Insights
Rural tourism in Portugal: how to license country houses, agritourism units and rural hotels
Rural tourism (turismo em espaço rural, TER) is one of the most consistent investment opportunities outside Portugal's main urban centres: growing demand, affordable property assets and a planning framework that municipal plans tend to favour on rustic land. But between the Alentejo farmstead you want to restore and a development welcoming guests lies a demanding technical and legal journey, crossing the tourist developments regime, urban-planning permitting, the municipal master plan and a set of engineering disciplines that, in the countryside, can rarely count on public infrastructure.
A TER development, country houses, agritourism and rural hotels, is licensed in 2026 along a route of its own, distinct from local accommodation after the changes of 2023-2024. And certain technical requirements decide, in practice, the feasibility of the project.
Country houses, agritourism and rural hotels: what the law says
The central piece of legislation is the Legal Regime for Tourist Developments (RJET), approved by Decreto-Lei n.º 39/2008, de 7 de março, in its current wording, given by Decreto-Lei n.º 9/2021, of 29 January (6th amendment). Rural tourism developments are one of the categories provided for in article 4.º and are detailed in article 18.º in three groups:
- Country houses (casas de campo): buildings located in villages and rural areas which, through their design, materials and other characteristics, blend into the typical local architecture; where several country houses in the same village are operated in an integrated manner by a single entity, the group may qualify as village tourism (turismo de aldeia);
- Agritourism (agroturismo), buildings located on working farms which allow guests to follow the agricultural activity or take part in the work;
- Rural hotels (hotéis rurais), hotels in rural areas whose design and materials respect the dominant characteristics of the region (including new buildings), classified from 3 to 5 stars.
A related but separate figure is manor-house tourism (turismo de habitação, article 17.º): old houses of architectural, historical or artistic value, which may be located inside or outside rural areas. The minimum installation requirements for both figures are set out in Portaria n.º 937/2008, de 20 de agosto, which remains in force: among other things, it requires infrastructure and equipment to be installed without noise, fumes or odours disturbing the guests (with an express exception for normal agricultural activities, essential in agritourism) and, in rural hotels, at least one accommodation unit usable by people with reduced mobility.
TER or local accommodation: two regimes, two strategies
Many developers hesitate between setting up a TER development and registering a local accommodation unit (alojamento local, AL). AL, governed by Decreto-Lei n.º 128/2014, of 29 August, is intended precisely for establishments that do not meet the requirements to qualify as tourist developments, and has, as a rule, a maximum capacity of nine rooms and 30 guests, with the exception of hostels, which have no capacity limit, and the "rooms" category, limited to three in the holder's own residence.
This regime has been through turbulent years. The "Mais Habitação" (More Housing) package of 2023 suspended new registrations in pressure zones, imposed re-examination and expiry of registrations and created an extraordinary levy (CEAL). Then came the reversal: the CEAL was repealed in 2024, with retroactive effect, and Decreto-Lei n.º 76/2024, de 23 de outubro, in force since 1 November 2024, restored stability: RNAL registration once again has an indefinite duration, is no longer personal and non-transferable, and constitutes the only valid title for opening to the public. In return, regulation shifted to the municipalities, which may create containment areas and sustainable growth areas, reassessed at least every three years. As of July 2026 this is the framework in force: which means that the feasibility of an AL today depends, first and foremost, on the specific municipal regulations.
And that framework has just tightened. Decreto-Lei n.º 151/2026, de 30 de julho, in force from 31 July 2026, gives municipalities that reached 1,000 AL registrations by 31 December 2025 until 31 December 2026 to deliberate on their municipal regulations, and allows them to extend an ongoing suspension of new registrations once, or to reimpose one that has already lapsed, up to that same date. Valid registrations made before the deliberation are not affected. Anyone treating AL as a fallback plan for a rural property should confirm what the municipal assembly of that concelho decided before finalising the numbers.
On rustic land, however, TER is frequently the more solid framework: it is a use that municipal master plans tend to allow expressly, it confers an official classification and registration in the RNET (National Register of Tourist Developments), and it adds value to the asset in a future sale or financing. AL still makes sense for small units in buildings with an established use. The choice should be made at the start, switching regimes mid-process costs time and money.
The licensing process: municipal council and Turismo de Portugal
Under article 23.º of the RJET, the installation of tourist developments follows the legal regime for urban development and building (RJUE, Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99), with its own specific rules: the standard procedure is the prior communication with deadline provided for in article 23.º-A of the RJET (or, where applicable, the prior communication of the RJUE), while the developer retains the possibility of opting for full licensing, a safeguard the general regime no longer offers. Article 25.º also allows any interested party to submit a prior information request (PIP) to the municipal council on the possibility of installing the development and the applicable planning constraints.
Once the works are complete, there follows the title of use for tourist purposes and the classification: for rural hotels, it is awarded by Turismo de Portugal, I. P. (3 to 5 stars); for country houses and agritourism, verification of the requirements falls to the municipal council. The development is then entered in the RNET, and the procedures are conducted electronically, through the entrepreneur's desk and the Turismo de Portugal portal. At its core, the process is the ordinary urban-planning permitting procedure, which we explain step by step in the article How construction permitting works in Portugal, plus the tourism-specific rules.
What is about to change: from the Simplex to the 21st amendment of the RJUE
The RJET has not been amended since 2021, but the ground it stands on, the RJUE, has changed profoundly and is about to change again:
- Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024 (the "Simplex Urbanístico") reshaped the prior-control procedures and created the "qualified" PIP, whose approval now exempts the corresponding urban operations from prior control, an understanding that, while not stated expressly in the law, legal commentary and administrative practice have considered applicable to tourist developments as well. On the other hand, the articulation between the new regime for building use and the RJET's authorisation of use for tourist purposes has raised interpretative doubts, which call for technical and legal support;
- Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, which enacts the 21st amendment of the RJUE, enters into force on 3 August 2026. Under the transitional regime, the new rules apply to procedures started after entry into force and to certain earlier procedures still at an early stage. Anyone with an installation process in preparation should check now which procedural rules will apply to their application.
Technical requirements: infrastructure, safety and energy
In the countryside, technical feasibility matters as much as legal feasibility: because, in most cases, there are no public networks at the gate. The engineering-discipline designs must resolve, from the preliminary study onwards:
- Water supply, in the absence of a public network, through a private abstraction (borehole or well), subject to a water-resources use title under Lei n.º 58/2005 (the Water Law), with quality control of the water served to guests;
- Wastewater, a standalone treatment solution (septic tank with a treatment stage or a packaged system), correctly sized for the development's capacity, a subject we develop in the article on water supply and drainage networks;
- Energy and energy performance, mandatory energy certification under the SCE (Decreto-Lei n.º 101-D/2020), with stronger requirements for new buildings and a real opportunity for solar and self-consumption solutions in a rural context;
- Fire safety, tourist developments fall under a specific occupancy type in the fire safety in buildings regime; depending on the risk category, a safety data sheet may suffice or a full fire-safety discipline design and self-protection measures may be required, in rural areas, attention to the interface with forest land is an added factor;
- Accessibility, compliance with the legal accessibility regime for people with reduced mobility, with the specific requirement of Portaria n.º 937/2008 for rural hotels.
These disciplines must be coordinated with each other and with the architecture: the same principle we apply across all of CertiAmb's engineering-discipline projects.
PDM, RAN and REN: the land decides the project
Before any drawing, there is a prior question: what does the municipal master plan allow on that property? The classification of the land (urban or rustic), the space categories, the indices and the constraints, the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN), the National Ecological Reserve (REN), easements, determine whether the development is feasible and at what scale. The subject deserves its own article, The PDM and rustic land: what you can (and cannot) build on your plot, but the practical rule is simple: no purchase and no preliminary design without a rigorous reading of the PDM and, in case of doubt, a PIP.
In the regions where CertiAmb works, the opportunity is clear: the Tagus floodplain and the interior of the district of Santarém, with estates and farmsteads awaiting conversion, and the Alentejo coast around Grândola, where tourist demand is growing and rustic land predominates. In both cases, TER is often the right instrument to turn rural heritage into a productive asset, including for foreign investors, who account for a significant share of this demand.
Frequent mistakes and risks
- buying the property without checking the use allowed by the PDM and the RAN/REN constraints;
- choosing between TER and local accommodation too late, forcing the process to be redone;
- underestimating the standalone infrastructure, water, sanitation, energy, and its cost;
- ignoring the requirements of Portaria n.º 937/2008 at the design stage and failing the final verification;
- acquiring properties with unlicensed constructions, without providing for prior legalisation;
- leaving fire safety and accessibility until after the works.
The common denominator is well known: decisions taken without technical grounding, corrected only when they are already expensive.
The advantage of an integrated approach
A successful TER development is born of the articulation between the planning assessment of the land, an architectural design sensitive to the local building tradition: a legal condition, not merely an aesthetic one, engineering disciplines sized for a context without public networks, and the handling of the procedure before the municipal council and Turismo de Portugal. At CertiAmb, these skills work under a single coordination, from the feasibility study to opening to the public.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between rural tourism (TER) and local accommodation?
TER is a category of tourist development, governed by the RJET and Portaria n.º 937/2008, with an official classification and registration in the RNET. Local accommodation is intended for establishments that do not meet the requirements to qualify as tourist developments; it has a simplified RNAL registration and, as a rule, a maximum capacity of nine rooms and 30 guests, with the exception of hostels, which have no capacity limit, and the "rooms" category, limited to three in the holder's own residence.
Can I set up rural tourism on rustic land?
As a rule, yes: municipal master plans frequently allow TER developments as a compatible use of rustic land. It is essential to check the specific plan and the RAN and REN constraints, ideally through a prior information request.
Does the licensing go through the municipality or Turismo de Portugal?
The urban-planning control runs through the municipal council, under the RJUE with the specific rules of the RJET. Turismo de Portugal intervenes mainly in the classification, notably of rural hotels, and manages the RNET.
What technical requirements should I anticipate on a plot without infrastructure?
A licensed private water abstraction, standalone wastewater treatment, energy supply and energy certification, fire safety appropriate to the risk category, and accessibility: all sized within the engineering-discipline designs from the outset.
Can I convert an existing farm building into a country house?
Yes. It is one of the most common routes, provided the building is legalised (or legalised beforehand), the tourist use is allowed by the PDM, and the refurbishment meets the requirements of Portaria n.º 937/2008, including integration into the typical local architecture.
Closing notes
Rural tourism is one of the few segments where the legal framework, the market and the territory all play in the developer's favour, provided the project starts in the right place: the plan, the regime and the infrastructure. If you are assessing a plot, a farmstead or an estate for rural tourism in Santarém, the Alentejo or anywhere else in the country, talk to the CertiAmb team: we carry out the feasibility study, the full design and the follow-up of the licensing process through to opening.
Update note (28 July 2026): on 23 July the Council of Ministers approved a decree-law postponing the entry into force of the RJUE revision to 1 October 2026; as at this update it had not yet been published in the Diário da República, so the date legally in force remains 3 August 2026. Until it is published, any procedural planning should continue to assume that date. Details in our article on DL 108/2026.
This article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or technical advice. Each situation should be assessed individually by a qualified professional.