Lisbon's Short-Term Rental Stock Shrinks 37% as Dormant Licences Get Purged
Lisbon's active short-term rentals fall 37% to 11,704 after a purge of dormant licences.
Lisbon now has 11,704 active short-term rental units, a 37% drop from 2025, according to a new analysis that cross-references the national short-term rental registry with 2021 Census data. Available beds fell 36% to 69,070.
The contraction follows a clean-up earlier this year, when Lisbon City Council cancelled 6,765 registrations, about 40% of the total. Most were removed for lacking the mandatory civil liability insurance.
Delisted properties are not returning to the housing market in meaningful numbers. In Santa Maria Maior, only 11% of cancelled properties later appeared as sales or long-term rental listings, while in Ajuda the figure was between 6% and 8%.
Saturation stays extreme in the historic core
Santa Maria Maior has 69 short-term rentals per 100 inhabited homes, against a citywide average of five. That district, together with Misericórdia, São Vicente and Santo António, holds 61% of all units in Lisbon.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Active units | 11,704 (down 37% year over year) |
| Beds | 69,070 (down 36% year over year) |
| Licences cancelled | 6,765 (about 40% of total) |
| Santa Maria Maior density | 69 units per 100 homes vs citywide average of 5 |
| Share of units in four central districts | 61% |
| Units relisted after cancellation | 6% to 11% |
What it means for operators
The data shows that registration crackdowns can reshape supply without necessarily freeing up housing stock. For operators with Lisbon portfolios, a valid registration and the required insurance are now the baseline for staying listed, and the limited conversion into housing is likely to feature in wider European discussions on short-term rental rules.
Cover image: Stephan Leuzinger / Pexels
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