The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed a government-initiated amendment bill yesterday to ban the Illegal provision of accommodation, which requires visitors who can remain in Macau for up to 90 days to stay in a hotel, but not in a residential unit.
The outline of the new law, which aims to combat and curb the illegal provision of accommodation to visitors in residential units, was passed in its first reading by the legislature late last year. It was then reviewed by a standing committee of the legislature, after which it was submitted to a plenary session of the legislature yesterday afternoon for its finale debate and vote.
The new law will take effect one month after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO), which is slated to happen soon.
The new law makes it an offence for owners or tenants of residential units to rent out their units to visitors for a period of stay of less than 90 days. According to the bill, short-term visitors to Macau are only allowed to stay in hotels, but are they allowed to stay in residential units if they have a relationship with the accommodation provider such as a relative, or because of their work, study, or for academic events, religious, charitable, sporting or cultural activities.
Currently, most visitors are allowed to stay in Macau for a maximum of 90 days, while those who are from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (UK) are allowed to stay for one year and six months respectively, Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon said during yesterday’s plenary session.
Lawmaker Lei Leong Wong suggested that the government should consider increasing the number of staff at the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) to clamp down on the provision of illegal accommodation, and that the liaison mechanism between building owners and management companies should be enhanced to maintain regular communication.
Cheong pointed out that very few illegal accommodation offenders are from Hong Kong and the UK, and that most of the people involved in illegal accommodation are from the mainland.
Cheong also said that the new law could only be improved “as much as possible” and that possible loopholes would be removed through the ongoing discussion in the legislature if necessary. Cheong underlined that although the situation of illegal accommodation has subsided during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that some people might run the risk of breaking the law by offering illegal accommodation in the future once the local tourism recovers.
Cheong stressed that the operation of B&Bs is prohibited in Macau and that the government will continue to communicate with online booking platforms so as to keep B&Bs out of the market.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon responds to lawmakers’ questions during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle. Photo: Ginnie Liang
