You're buying a guesthouse or a short-let flat in Portugal. The thing that actually lets you rent it to tourists is the Alojamento Local (AL) registration — and the question that decides the deal is simple: does that registration come with the property, or does it die when the seller sells?
First, ignore most of what you'll read. A lot of guidance online still says the AL registration lapses (caducidade) when the establishment changes hands — a restriction brought in by the 2023 "Mais Habitação" law. That rule was rolled back. The current consolidated Regime Jurídico do Alojamento Local (Decreto-Lei 128/2014, as amended to Decreto-Lei 76/2024 of 23 October 2024, which expressly revokes housing-package measures) contains no lapse-on-transfer rule. Whether the registration survives a sale is governed by the grounds on which it can be cancelled — and a change of owner is not one of them (which is not the same as the old number being a transferable asset you can simply rely on — see below):
«[…] o cancelamento do registo […] nas seguintes condições: a) Quando exista qualquer desconformidade em relação a informação ou documento constante do registo; b) No caso de instalação de novo alojamento local em violação de áreas de contenção […] (artigo 15.º-A); c) Por violação dos requisitos estabelecidos nos artigos 11.º a 17.º; d) […] inexistência do seguro obrigatório válido […]; e) Quando se verifique a prática reiterada e comprovada de atos que perturbem a normal utilização do prédio urbano […]; f) Em áreas de contenção, quando […] foram celebrados contratos de arrendamento urbano para habitação permanente nos dois anos anteriores […], em violação do regulamento municipal.»
— Art. 9.º(1) Decreto-Lei 128/2014 (RJAL), consolidated text (full list of grounds) · Diário da República, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: the registration may be cancelled for — (a) non-conformity of the registered information/documents; (b) a new AL installed in breach of a containment area (Art. 15-A); (c) breach of the requirements in Arts. 11–17; (d) missing mandatory insurance; (e) repeated, proven acts disturbing normal use of the building; (f) in containment areas, permanent-residential leases in the two years before the application, against municipal rules. A change of owner is not a listed ground.
But do not treat the old registration as plug-and-play. Every AL must have a titular da exploração — the operator (Art. 16) — and the registration itself identifies that person and their details (Art. 6). Once you take over, the register still names the seller, and that mismatch is itself a cancellation ground — Art. 9(1)(a), non-conformity. So the registration is not cancelled merely because you bought the business, but you must update it to your own name and details before you operate; the old number is not a licence you can simply inherit and switch on.
What still kills these deals: the containment areas
The real risk isn't the transfer — it's where the property is. Municipalities designate áreas de contenção by by-law (parts of central Lisbon and Porto among them) — whether your exact address falls in one is a fact to check against the current municipal regulation, not to assume. Inside a containment area the municipality controls AL tightly, and can oppose a registration within 90 days:
«[…] ou num prazo máximo de 90 dias, no caso de pedidos para exploração de alojamento local em áreas de contenção, o presidente da câmara municipal […] se oponha ao respetivo registo […].»
— Art. 6.º RJAL (comunicação prévia com prazo) · Diário da República, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: for AL applications in containment areas, the mayor may oppose the registration within a maximum of 90 days.
And in those areas the regime expressly reserves the power to limit how new registration numbers transfer:
«Estabelecer limitações proporcionais à transmissibilidade dos novos números de registo do estabelecimento de alojamento local, nas modalidades de ‘moradia’ e ‘apartamento’, sem que possam afetar os casos de: i) Sucessão; ii) Transmissão gratuita […] para cônjuge […], descendentes ou ascendentes; iii) Divórcio […].»
— Art. 15.º-B RJAL (regime das áreas de contenção) · Diário da República, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: proportional limits may be set on the transferability of new AL registration numbers for the 'moradia' and 'apartment' types, without affecting succession, gratuitous transfer to a spouse/descendants/ascendants, or divorce.
So the deal-defining question is not "will the licence transfer" in the abstract — it is the exact registration on this address (in your name, conforming and insured) and that address's containment status. A registration installed in breach of a containment area can be cancelled (Art. 9(1)(b)); a new registration you were counting on may be opposed (Art. 6); and a municipal by-law can restrict how new numbers move for flats and houses (Art. 15-B).
What to demand before you sign
- The AL registration number and its live status on the national register (RNAL) — in the seller's name, for this exact establishment; confirm the modalidade (moradia / apartamento / hospedagem).
- The address's containment classification from the câmara municipal — is it an área de contenção, and under which municipal by-law? This is the single fact that most changes your position.
- To update the registration to your own name and details before you operate — you become the titular da exploração (Art. 16); running it on the seller's registration leaves the register non-conforming and cancellable (Art. 9(1)(a)). Confirm the mandatory insurance is valid in your name (Art. 13-A).
- The current text, not a 2023 guide — the rules changed in October 2024; anything describing caducidade on transfer is out of date.
Whether the licence on this specific short-let survives your purchase is Layer 4 of every screen I run. Before you commit, I check the registration, the address's containment status and the current rules — and tell you what to demand from the seller first.
Check my deal →Basis: the current consolidated Regime Jurídico do Alojamento Local (Decreto-Lei 128/2014, as amended to Decreto-Lei 76/2024), retrieved from the Diário da República on 9 July 2026; article references are given so you can read the wording yourself. General information about how the rules work, not legal advice; how they apply turns on the specific establishment, its modalidade and the municipal by-laws in force, which a local advogado should confirm. Not a statement about any current listing.