New Local Accommodations Blocked in Some Historic Areas of Lisbon

18 October 2018

The municipal government will impose a limit of 25% on the percentage of available housing used for local tourist accommodations, according to the Lisbon city council’s criterion for limiting the growth of the sector. Alfama, Mouraria and Castelo, Bairro Alto and Madragoa have already reached that limit.

The “Urban Planning Study of Tourism in Lisbon”, which was drawn up by the Lisbon City Council to support the creation of zones with limits on local accommodations in the city, has created the concept of “homogeneous tourist zones” – defined according to urban routes, type of spaces and concentration of tourist accommodations, and do are not necessarily coincide with the parishes’ administrative boundaries.

Fifteen homogeneous tourist areas were identified, with Zone 2 – Bairro Alto/Madragoa and Zone 3 – Castelo/Alfama/Mouraria – having already exceeded the established limit for local accommodations. The exact area in Castelo, Mouraria e Alfama that will be subject to the new limits can be accessed below:

Click here to see a high-resolution map of the area included

The new local housing law – which gives councils the power to restrict the creation of new short-term rental units – will enter into force on Monday and the Lisbon City Council is expected to approve the new restrictions during the same week. The ban will be valid for one year. In the coming months, the local authority will have to approve a municipal regulation that will establish criteria for the creation of containment zones and a legal instrument that will later prolong the ban for two-year periods. After that period, the situation will have to be reassessed, and the containment zone maintained, or not.

The exact area in Bairro Alto/Madragoa that will be subject to the new limits can be accessed below:

Click here to see a high-resolution map of the area included

In addition to those areas that are already being restricted, five more are under monitoring:

Zone 1 – Baixa Chiado, Av. Liberdade, Av. Almirante Reis, Rua Castilho

Zone 4 – Graça

Zone 5 – Colina de Santana

Zone 8 – Ajuda

Zone 12 – Lapa Estrela

Original Story: Diário das Notícias – Susete Francisco

Translation: Richard Turner