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.