I want to rent a Licensed Villa

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:59 am

All excellent information for property owners in Algarve but what about the poor tourist coming out on holiday, the people who have paid good money up front and now have the added worry of whether where they are staying is legal or not?
I should think the Algarve tourist industry needs all this like a hole in the head. But as usual its all being cack handled.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:41 pm

Anonymous wrote:All excellent information for property owners in Algarve but what about the poor tourist coming out on holiday, the people who have paid good money up front and now have the added worry of whether where they are staying is legal or not?
I should think the Algarve tourist industry needs all this like a hole in the head. But as usual its all being cack handled.

Like it or not, both to some degree go hand in hand.
There are many well established and advertised hotels, complexes and individual properties who have rented out accommodation correctly for many years. They would hardly advertise if they did not believe that they were not running their businesses correctly and as I understand it the local councils have been inundated with requests for the forms to register holiday let accommodation. I therefore, fail to understand why a visitor booking such a holiday would have any worries, as you would appear to suggest.

As for your last sentence, I could not agree with you more. Portugal's administration never seems to get it quite right do they?

guest 1 · Post by **guest 1** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:54 pm

No they don't guest.
I was thinking of new visitors I suppose and those who have booked a villa and then are faced with inspectors at the airport? Can be bit daunting visiting a new place and that would make it worse?
Are these inspections likely to be a regular occurence do you know?

Rosy · Post by **Rosy** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 4:57 pm

Thousands of holiday makers come to the Algarve each year, some more than once a year. The heavy period of course commencing May - Oct. I would be very surprised if Inspectors at Faro Airport would be able to check every single passenger arriving in order to ask where they are staying. If nothing else it would perhaps bring the workings of the airport to a stand still.

This situation reminds me a bit of when voting in the UK. As you leave the polling station someone comes up to you with a clip board and asks you how you voted. My reply was basically and as politely as possible "mind your own business".
I mean what are the inspectors going to do, if a passenger refuses to reply? But then I have watched television programmes, where this question is asked of passengers flying into UK Airports who have non-British passports.

But I do appreciate when confronted by officials just as you have landed at Faro Airport for two weeks holiday and asked where your staying, does come across as a bit of a police state.
Let’s hope that this idea will not be a permanent one, which I have to say is somewhat the norm out here and normally because of lack of funds.

You could always say a hotel name, if your concerned. I mean are they going to follow each passenger from the airport?

Graham · Post by **Graham** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 5:08 pm

They have been asking at immigration for years for an address if you are not from the EEC - I came over some time ago with an Australian friend - I happily went through immigration first and wondered why he spent so long following - when asked where he ws staying all he knew was that it was 'a villa near a golf course' - immigration were not very impressed with his accuracy and carted him off for a while - eventually they let him, accompanied by a guard, come and find me at the carousel so that he could get a better address!

Worried Traverler · Post by **Worried Traverler** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:26 pm

So when Iam on holiday wity my family in August in our rented villa in carvoeiro I could have a visit from some goverment official?
My villla agency only shows a phone number and email address on there site no address, is this normal??Help??

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:13 pm

Whatever happens, it is not your problem. It is the problem of the owner of your villa. So just relax and have a good holiday.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:44 pm

Just thinking. All the authorities have to do to find which owners are renting is simply come on to this website and look under rentals. Then go to the property concerned - knock on the door and ask the occupant if he rented and from whom. They don't need to go to the airport - typical blunderbus approach by the Portugese bureaucrats.
I advertise property to rent on here!
Wonder if Steen thinks it will affect his trade in rental advertising?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:52 pm

I advertise my property on the site but also include my visits, my friends and family visits, who obviously pay nothing on the availability chart so I know where I am up to. How would the Portuguese authorities know or be able to prove which was which. Maybe I get no rentals at all from the site

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:00 pm

the authorities will know because your renters will not know to say they have not paid you anything! If asked - are you renting this? - they will say yes. most people tell the truth.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:01 pm

The other way the authorities can cheque if you have received income from renting is by checking the deposits in your bank statement. Verify that!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:27 pm

Frankly, I think some are getting a little bit carried away with all this.
It’s the owners not any guests responsibility to ensure they are correctly registered and at the moment the actual format for registration I am lead to believe is a total shamble. The problem, as is so often the case in Portugal is that the central administration announces a new law and what then follows is that the right hand does not know what the left is suppose to be doing, leaving as in this case the owners who wish to let correctly, as a ping pong ball in the middle.
If you’re worried about an accident abroad, make sure you have taken out enough holiday insurance cover.
Anyone who is letting to a third party and is not correctly doing so, could be running a risk of their Insurance Cover being revoked should their be an accident on their premises.
Is there anyone out there, that at this precise moment, has been granted the new licence to rent your premises to holiday makers, I ask because I have yet to hear of one person that has. So and with much respect lets see if we can gain the correct facts first, instead of what appears to be happening at the moment. Some of those who wish to let or rent, running around like headless chickens.
Rosy

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:40 pm

Err. Nice one Rosy.

Mike,Chislehurst · Post by **Mike,Chislehurst** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:27 pm

Me to on that Rosy, Our agent has filed with the council about 37 villas that would come under the so called new rules and invited the council to inspect at will. They have also filed the the plans for each or at least most of the villas. The objective being that they (we the owners as well) are doing our bit and put the onus on the administration at the council. I can see where the authorities are coming from and agree with them, but as we all know they are all over the place. I think from guests point of veiw they should ask if the villa has a working fire extinguisher, a fire blanket in the kitchen, working smoke detectors, and the pool is clearly marked as to depth at each end.
Not to much to ask and hopefully all villas have at least these safety precautions.

Michael Crane · Post by **Michael Crane** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 8:35 am

Mike,Chislehurst wrote: I think from guests point of veiw they should ask if the villa has a working fire extinguisher, a fire blanket in the kitchen, working smoke detectors, and the pool is clearly marked as to depth at each end. Not to much to ask and hopefully all villas have at least these safety precautions.

I can confirm that Mike practices what he preaches. All the above, present and correct.