Lisbon currently has 11,704 short-term rental units—37% fewer than in 2025—mainly because owners cleared them; however, the Vizinhos em Lisboa (Neighbours in Lisbon) association revealed that these properties have not re-entered the housing market.


This is one finding of the “Snapshot of Short-Term Rentals in Lisbon 2023–2026” report released by the residents’ association—an analysis that cross-references four data extracts from the National Short-Term Rental Registry (RNAL) with the 2021 Census data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Earlier this year, Lisbon City Council (CML) cancelled 6,765 short-term rental (AL) registrations—about 40% of the total—because they lacked mandatory civil liability insurance.

“Lisbon has 11,704 short-term rental units and 69,070 beds. These figures represent a 37% and 36% decrease, respectively, compared to 2025,” the analysis noted, concluding that “the drop is primarily due to the clearing of inactive registrations: 81% of active units were registered between 2015 and 2019, and only 332 new ones have entered the market since 2023.”

Cancelled rentals fail to reach housing market

However, the association examined a random sample of buildings where short-term rental registrations had been cancelled in the Santa Maria Maior district; only 11% had appeared in sales or rental listings on the real estate platform Idealista over the past year. Meanwhile, in the Ajuda district—where the association checked every building—the figure ranged between 6% and 8%.

“On the other hand—and perhaps even more telling—the overall number of listings in Lisbon today is in line with the figures from a year ago,” the association highlighted, implying that “these properties have not reached the housing market.”

Historic centre remains heavily saturated

The data show the capital’s historic centre remains saturated: the Santa Maria Maior and Misericórdia districts record more short-term rental (AL) beds than actual residents and—together with the São Vicente and Santo António districts—account for 61% of the city’s short-term rentals.

In Santa Maria Maior, the ratio is 69 short-term rentals for every 100 inhabited homes, compared with a city average of five, the analysis noted.

The association pointed out that the 2021 Census recorded 48,018 vacant homes in Lisbon—four times the current number of short-term rentals—which “could house around 105,000 people.”

Additionally, the group Vizinhos em Lisboa (Neighbours in Lisbon) reported signs of unregistered short-term rentals operating; a test involving booking requests revealed that at least 4% of the listings marked as “cancelled” were still accepting guests.

Association calls for continued restrictions

In light of this, the association proposed that the Lisbon City Council (CML) maintain restrictions on short-term rentals in saturated districts, monitor the “new expansion frontier in Penha de França, Campo de Ourique, and Alvalade,” mobilise the vacant housing stock, and restore “transparency regarding Turismo de Portugal’s open data by
reinstating email addresses and adding the Tax ID numbers (NIF) of companies operating short-term rentals.”

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