Dear property owner,

We have recently informed you about the problem arisen as a result of inspections carried out by the Min. of  Economics. Rental agents as well as property owners have been fined, for which reason we had to decide to postpone our rental activities through our agency. The last couple of weeks meetings have taken place at the highest regional level in order to make the authorities aware of the enormous impact these action can have on Algarves economy, nearly totally depending on tourism.Recently during a forum organised by Network the authorities have been questioned about this urgent matter. You will find a report on this meeting below. Furthermore other organisations have asked the authorities to look urgently into this matter and we have been promised that we can expect a first briefing from the council of Presidents of the Algarve early March.

Property licensing
The hottest topic of discussion, however, seemed to be the licensing of property for rental and the recent spate of inspections being made at villa rental agencies (see January 20 issue of The Resident).
According to the numerous members of the audience who stood up to pose questions, hefty fines have recently been handed out for non-compliance with legislation which is only recently being reinforced and which many claim to be unfairly obstructive and unworkable.
Other members of the audience were keen to know if their existing licences were now invalid due to the transfer in administration from the Direcção Geral de Turismo to local câmaras. It must be said that the panel appeared to be rather confused and unable to supply definitive answers.  
Hélder Martins took the opportunity to make it clear that he is strongly in favour of there being controls in place to monitor the rental of private accommodation. He cited the fact that when fatal accidents happen due to faulty appliances in the home, bad publicity affects the region as a whole. He also pointed out that more often than not, in such situations, the finger of blame is often pointed at the tourism board, whether the property in question was licensed or not. He did not, however, comment specifically on the existing legislation for the licensing of rental properties.
Dennis Swing Greene of financial consultants EuroFinesco pointed out that he had only come across one câmara in the Algarve which was equipped to issue the licence, this being Albufeira Câmara which have produced an easy application pack, hinting that other councils need to come up to speed, and quickly.
Tax consultant and chartered accountant Filomena Ramilo warned that by fining rental agencies to such a degree (some have received fines of 150,000 euros), the economy as a whole would suffer, since businesses will be forced to close and the government will no longer receive income from the taxes. She also said that it would cause widespread unemployment in the industry and more people seeking support from the State.
Filomena Ramilo was extremely vocal on the issue and demanded that Macário Correia make it clear to his fellow câmara presidents that something had to be done to solve the unsatisfactory situation, as many of her clients needed urgent solutions.
The panel were in agreement that a more workable procedure needed to be found in order to make it easier for villa owners and rental agencies to comply with the law, however, they did say that the law was not a new one.
While neither Macário Correia nor Hélder Martins could offer an instant solution or a clear answer to appease the objecting members of the audience, the promise was made that the matter would be followed up. Macário Correia confirmed that he was due to host a meeting with the presidents of Algarve câmaras that very afternoon to discuss the problem. Meanwhile, Hélder Martins explained that the Almancil Business Association had invited him to take part in a meeting on the same subject, due to take place this week, a meeting which will also involve representatives from Loulé Câmara. Macário Correia asked those at the meeting who had received fines to write to him with the details, promising that he would look at their cases personally and speak to the appropriate câmaras.