Many property owners letting to holidaymakers are confused by licensing requirements. Despite shortcomings, the vast majority are not faced with disaster but rather an opportunity to put things right:

• after a one-off expense for licensing, annual tax savings could be thousands of Euros;
• if you wish a mixed usage (personal & business) of your property, local regulations often offer a relatively simple and workable solution;
• in Câmaras, where few options exist today, new solutions are under study and should soon leapfrog into place;
• those with modest rental income can be free from bureaucracy by remaining non-commercial;
• Non-residents should have a “nil-cost” solution, recovering all Portuguese taxes and overhead in their home jurisdictions via tax deductions and credits.

While there are a number of choices that can prove to be truly viable solutions, only one option disappears in the end: “none of the above”. If you fail to choose and take action, it may well be an Inspector who makes the choice for you. Besides the threat of inspections and fines, there are serious civil liability questions to contend with in addition to eventual tax evasion enquiries.

Given the benign compliance requirements, it hardly seems worth the risk. Compliance is the order of the day. Although a nuisance, the options are surprisingly favourable in the long run and will allow both you and Portugal to create a win-win solution for all concerned.