Portugal Local Accommodation Cancellations: Why 10,000+ AL Licences Were Cancelled in 2026 (and How to Protect Yours)
If you run a short-term rental in Portugal, 2026 is the year the rules got real. Portuguese municipalities have cancelled more than 10,000 local accommodation registrations, and tens of thousands more are on the line. Most of these cancellations were avoidable. This guide explains exactly what's happening, why, and what you need to do this week to keep your Alojamento Local (AL) licence active.
What are the Portugal local accommodation cancellations?
Across Portugal, câmaras municipais (city councils) are reviewing the National Local Accommodation Register (RNAL) and removing properties that no longer meet the rules. The goal is to clear out "ghost licences" — inactive or non-compliant units — and produce an accurate picture of the real short-term rental market.
The numbers so far:
Lisbon: 6,765 registrations cancelled — roughly 40% of the city's ~19,000 AL units. Lisbon was the first to act.
Porto: 1,413 licences cancelled — about 12% of its registered units.
Lagoa and Lagos: reviews completed and inactive registrations removed.
Nationally: the RNAL now lists 119,147 active properties after the purge.
And it's not over. According to ALEP (the Local Accommodation Association of Portugal), more than 37,000 registered properties still haven't proven they hold the compulsory insurance. As many as 30,000 additional registrations could be cancelled if owners don't comply.
Why are AL registrations being cancelled in 2026?
The single biggest trigger is one document: proof of valid civil-liability insurance filed in the RNAL.
Here's the background that catches owners out. Mandatory civil-liability insurance for AL has existed since 2018 (Lei 62/2018). But the requirement to upload proof online to the national register only arrived with Decreto-Lei 76/2024, in force since 1 November 2024. Many owners hold a valid policy — they just never submitted the certificate to the register. To the município, an unsubmitted policy looks the same as no policy.
The full list of cancellation triggers under the current AL regime (Decreto-Lei 128/2014, as amended):
No valid alojamento local insurance submitted to the RNAL — the dominant cause of the 2026 cancellations.
Inactivity — properties flagged as no longer operating ("ghost licences").
Repeated, proven disturbance of the building's normal use (sustained neighbour complaints).
Contention-area (área de contenção) violations — for example, where a residential lease existed in the two years before the AL request, breaching the local regulation.
Failure to respond to a municipal notification within the deadline.
One important nuance: DL 76/2024 actually made registrations more secure in some ways — it removed the five-year renewal, scrapped the planned 2030 reassessment, and ended automatic lapse of inactive registrations, so an AL licence is now valid for an indefinite period. But "indefinite" does not mean "unconditional." You still have to maintain the conditions — and insurance is the one being enforced right now.
The 3-day window that decides everything
This is the detail every AL owner needs to know. When a municipality finds no valid insurance on the Gov.pt platform, it notifies the owner, who then has just three business days to submit the insurance and regularise the situation. Miss that window and the registration can be cancelled.
That short fuse is exactly why thousands of compliant-on-paper owners lost their licences — they didn't see the notification, or didn't act fast enough. If your contact details in the register are out of date, you may never even receive the warning.
How to avoid a local accommodation cancellation in Portugal
Run through this checklist now, before a notification ever arrives:
Submit valid civil-liability insurance to the RNAL via this rnal link. Holding a policy isn't enough — the certificate must be uploaded and current in the register. This is the number-one fix.
Confirm your registration shows as active and that your contact details are correct, so any municipal notice actually reaches you.
Keep the unit demonstrably active. Inactive units are the first targets.
Treat any municipal contact as a 3-business-day deadline. Respond immediately.
Check your município's contention-area rules. Authority over these zones returned to municipalities, so rules now vary city to city.
Renew insurance before it lapses and keep records — an expired policy counts as non-compliant.
If wrongly cancelled or opposed, you can request a one-time municipal inspection (vistoria) to review the decision, at your own cost.
Frequently asked questions
How many AL registrations have been cancelled in Portugal? More than 10,000 so far in the 2026 review, led by Lisbon (6,765) and Porto (1,413). ALEP estimates up to 30,000 more could follow.
What's the main reason AL licences are being cancelled? Failure to submit valid civil-liability insurance to the national register (RNAL) via Gov.pt. Inactivity and repeated neighbour disturbances are secondary triggers.
Does my AL registration expire? No. Since Decreto-Lei 76/2024 (Nov 2024), AL registration is valid indefinitely — the five-year renewal and inactive-licence lapse were removed. But you must keep meeting the conditions, including insurance.
How long do I have to fix a missing insurance filing? Three business days from the municipal notification. After that, the registration can be cancelled.
Can I recover a cancelled registration? You can request a single municipal inspection (vistoria) to review the decision, at your own cost. Outcomes vary by município, so act quickly and consider local legal advice.
Stay compliant automatically with EazyAL
Most of these cancellations came down to a missed deadline or an unfiled document — not bad intentions. EazyAL helps short-term rental hosts in Portugal stay on top of AL compliance, insurance, and registration requirements so you never lose your licence to a paperwork gap. Create your free account →
This article is general information for compliance awareness, not legal advice. Requirements and deadlines vary by municipality and change frequently — verify with your câmara municipal or a qualified Portuguese lawyer.
