A tenant has received an eviction notice: what it is and what to do, day by day

Look at exactly what you have received

There are three kinds of paper, and they mean very different things.

A letter from the landlord. A WhatsApp message, an email, an envelope under the door. On its own it evicts no one: an occupied home can only be entered on a judge's decision. The letter may be a termination of the contract for debt, a refusal to renew the contract, or a denúncia — a demand to vacate the home for the landlord's own use or for demolition. These are different things with different deadlines, and almost always the landlord must state the ground explicitly.

A registered letter from BAS. The Balcão do Arrendatário e do Senhorio is the single rental desk under the justice administration; it is based in Porto and covers the whole country. This is already a procedure: the letter states a 15-day deadline and a warning of what will happen if you stay silent. With this paper, the clock is counting in days.

A court summons. An ordinary eviction lawsuit — ação de despejo. It runs as an ordinary civil case, and its deadlines are counted from the summons.

First of all, look at the envelope and find three things: who the sender is, what ground is given and what deadline you have been given. Keep the envelope with the postmark — all deadlines are counted from the date you received it.

“Exactly. You can't take landlords at their word on anything, correspondence only by signed-for letters, study every demand under a microscope. My landlord sent me a letter saying he was evicting me immediately, and the grounds, quote, were that ‘I plan to sell the flat and the new buyer PLANS to use it as their only home’. Which sounds pretty comical in light of articles 1101-1103 of the Portuguese Civil Code. When I had the pleasure of pointing this out to him, he wrote me a hysterical letter saying he would evict me immediately because, quote, I broke a door in the flat.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

myptaxes27.06.2025

“Yes and that's exactly what I'm worried about, which is why I'm trying to cover myself somehow with some official letters. There have already been warning signs from her, when we asked to deduct 40 euros from the electricity bill for replacing a rotten 70s fuse (since we'd specifically put a clause in the contract that anything that breaks through no fault of ours is the landlord's responsibility). in response we got a message saying this was distrust and she had the right to evict us and, like, wait for an official eviction letter.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

myptaxes28.06.2025

Locks, belongings and cut-off water are not eviction but a violation

Until the contract has ended and there is a judge's decision, the flat is your home. The landlord has no right to change the locks, remove your belongings, cut off water and electricity, come round whenever it suits him or show people round the flat at any time. There is one exception to this rule, and it works against you: in the last three months before you move out you are obliged to show the home to future tenants — at times you agree on, and if you have not agreed, on weekdays from 17:30 to 19:30 and at weekends from 15:00 to 19:00 (article 1081 of the Civil Code).

The law has a separate name for this — assédio no arrendamento, harassment in a tenancy (article 13.º-A of the NRAU): any unlawful behaviour by the landlord, or by someone who wants to get the home, if it is carried out to force you to move out.

What to do about it under the law is set out in article 13.º-B. First, a written demand to the landlord (by registered letter with proof of delivery): to stop the noise and other actions, repair anything dangerous, and restore water, electricity, gas or drainage. Separately and regardless of the letter, you can ask the town hall (câmara) for an urgent inspection of the home: it has 20 days for the inspection and another 10 for the report. The landlord has 30 days to show that he has fixed everything or to explain why not. If he has not replied or not fixed it, you are entitled to claim €20 for each day — half as much again if you are 65 or over or have a certified disability of 60% or more — and to file an injunção against him, a fast-track claim through the same BAS. An important deadline: if you do not file the injunção within 30 days after the landlord's deadline to reply, the claim lapses, and the money with it.

If the locks have already been changed or your belongings put outside, it is a matter for the police — call them on the spot and take the report number. How reporting to the police works is explained in the guide Police in Portugal: when to call and how to file a report.

“We'd rented a flat, paid the first and last month. We'd only lived there a month, the landlord changed his mind and decided to evict people. He refuses to give the money back, won't let us stay out the time either. Threatening to break open the locks and throw our things out on the street. There's no contract.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

left4portugal13.06.2025

“While the tenant is living there the landlord shouldn't be able to visit without them knowing..We moved in, changed the locks..Otherwise you can go away and come back to a cleaned out flat- its a question of basic safety..Nobody should have keys except the people who live there”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt22.11.2025

A contract can be ended for debt on only two grounds

The first thing worth checking is whether the landlord has the right to end the contract at all. There are exactly two grounds, both in article 1083 of the Civil Code.

Arrears of three months or more (paragraph 3). Not three late payments, but three months of unpaid rent.

More than four delays of over eight days within 12 months (paragraph 4) — in a row or scattered. And here the law has a condition people forget about: the landlord may end the contract on this ground only if, after the third delay, he sent you a registered letter with proof of delivery stating plainly that he intends to end the tenancy (paragraph 6). If there was no letter, further delays give him nothing.

Short of these grounds, arrears cost you money, but not the flat. From the first day of delay the landlord is entitled to claim 20% on top of the debt, and that right is lost if you pay off the debt within eight days (article 1041, paragraphs 1 and 2). The eight days are counted from the start of the arrears, not from the letter.

And the termination itself has a shelf life: on these two grounds it must be declared within three months of the day the landlord learned of the arrears (article 1085, paragraph 2). A landlord who saved up complaints for a year and then sent a termination is too late.

Everything else stands apart: noise, damage to the home, using the flat for a purpose other than intended, subletting without consent (paragraph 2 of the same article). Such a termination is not done by letter — it is decided by a court (article 1084, paragraph 1).

“Scary. You need more serious grounds for an eviction. If there's a contract, she's protected by law. If there's no contract, you can complain that the landlord doesn't want to do one. Payment by law is by the 8th of each month, delays for some reasons are possible.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

RussosEmPortugal14.08.2025

“To rent housing in Portugal the owner always asked for a guarantor, a rental contract is drawn up. And if the tenant can't pay, the money is collected from the guarantor. It's so complicated because of Portuguese laws. There were lots of cases when people kept living in the place and didn't pay. They couldn't evict them through the courts. Nobody will talk to emigrants directly, on the phone they don't understand non-Portuguese pronunciation and say no. Ordinary homeowners don't understand English. With the sharp increase in the number of emigrants, housing prices went up and some people paid the whole rent a year in advance.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

RussosEmPortugal17.08.2026

You can pay off the debt and stay — once per contract

If the landlord has ended the contract by letter because of debt, the termination loses its force when you pay off the debt within a month (article 1084, paragraph 3). This is your right, not the landlord's favour. But you can use it only once per contract (paragraph 4), and on the second ground — four delays — it does not work at all.

If the procedure is already under way, the same way out remains within it: the BAS notice states plainly that you can end the arrears within the deadline for objecting — except in the case of four delays (article 15.º-D, paragraph 4 of the NRAU).

You have to pay everything: the rent debt and 20% on top (article 1042). If the landlord will not take the money — and he is entitled to refuse current payments while the debt is outstanding — the money is paid into a deposit (consignação em depósito), and then the obligation counts as fulfilled. Pay only by transfer from your own account and keep the statements: in a dispute over whether you paid or not, it is the one who paid who has to prove it.

Check how the termination was served on you

The law is particular about how the landlord notifies you of termination, and that is your protection.

Ordinary tenancy letters are sent by registered post with proof of delivery, signed by the landlord himself (article 9 of the NRAU). But termination for debt is a special case: paragraph 7 of the same article gives a closed list of methods for it — service through the court (notificação avulsa), personal service by a lawyer, solicitador or enforcement agent against your signature — or a registered letter, but only if your written contract states an agreed address for correspondence.

Next comes the rule that most often decides the case. An ordinary tenancy letter counts as delivered even if you refused to accept it. For the letters on which an eviction is built, this rule does not apply (article 10, paragraph 2): if the letter came back, the landlord must send a new one — 30–⁠60 days after the first — and only then is it deemed received on the tenth day after sending.

The point is simple: “I messaged you” and “the letter came back, so you have been notified” are not notification. And the rules on ending a tenancy are binding on both parties: a clause in the contract that overrides them is void (article 1080 of the Civil Code).

“Threats to evict should be rolled up and taken to the police, they can't be part of communication between the parties in a tenancy, there can be the landlord's objection to automatic renewal of the contract , the grounds are described in articles 1097 and 1098 of the Pt CC”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

myptaxes28.06.2025

A notice from BAS: 15 days and three possible responses

The special eviction procedure does not start in court: the landlord files an application with BAS, and BAS sends you a registered letter with proof of delivery. From that day you have 15 days to do one of three things (article 15.º-D of the NRAU): vacate the home and pay the stated sum; file an objection; ask for a postponement of the move-out — or the objection and the postponement together.

What happens if you stay silent is spelled out in the letter. It used to be that in this case the landlord's application itself became an eviction document; since 4 February 2024 the case goes to a judge, who issues a decision for immediate entry into the home (article 15.º-EA). For you the difference is small: silence means eviction, only now with a judge's decision in the enforcement agent's hands.

What is worth checking in this procedure straight away. It is open to the landlord only if stamp duty has been paid on the contract or the rent has been declared in IRS or IRC tax returns (article 15, paragraph 5), and proof for the last four years is attached to the application (article 15.º-C). If the flat was let off the books, the landlord has no fast-track procedure and is left with the ordinary court.

The case itself is handled electronically: filing, the objection and correspondence all go through a personal account on tribunais.org.pt (Portaria n.º 49/2024). There you can also see the documents in your case. The BAS address for paper cases is Rua de Camões, 155, Porto; phone numbers and email are on its page.

“It's still possible, current laws provide for an eviction procedure, but de facto the process takes six months or more.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa07.10.2025

An objection is filed through a lawyer and with a deposit

An objection (oposição) is filed with BAS electronically and only with a lawyer's signature: in the special eviction procedure a defence without a lawyer is not accepted (article 15.º-S, paragraph 3 of the NRAU). This is not a formality — an objection without a lawyer simply will not be filed.

Together with the objection you pay the court fee (taxa de justiça), and in arrears cases a deposit as well: the whole rent debt, but no more than six months' rent (article 15.º-F, paragraph 5). If the fee or the deposit has not been paid, the objection counts as not filed (paragraph 6), and the case proceeds as though you had stayed silent. Free legal aid exempts you from both — there is a separate step on it below, and that is where you need to start.

In the objection itself you must state (paragraph 3): who your rights under the contract pass to by law; your matrimonial property regime, if it matters; who else lawfully lives in the flat; grounds for postponing the move-out, if there are any; and whether this home is the family home. The last point matters: if the home is the family home or there are several tenants, the landlord had to name all of them as defendants, including a spouse not named in the contract (article 15.º-B, paragraphs 3 and 4).

Objecting at random is not a good idea: for an objection whose groundlessness you could not have failed to see, the law threatens compensation for the landlord's losses and a fine of no less than ten times the court fee (article 15.º-D, paragraph 4). So the first conversation is with a lawyer, not with a chat.

We have no experience of our own to add here, and we will not pretend: in conversations in Russian-language chats over three years there is not a single account by someone who went through this procedure to the end themselves. Threats of eviction are discussed often; cases that reached BAS are nowhere to be seen. So everything in this step comes from the law, not from someone else's retelling.

Next the case goes to the court where the home is. The hearing is set within 20 days, each side may bring up to three witnesses, and the decision is announced at the hearing itself. If the objection is rejected, you will be given 30 days to move out, and the same decision serves as authorisation to enter the home (article 15.º-I).

Keep paying current rent, even while you are disputing

This is where winnable cases are lost. While the eviction procedure is under way, rent for new months must be paid as usual — to the landlord or into a deposit (article 15, paragraph 10 of the NRAU). Do not pay, and the case is decided against you, however good your objection (article 15.º-EA, paragraph 1). In an ordinary court lawsuit the rule is similar: if two months or more of unpaid rent have built up, you will be given 10 days to pay, and then the landlord is entitled to ask for immediate eviction (article 14, paragraphs 3–⁠5).

And separately: do not pay rent out of the security deposit. The security deposit is a guarantee for the end of the contract, not prepayment of the last months; “offsetting” makes you a rent debtor precisely when the debt decides everything. In chats this move is recommended all the time — in an eviction dispute it works against you.

“The chances of that are high, but the idea here is different: to get the last months of rent out of you, the landlord only has two ways: 1. deduct it from the deposit, which is already in his hands and which by law he'd have to give back. 2. go to court, during which the flat will sit empty.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa13.01.2026

The state may pay the landlord for you — and then claim it back from you

Since 2024 the eviction procedure has had a payment guarantee: the state takes on the rent for the months after the objection deadline has expired, if it concerns a home, the termination is for arrears, the landlord has combined the eviction claim with a claim for the debt, you have not paid off the arrears and you are still living in the flat (article 15.º-LA of the NRAU). The money goes to the landlord's account through IHRU, the state housing institute, to which BAS passes the bank details within five days after the objection deadline expires.

The amount is capped: no more than 1.5 times the minimum wage a month — that is €1,380 with the 2026 minimum wage of €920 — and no more than nine such payments in total, that is €8,280.

The main thing in this step is not to forget the second half of the rule. Having paid the landlord, the state takes his place and claims the money from you, and does so through tax enforcement (paragraph 5). So the time won by “just not paying” turns into a debt to the state, which is collected more harshly than a private debt.

A free lawyer: this is where you start, not where you end up

Free legal aid is called proteção jurídica here, and the part of it that pays for the proceedings and the lawyer is apoio judiciário. It is granted not by the court but by Segurança Social.

Who. Portuguese and EU citizens; foreigners with a valid residence permit in any EU country; foreigners without such a document — if their country gives the same right to Portuguese citizens. It is decided by household income, calculated under the annex to the law: up to ¾ IAS (€402.85 in 2026) — full exemption from fees and a free lawyer; from ¾ to 2.5 IAS (€1,342.83) — payment in instalments. More than 24 IAS (€12,891.12) in bank accounts and securities — you will be refused regardless of income.

Where. The application is submitted at any Segurança Social office that sees the public — in person, by post or electronically; the form is free, and the documents for this application are not subject to fees either (articles 9 and 22 of Lei n.º 34/2004). You must ask for aid before your first action in the case, that is, before the objection.

Deadlines. The decision comes within 30 days, and if there is no answer, aid is deemed granted by silence (article 25). In an eviction case the deadlines are its own and strict: the application is dealt with urgently, and the paper showing that you have submitted it replaces payment of the fee (article 15.º-S of the NRAU). If you ask for a lawyer to be appointed in a case already under way, the running deadline is interrupted and starts again — from the day the lawyer is notified of the appointment or the day you are refused (article 24, paragraphs 4 and 5). If you are refused, you have 15 days to appeal; the appeal is submitted to the same Segurança Social office, and without a lawyer (article 27).

How to choose a lawyer if you do end up paying is explained in the guide How to find and check a lawyer in Portugal.

“At Segurança Social, ask for a Requerimento de proteção jurídica. You can make the request on the Segurança Social Direta website. Fill in the form.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto12.07.2023

Postponing the move-out: who gets it and for how long

Besides an objection on the merits, there is a separate request — to postpone the move-out on social grounds (diferimento da desocupação). It is filed within the same deadline as the objection and dealt with under the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure (article 15.º-M of the NRAU, articles 863–⁠865 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

There are only two grounds, and they are narrow (article 864). The first: you did not pay because you lacked the means — this is presumed automatically if you receive unemployment benefit no higher than the minimum wage, or the RSI social support payment. The second: you have a certified disability of over 60%. Beyond that, the court looks at good faith, whether you have somewhere to go right now, how many people live with you, and at age, health and the family's circumstances.

Deadlines: the landlord is given 10 days to object, the judge decides within 20 days, and the postponement is no more than five months from the day the decision becomes final. For those months, if the postponement was granted for lack of means, the state Fundo de Socorro Social pays the landlord and then claims the money from you.

Separately from postponement, there is a suspension of eviction on health grounds: if a doctor confirms in writing that moving out at this moment threatens the life of a person in the flat because of an acute illness, the enforcement agent must stop; you then have 10 days to ask the judge to confirm the suspension, and the judge decides within five days (article 863).

And one more thing few people know: when it concerns a main home and serious difficulties with rehousing are evident, the enforcement agent must inform the town hall (câmara) and social services in advance (article 861, paragraph 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure), and the eviction notice itself must name the services that someone with nowhere to go can turn to (article 14.º-B of the NRAU). This is not housing at the click of a finger — but it is a way in, from which a conversation with social services begins.

Do not wait for the enforcement agent. As soon as the paper arrives, register with your câmara's social services and with Segurança Social: both the waiting list for council housing and one-off help go through them, both take time and paperwork, and a court decision will not speed them up.

If it comes to moving out: how it happens

An eviction is carried out by an enforcement agent (agente de execução) or a notary — not by the landlord, and not by the police on their own. The procedure is described in articles 15.º-J and 15.º-K of the NRAU.

They come with the judge's decision and hand a copy to whoever is in the flat. In a home this is done only between 7:00 and 21:00. You are entitled to be present and to call someone you trust, if they can come without delay. If the door is not opened, the enforcement agent calls the police, opens the door and changes the lock.

Belongings are not thrown out: they are listed, and you are given 15 days to take everything away. After that deadline, whatever is left is considered abandoned. If there is no one to hand the notice to, it is posted on the door on the day of the inventory — and the clock starts.

About appeals. You can always appeal against an eviction decision, regardless of the amount, but an appeal does not in itself stop the eviction (article 15.º-Q). And failing to comply with a court eviction decision is a separate crime, aggravated disobedience (article 15.º-R, paragraph 4).

If the same case ordered you to pay a debt, the decision immediately serves as an enforcement order for the money, and you can no longer object to its enforcement (article 15.º-J, paragraphs 5 and 6). How enforcement and the courts work in general is explained in the guide Courts in Portugal: where to go, how long to wait and what you pay for.

“Sawing through the door is in your culture, here he can only go in there by a court decision. There's a category of people who can't be evicted by ‘sawing through the door’”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt22.11.2025

No written contract: what difference it makes

A room without a contract, a flat “by agreement”, handwritten recibos — this is a common story among our readers, and it shifts the balance both ways.

In your favour. A tenancy contract must be in writing, but if there is no written one and that is not your fault, you are entitled to prove the tenancy by any means: it is enough to show that you used the home without objection from the landlord and paid rent monthly for six months (article 1069, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code). Transfers from your account, correspondence, recibos, electricity bills in your name, neighbours' testimony — all of these are evidence. And the ban on evicting on one's own authority applies in any case: without a judge's decision no one may enter the home, whether you have a paper or not.

Against the landlord. The fast-track procedure through BAS is not open to him: for most grounds it requires a written contract and paid stamp duty or declared rent (article 15 of the NRAU). That leaves the ordinary court — slow and with evidence to be proved.

What to do now. Gather proof of payment for every month, keep the correspondence, stop paying cash without a receipt. If the landlord will not draw up a contract and does not issue receipts, that is a separate story involving the tax office — it is covered in the guide How to rent a home in Portugal.

“I'd like to ask for advice. I rent a room from a Portuguese man. There are 7 rooms in the flat. Brazilians in the other rooms. Always very loud, a total ‘pigsty’. I started complaining to the owner. In the end he's throwing me out of the flat. There's no contract. But there are recibos he wrote out, showing the amount I rent for and the size of the deposit. Thank you!!”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatalgarve03.08.2023

What is being proposed — and what applies today

Since March 2026, “two months of arrears instead of three” has been doing the rounds in newspapers and chats, and in half the retellings it is presented as a rule already in force. It is not.

As things stand on 13 September 2026: the consolidated text of article 1083 of the Civil Code says three months of arrears and more than four delays of over eight days within 12 months. You can check this in a minute on the Diário da República website: the consolidated version is marked “Em vigor” and shows the date of the last amendment.

What is being proposed. The government approved a tenancy reform on 9 July 2026 and put the bill before parliament in August. It cuts the arrears needed for eviction to two months, separately introduces a ground for systematic late payment and changes the rules for old contracts. We wrote about this in the issue Tenancy reform: eviction for debt is being speeded up. Until the bill is passed and published, the previous deadlines apply — and it is those that apply to the paper you have today.

The same subject from the landlord's side is covered in the guide How to let your own home in Portugal, step 13 — there is no point repeating it here, but it is worth reading: it shows what the landlord must achieve before he can evict.