who operate illegally, in particular in cases where the accommodation is unregistered or who fail to comply with the obligation listed here. Registration of clients SEF, the police department for emigration and frontiers, requires villa owners to register any foreign tourists staying in Portugal. This is why if you're staying with us, Nuala will hound you for an SEF form to be filled in prior to arrival. If a rental Villa doesn't have an AL number ask yourself why! |
Nuala & MatthewWe fell in love with the Eastern Algarve a few years back. We'll try and impart our knowledge of the area and other travel tips via these blog posts. Categories
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