If you have a registered local accommodation in Porto and have read the news about the 1,413 cancellations, the first question is always the same: is mine at risk? The answer depends on one very specific thing — and where your property is located.
In this article, we explain what caused this process, how to check if your registration is one of those affected, and what steps to take depending on your situation.
What caused the 1,413 cancellations — and why this is happening now
The direct cause is simple: the absence of civil liability insurance submitted digitally on the National Local Accommodation Registry (RNAL) platform, accessible at Gov.pt.
Civil liability insurance has been mandatory for all owners of local accommodation since 2018. What changed with Decree-Law No. 76/2024 was the obligation to submit insurance data on the national platform—making its verification possible by municipalities. Before this change, the obligation existed on paper but was not digitally verifiable.
In June 2025, the Porto City Hall (CMP) identified 2,408 registrations that had not yet submitted this information. In the following months, the municipality conducted “various support and clarification initiatives” to alert defaulting owners. Of the 2,408 registrations initially identified, 1,413 did not regularize their situation—and this is the number that is now being considered for cancellation.
This is not a new obligation. It is the digital verification of an obligation that has existed for years.
Who is affected — and how to check if your registration is at risk
Porto currently has 10,821 active local accommodation registrations — a 3% increase compared to the end of 2025. The 1,413 cancellations represent approximately 13% of the total.
If you have an active registration and are unsure if your insurance has been submitted to the platform, now is the time to check.
How to check:
- Access the Gov.pt Portal and log in to RNAL with your credentials
- Confirm that your civil liability insurance details are present and up-to-date (valid policy)
- If not submitted, submit them before receiving any notification
The cancellation process:
When CMP identifies a defaulting registration, it notifies the owner. From the notification, the owner has three business days to submit the insurance to the platform. If you do not do so within this period, the registration is cancelled.
For the 1,413 registrations in question, this deadline has already passed without the regularization having been carried out. The camera is now processing the cancellations.
For comparison: Lisbon has moved forward with a similar process for 6,765 registrations — about 40% of the city’s total. The difference in proportion (13% in Porto vs. 40% in Lisbon) reflects, according to Eduardo Miranda, president of ALEP, the history of more active regular inspections that Porto has maintained in recent years.
The difference the historic center makes — consequences by zone
This is the most important point for those who have a short-term rental property in the central areas of Porto.
According to ALEP, between 50% and 60% of the 1,413 cancellations are concentrated in the historic center. And here the consequence is substantially different from the rest of the city.
The parishes in the historic center — Miragaia, Santo Ildefonso, São Nicolau, Sé, and Vitória — are classified as Containment Zones under Municipal Regulation No. 495-A/2023, which came into effect in May 2023. This regulation exists precisely to control tourist pressure in these parishes and protect permanent housing.
The direct consequence: a registration canceled in a Containment Zone cannot be reactivated for tourist activity at that address. The cancellation, in this case, is permanent with respect to that location.
Outside the Containment Zones — in parishes classified as Sustainable Growth Zones, such as Bonfim, Campanhã, Foz do Douro, Massarelos, or Paranhos — the conditions are different. Cancellation does not imply a permanent inability to carry out activity; There is, in principle, room for a new registration process, subject to the conditions and limits defined for each parish.
| Situation | Historic Center (Containment Zone) | Rest of the city (Sustainable Growth Zone) |
| Registration cancelled | Cannot be reactivated at the same address | New registration process possible |
| Regularization before cancellation | Send insurance to Gov.pt within 3 business days | Send insurance to Gov.pt within 3 business days |
To understand the complete regulatory framework of Porto — including zones, parish limits and exceptions — our Porto Local Accommodation Regulation guide has all the information.
What to do — depending on your situation
If you haven’t yet received notification from the council
Immediately check if your liability insurance is filed with RNAL on Gov.pt If not, submit it before being notified. Submission is done directly on the portal, and the only method accepted by the council for this purpose is Gov.pt.
If your insurance has expired, renew it with your insurer and submit the new policy. The Municipal Secretariat for Local Accommodation provides an explanatory guide on the procedure.
If you have already received notification
You have three working days from the date of notification to submit your insurance details. The deadline is short — act immediately. Contact your insurer to confirm that the policy is valid and obtain the necessary information for submission on the platform. Keep proof of submission.
If the registration has already been cancelled
The first step is to confirm which area the property is located in.
If you are located in one of the five parishes within the historic center (Containment Zones), reactivating your registration at that address is not possible under the current regulations. In this case, it is worth considering alternatives: medium-term rental, traditional rental, or exploring whether the property qualifies under one of the exceptions provided for in the regulations.
If you are outside the historic center, the local accommodation registration process can be started again — subject to the current conditions and limits of the parish.
What this moment reveals about the oversight of Local Accommodation in Porto
Porto has registered exponential growth in local accommodation in the last two decades — from 89 establishments in 2011 to more than 10,800 currently. This cancellation process is the most comprehensive enforcement action since the municipal regulation came into effect in 2023.
The emerging pattern is clear: the regulation of short-term rentals is becoming more rigorous, more digital, and more verifiable. What was only on paper is now being controlled on a platform. What was a theoretical obligation is becoming a requirement with real consequences.
We have been operating in Porto since 2016. During this period, we have followed the creation of containment zones, the change in national legislation, and now the execution of this process. The trend of digitizing obligations will not stop—and liability insurance will not be the last document to be verified in this way.
For owners who manage their short-term rentals independently, this moment is a practical warning: operational compliance must be proactive, not passive.
In summary
The 1,413 cancellations in Porto have a simple cause: the absence of liability insurance submitted digitally on the Gov.pt platform. This obligation has existed since 2018; Digital verification arrived with Decree-Law 76/2024.
If your short-term rental property is in Porto and you haven’t checked your status, do so today. If you are in arrears and haven’t yet received notification, settle your account before receiving it. If you have already received it, you have three business days.
And if your registration has been cancelled, the options depend on the area—in the historic center they are more limited; outside of it, there are available options.
If you prefer to have your accommodation’s compliance ensured by professionals—from insurance submission to fulfilling all legal and tax obligations—HostWise is part of the management process for the properties you operate. Contact us to understand how we can help.