The Algarve’s hoteliers’ association had praised the enforcement action taken by the Tax Authority against the unlicensed rental of holiday accommodation.
The Associação dos Hotéis e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve (AHETA) issued a statement today highlighting enforcement actions across the country, with special emphasis on the Algarve.
The association states that "there is a great need for adequate intervention by the authorities, aimed at monitoring and controlling the unlicensed accommodation in the Algarve".
"The illegal promotion of this type of accommodation, apartments and villas that are not classified or registered as tourism enterprises, creates unfair competition that has been growing in recent years, reaching a size that is not easy to quantify."
AHETA states that there are no sensible estimates of this type of accommodation, yet reckons that it has proliferated without any control, blaming the authorities for "the total absence of supervision which has encouraged the practice of illegal economic activity, with clear damage to the legalised and legitimate businesses."
AHETA expects these actions to continue and calls upon all relevant bodies, including the Government, to "implement more active, firm and committed to measures to stop a phenomena that has contributed the most to the loss of competitiveness of the hotel industry and tourism in the Algarve."
In July the President of the Hospitality Association of Portugal, Luís Veiga, said illegal overnights represented in 2013 about 10% of the total number of legal overnight stays.
Despite widespread news of hundreds of keen inspectors roaming holiday areas, or hunched over lettings websites, few if any cases of illegal lettings have been reported in the press.
See also: http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/2807-taxmen-on-the-prowl-for-illegal-algarve-lettings
and: http://www.algarvedailynews.com/news/2361-algarve-lettings-get-legal-or-get-out
