en 
After several court decisions regarding holiday rentals, on 22 March the STJ set a precedent that will influence courts facing the same problem in the future. The precedent comes after several decisions, including two different rulings by the Porto Court of Appeal and the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
Thus, according to Público, the STJ established that in the same building, permanent and temporary accommodation (for tourist purposes), can no longer coexist. The precedent is not binding, but has a huge influence on the decisions of the courts.
This decision, which will be applicable to all local accommodation, followed the position of Porto courts, which considered the use of a flat, for local accommodation purposes, to be illegal. This decision was confirmed by the Court of Appeal, which condemned the defendants to close down the space and to pay a daily fine of 150 € from the date of the decision until they cease their activity.
In addition, one of the judges behind the decision admitted that more such cases are now expected to come before the courts, calling for the closure of these establishments, because many residents often complain about noise at night, dirt and wear and tear in common parts of the building or access by outsiders to garages.
All in all, the head of the local accommodation association, Eduardo Miranda, told TSF that this decision will not make any difference, as going to court is expensive and slow, and since 2018 there is already a simple procedure in place that allows housing associations to ask councils to close local accommodation units based on noise.
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I can see the reasons for this and appreciate the need to protect permanent residents, but, this is the first step of being told what you can and can’t do with your own property, what next?, forcing you to take in people that you don’t want?….
By JG from Algarve on 23 Apr 2022, 06:00
Nothing will change. But I think owners who let their apartment to holiday makers should be made to explain at the time of booking that the apt is in a residential area and there are rules regarding noise and antisocial behaviour.
By Terence McDine from Algarve on 23 Apr 2022, 22:30
Many Portuguese or Brazilian neighbours are very good at making noise themselves, having parties, shouting, playing loud video games, walking around in high-heeled shoes on tiles, breaking down a wall, renovating, etc., so is the court going to make it illegal for them to live in such buildings too because of the noise? Getting them evicted is not easy. Standards for noise insulation would help a lot. In some buildings, you can almost hear what the neighbours are thinking.
What was the legal basis for that court decision?
By T F from Porto on 25 Apr 2022, 08:17
The more sensible way is to levy a 20% tax on short-term rentals (like AirBnB) and be sure to implement the tax with enforcement measures. This has been done in San Diego. Additional, or alternative, tax revenue can be realized by imposing an annual host registration fee.
By Alan Silva from USA on 25 Apr 2022, 10:08
I don’t believe all holiday makers are noisy, yes always a few. You have to ask yourself the question why did the government get involved and why impose a law banning the use of thousands of appartments for holidays?………ah they need thousands of appartments to house the 50 thousand ‘refugees’ taken in over the last year. Just saying you need to look for an ulterior motive if the government makes a new law.
By JG from Algarve on 26 Apr 2022, 06:45
Multinational hotel chains must love this. Not sure it's the right way to go. In one year time a street next to my place (Rua Madalena in Lisbon) has been turned into a nearly-only hotel street. This debate needs a lot more nuance as otherwise hotel lobbying in Lisbon will win, once again. I think that private owners should be able to rent their room(s) yet not companies with a stack of apartments. This will benefit Portuguese too (I also know Portuguese who rent their spare room, which they already did waaaayyy before internet existed ???? ). I see no mention of social housing which I also believe is part of the solution. Yet all in all, there is little one can do against the success of Lisbon. The demand is bigger than the offer and that increases price. Still, measures can help as long as they are not just taken in one area, which I believe they are today as hotels keep popping up everywhere, social housing building is little, company run Airbnbs are a trend etc. I also hope the tourist takes a responsibility in selecting the right accommodation who helps the local community thrive. Airbnb could do a better job indicating who is small, who is not.
By Bart from Lisbon on 28 Apr 2022, 13:17