How to rent a home in Portugal
This guide is for anyone looking for a home in Portugal to live in, to move into or to apply for a visa with. Below: how the search usually goes, what landlords ask for, which documents you need and where people most often get stuck.
First decide what you need: a room, a flat or temporary accommodation
Before you start searching, decide what you need right now: a short let for a couple of weeks, temporary accommodation for 1–4 months or an ordinary long-term rental. This matters when you are moving: short lets are often easier to get, but they cost more and do not always work for a visa or as proof of address.
If your budget is tight, look not only at Lisbon and Porto but also at the suburbs and smaller towns. According to recent accounts, the difference between a room and a small flat is sometimes not that big, and in small towns you can rent for noticeably less. Bear in mind that homes can differ a lot in winter and in how damp they are: old buildings without heating can be cold and damp.
“2. How much it costs to rent a 2-room flat. In Figueira 700 euros +180 bills. (all the furniture, crockery, double glazing, but no heating, all the appliances. you can even see the ocean. To stop mould you have to keep the dehumidifier going) 4. Russian-speaking schools. Russian-speaking schools are good in Russia. 5. After a bit of running around both our kids got into Portuguese ones. How they're getting on studying in Portuguese - the question everyone was curious about, me too - no idea! They're quite happy, not asking to go home. Of course in Porto and Lisbon it's all different.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal08.04.2025
Budget for the real cost of moving in, not just the monthly rent
In Portugal, when you sign the contract you usually pay more than the first month. You are often asked for 2 months in advance plus a deposit, and sometimes more if you have no income in Portugal, no guarantor or no local credit history. So what you need to work out is not ‘the rent per month’ but ‘how much I have to hand over on the day I sign’.
For newcomers this is one of the biggest surprises. In practice a landlord may ask for 2+2, 4+1 or even a year in advance if they see you as a risky tenant. The weaker your set of documents, the tougher the terms.
“Yeah, that's the rule. Here people usually rent a flat on a one-year contract minimum. Minimum payment is two months plus two deposits. So the upfront rent payment is at least [phone] euros straight away. A flat rental has to be registered with the tax office, without that it won't do for a D visa.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal26.04.2025
“At the viewing they told us 2+2, then there was a meeting with the landlord, like some sort of exam, in the end he decided we were worthy 🙄 of renting his flat, but not with 2 deposits, with 4, even though the flat's unfurnished and doesn't even have a washing machine. And another one, since we had no guarantors, wanted a year paid up front, we said no. A month later his agent wrote that the landlord was now ready to show it to everyone and then let it to whoever made the best offer 🙄 No idea whether he ever let it or is still trying.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal10.08.2023
Get your documents ready before you start replying to listings
For a long-term rental you almost always need at least a NIF (Portuguese tax number). Beyond that it depends on the landlord or agency: they may ask for an employment contract, your IRS (tax return), your latest recibos de vencimento (payslips), bank statements and a fiador (guarantor).
If you are only just moving and do not yet have an income in Portugal, you can still rent, but usually on tougher terms: more months in advance, a bigger deposit or being turned down in favour of a candidate with a fiador. For visa and immigration purposes it is best to insist from the start on an official contract registered with Finanças (the tax office).
“IRS and resibos - no, because we weren't in Portugal and weren't working for a Portuguese company. We had statements of past salaries and accounts from other countries. A contract yes, but it only took effect after we arrived. fiador - no, one place turned us down because of that (they picked tenants with a guarantor).”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa26.11.2024
“For a long-term rental the only thing you actually need is a tax number - NIF. Everything else is optional. You can do a transfer from a millennium cash machine. It's all simple there - you enter the landlord's iban, feed in the cash and it goes through as a transfer. You can rent a flat without a guarantor too, but you'll most likely have to pay more months up front. We paid 4 + 1 deposit. And you might have to search a bit longer.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkPortugal 🇵🇹 TravelAsk chat27.08.2023
Search on the big websites and turn on alerts
Most people search through Idealista. According to recent accounts, it helps to turn on alerts straight away for the areas and filters you need: good options go quickly.
It is worth looking at other websites too, but be wary of offers that are too good to be true, especially if you are being rushed into paying in advance. If you need a home remotely before you arrive, the risk of fraud is higher than when you search on the spot in the usual way.
“My wife and I need to show accommodation for 4 months for the Portuguese visa. Originally we wanted to rent an airbnb for a week and then find a permanent flat calmly once we were there, but the consulate doesn't accept that. Airbnb and Housing anywhere for 4 months cost an insane amount of money, and on Flatio half the listings I messaged turned out to be scams.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal31.07.2026
Be prepared for agents or landlords not replying and for stiff competition
Even if a website has plenty of listings, that does not mean they are easy to rent. In practice some listings are no longer available, some agents reply selectively, and good places may go to those with a stronger set of documents.
If nobody replies to your messages, widen your search area and write briefly and to the point from the start: who you are, how long you want to rent for, whether you have a contract, income, IRS, a fiador, pets. This improves your chances of getting a viewing.
At the viewing, ask about the main terms of the contract straight away
At the viewing, do not stop at ‘do I like it or not’. Ask straight away: the length of the contract, the size of the caução (deposit), how many months you have to pay in advance, whether bills are included, whether pets are allowed, whether there is furniture and appliances, and who is responsible for minor repairs.
Check separately whether there will be an official Contrato de Arrendamento (rental contract) and registration with Finanças. If the landlord does not intend to register the contract or suggests ‘part of the amount on the books, part off them’, that is a risk for you: you may have problems with your visa, residence permit, proof of address and tax deductions for rent.
“T2 in Caniço. Rent 1300€. Spacious flat with two bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a sunny veranda all the way round the flat with an ocean view. Official contract registered with Finanças.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkbaraholkamadeira08.04.2026
If you have pets, say so straight away
You can rent with pets. From people's experience it is not a hopeless situation, but the search may take longer. It is better not to hide your pet: if the building or condomínio (owners' association, residential complex) has restrictions, the problems will surface later.
It helps to say from the start what pets you have, how many, whether they are used to living in a flat, and to be ready for an extra deposit or a more cautious response from the landlord. But according to recent accounts, many people had no real problem because of their animals.
“Not much of a tip, to be honest.. because there are condos or separate buildings where living with animals is banned from the start. And then you can end up in a proper ‘mess’ later on. Overall, from our experience and that of people I know, there's no big problem renting a flat with animals here. We moved in with a cat and a dog. Out of all the flats only one turned us down straight away. But there the previous tenants with a dog had wrecked the whole flat and then went silent, so now the owners are just scared to let people with animals in after doing it up.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkportugal_pets03.02.2025
“Even though some (many) people advised us to leave out the fact that we had a cat and a dog, we were firm about it and our estate agent backed us in deciding to be honest. In the end the animals were NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL ! We said it straight away and only in one of all the flats did they say they were against the dog, but the story there was that the previous tenants' dog had simply trashed the flat. But then we also didn't ring flats where it clearly said no animals. Honestly, if you ask me, it's much easier to rent a flat with animals here than it was back home in Ukraine.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkportugal_pets18.07.2023
Check the contract before you sign
In the contract, look at four things at least: the term, the start date, the end date, and how it is renewed and terminated. In Portugal the minimum term is very often 1 year, after which the contract may be renovável (renewing automatically). If you need the home for a visa or for AIMA, it is especially important that the dates in the contract match your actual situation.
If the contract starts later than you arrive, it may raise unnecessary questions about where you are living until then. If the rental is being arranged for a visa or an AIMA application, do not count on ‘we’ll sort it out later somehow’: they look at the documents and the dates.
“The way I understood the original question, it's the other way round - not too early but too late. I.e. to rule out cases where the applicant has already been given the visa (60 days have gone by), has tickets, and the flat rental only starts 2 weeks later, so you end up with a person who has nowhere to live even though the visa's been issued.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkdigitalnomadportugal01.11.2023
After signing, check that the contract has appeared on Finanças and that recibos are coming
A signed paper contract is not enough. For an official rental the landlord registers the contract on the Portal das Finanças (the tax office portal) and then usually issues recibos de renda (rent receipts). For immigration procedures and renewals this often matters more than the paper contract itself.
You can check this yourself in your account on the Portal das Finanças: it should show the contract, the rental term and the current amount. If the rent is raised later, it is usually enough for the new amount to show in the system and for new receipts to be issued; a separate addendum is not always needed, but it is best to keep everything to do with the changes.
“In finansas the new amount should show up right here: [link] and check the rental period: Data de Termo, or the item Renovável (automatic contract renewal) - Sim. For renewals and so on.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal02.04.2026
“Yes, you don't need an addendum, you just pay the new amount. And they'll issue the fatura to you for the new amount. For the deposit you should have a separate fatura, it says caução on it.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes02.04.2026
For a visa and AIMA, do not agree to an off-the-books rental
If you need the home not only to live in but also for a D visa or dealings with AIMA, it is best to aim from the start for a fully official arrangement: a Contrato de Arrendamento (rental contract), registration with Finanças, recibos and, if needed, declarations from the landlord.
In recent years the requirements around proof of address and residence have changed, so old advice goes out of date quickly. According to more recent posts, for some procedures people were asked not only for the contract but also for a Declaração do Senhorio sob compromisso de honra (landlord's declaration on their word of honour) or a Declaração de Alojamento (declaration of residence). If you are renting for immigration documents, discuss this with the landlord in advance.
“in the end the helpers from work drew it up for me themselves. It looked to me like they based it on the same sort of document, only from the tenant. The gist is in two lines: ‘so-and-so swears that such-and-such lives with him, at such-and-such address’. Text below: Declaração de Alojamento Para os devidos efeitos, ..., portador do cartão de cidadão ..., válido até ..., NIF ..., declara sob compromisso de honra que, na qualidade de senhorio no Contrato de Arrendamento Habitacional de duração limitada (1 ano) em anexo, outorgado no passado dia ..., o senhor ....., portadora do passaporte ..., válido até ... e NIF ..., ”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt27.08.2025
“Declaração de Entidade Patronal - from the employer Declaração de Alojamento (requerente) - from you DECLARAÇÃO DO SENHORIO SOB COMPROMISSO DE HONRA (from the landlord, the most important one) - there's no form for it on the AIMA website.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkdigitalnomadportugal26.08.2025
Ask whether the flat is let under the affordable rent scheme: since 1 September 2026 landlords have a reason to charge less
Since 1 September 2026 Portugal has had the RSAA, the regime simplificado de arrendamento acessível, a simplified affordable rent scheme. It was set up by Annex III to Decree-Law 97/2026 of 20 May and on the same day replaced the previous Programa de Apoio ao Arrendamento (Decree-Law 68/2019), which has been repealed. It is not a waiting list and not a benefit: it is the landlord who signs up to the scheme, not you. But because of it the price in a listing may turn out noticeably lower than neighbouring ones, so it is worth asking about it at the viewing.
What the landlord gets under this scheme. If they let at or below the cap, for at least three years and as a permanent home, the income from that rental is not taxed under IRS or IRC at all: the exemption is total (Article 6(1) of Annex III). Before, a long contract earned a reduced rate; now the rate is zero, and that is the only real reason a landlord has to set a price below the market. The mechanism is familiar: people in the chats discussed it before the new scheme too, although the rates have changed since then, and the standard one is now 25%, not 28%.
The rent cap is set neither by the landlord nor by the market. It is fixed by a government order (portaria) of the ministers of finance and housing, separately for each type of flat, and is calculated from 80% of the median rent in the municipality where the building stands; the median is published by INE. The figure can be affected by the building's energy rating and whether it has its own parking (Article 4). After that the caps are updated by the same coefficient as ordinary rents: for 2027 it came out at 2.56% (based on INE's flash inflation estimate of 31 August 2026; INE promised the final data on 10 September).
The figures themselves do not exist yet. The decree required the order with the caps to be issued within 30 days, that is, by 19 June 2026 (Article 16). We searched for it in the Diário da República on 2 September 2026 using the wording of the law itself, ‘limites máximos de renda’, ‘mediana de valores de renda’, ‘limite máximo de renda mensal’: there is no order with caps there. The affordable rent page on the housing portal on the same date describes the previous PAA programme and refers to the repealed Decree 68/2019. Until the figures are out, neither you nor the landlord can check whether a flat fits the scheme, so a verbal ‘we do affordable rent’ cannot be backed up by anything at the moment.
Another, milder measure, however, already comes with a figure and is in force, and it is worth keeping in mind when you negotiate. Rent of up to €2,300 a month is taxed for the landlord at 10% instead of 25%, until 31 December 2029, under the new Article 45.º-C of the EBF (Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, the code of tax reliefs). It also applies to existing contracts and counts from 1 January 2026. €2,300 is 2.5 times the 2026 minimum wage, which is €920. There are no municipal caps here, so almost any ordinary rental qualifies for this rate; it does not give a full exemption and does not require a long contract. A detailed breakdown covering every case is in the practical guide from the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados, the accountants' professional body, July 2026.
The terms you are signing up to. For a permanent home, a contract under the scheme is at least three years (Article 5(1)). A separate case is temporary accommodation: if your tax address is in a different municipality from the flat, the contract can be from three months and is renewed for as long as the purpose remains temporary (Article 3(1) and Article 5(2) and (3)). You can also rent part of a flat, but only a genuine one: its own entrance, a proper bathroom and kitchen, and in the room a window onto the street, a balcony or an awning (Article 3(2)).
A long contract ties you down too, not just the landlord. You cannot simply leave before the end of the term: you can move out from a certain point and with notice, and before that only by agreement or with a penalty. People in the chats name different shares of the term, some a third, some two thirds, and there is no point arguing about it: the period, the notice procedure and the penalty are all written into the contract itself, in the clause on denúncia, termination at the tenant's wish. Read that clause before you sign, not after.
How the landlord claims the relief, and why it is in your interest. By 15 January of the year after signing, they upload to the IHRU platform (Instituto da Habitação e da Reabilitação Urbana, the institute for housing and urban regeneration) a copy of the contract and proof that the contract has been reported on the Portal das Finanças; IHRU then passes it on to the tax office by the end of February (Article 6(3) and (4)). So registering the contract with Finanças is not a favour you are asking for but a condition of the landlord's relief, and it is exactly the paper you need for your visa, residence permit and AIMA. If the landlord breaks the conditions, the relief is withdrawn from that very day and the tax is recalculated with compensatory interest (Article 7). Under this scheme it does not pay the landlord to understate the amount in the contract or to push you out before the end of the term.
Municipal affordable rent programmes are the same scheme, but a different door. They fall under the RSAA if they fit within the same caps and terms (Article 8), and you get into them not by agreement with a landlord but through a competition run by the câmara municipal. Recent examples. On 20 August 2026 Odivelas launched the HABITODIVELAS programme: rent from €400 to €1,125, annual income up to €35,000 for one person and up to €45,000 for two, plus €5,000 for each additional person; you must have lived or worked in the municipality for at least two years, the contract is for five years with one renewal, and the flats are allocated by ballot. In Seixal, on 28 August 2026, the first 12 flats were drawn: a T2 for €450 and a T3 for €550, when a T2 on the open market in that municipality cannot be found for less than €1,200; 24 applications came in for the 12 flats.
What to ask the landlord or agent. Whether the contract is under the affordable rent scheme and for how long. Whether the contract will be registered on the Portal das Finanças and whether there will be recibos de renda. Whether the contract states that the home is a permanent residence. What the contract says about leaving early and what the penalty is. And if you are told that the price in the listing is ‘only for those on the programme’, that is not made up and not a bargaining trick: people ran into this with the previous programme back in February 2025. Just ask for what you are promised verbally to be written into the contract.
If you already have a contract under the previous PAA programme signed before 1 September 2026, its tax reliefs are kept (Article 15(2) of the decree), so there is nothing to sign again.
“For the landlord a five-year contract (or 5 years plus) means optimising IRS from 28 down to 23 percent of the gross income from letting the property. The risk for you: unless the contract says otherwise, by law you have to keep renting the property for 2/3 of the contract term, or pay the penalties set out in the contract.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal29.08.2023
“Firstly, you need to read the original. The original says habitação acessível. Secondly, the criteria should become known when the 2026 budget bill is published. Not long to wait now.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes25.09.2025
“It's 25% now, not 28%. A non-resident is taxed at 25%. 10% for letting living space if the monthly amount doesn't go over 2300 euros. This rate applies until 2029”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt08.08.2026
“A friend of mine signed a contract for 5 years and a third of the term for her was almost 2 years. The landlord was within his rights to refuse to end the contract.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt11.02.2026
Check whether you are entitled to help with rent: you do not need to apply for it
If your rent eats up more than a third of your income, the state may pay up to €200 a month towards it, and you do not need to apply. The payment is called apoio extraordinário à renda; it was introduced by Decree-Law 20-B/2023 of 22 March and is still in force: the consolidated text in the Diário da República is listed as in force as of 3 September 2026, last amended on 2 July 2024. The money does not have to be paid back: it is not a loan or a deferral.
How it is calculated. The payment covers the difference between your monthly rent and the amount you get by taking 35% of your average monthly income (Article 6(3)). Average monthly income here is not your take-home pay but 1/14 of the annual income in your IRS assessment (Article 5). Here is an example: an annual income of €14,000 is €1,000 a month, and 35% of that is €350; with rent of €500 the payment comes to €150 a month. The ceiling is €200 a month (Article 6(5)), and it is not index-linked. If the amount works out at less than €20 a month, the money is not lost, but it comes once every six months (Article 6(6)).
Who is entitled. All the conditions must be met at once (Article 4): tax residence in Portugal; a rental or sublet contract for your main home registered with the tax office; annual income no higher than the upper limit of the sixth IRS band; and the share of income going on rent over the year is 35% or more. On the sixth band, the law says ‘according to the scale in force on the day of the award’: on the 2025 scale that is €41,629, on the 2026 scale €43,090 (the whole scale is explained in our guide What taxes you pay in Portugal). The law separately names people who are not required to file an IRS return: if you have employment income reported to Segurança Social, or you receive a pension, unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, childcare benefit, rendimento social de inserção, prestação social para a inclusão, complemento solidário para idosos or the allowance for a main informal carer, you qualify too, but your monthly income must not be higher than 1/14 of the same amount.
The main filter is the date of the contract. The payment is given for contracts signed before 15 March 2023 (Article 3(1)). There is one exception, added by Decree-Law 43/2024 of 2 July 2024: if the previous contract was ended not by you but by the landlord, and the new one was signed with the same tenant for the very same home, and that home remains your permanent and tax address, the new contract counts too, even if it was signed later (Article 3(2)). If you moved yourself or changed flats, there will be no payment.
If there are several tenants on the contract, the monthly rent is split equally between them and each receives their share separately (Article 7(2)).
How it reaches you. The payment is awarded not by the tax office but by IHRU, the Instituto da Habitação e da Reabilitação Urbana, the institute for housing and urban regeneration; it does this on its own, without any application (Article 8(1)). The tax office passes it the data by 30 October each year, and only for those whose share of income going on rent is already above 35% (Article 9). By 15 November IHRU passes the list to Segurança Social, and Segurança Social then pays, by transfer to the IBAN recorded in its system, by the 20th of each month (Articles 6 and 8). The simple consequence: if your bank account is not filled in with Segurança Social, there is nowhere to put the money. The letter with the calculation itself is sent by the tax office: it says which figures were used, how much has been awarded and for how long (Article 10).
You can see your own figures in your account. It is called the Portal Consulta Cidadão and sits on the housing portal; you can log in with your tax office account or through the Chave Móvel Digital. The objection button is there too, and it is not only for people who disagree: someone whose NIF shows nothing at all in the system, even though they meet the conditions, can also lodge an objection.
Which year's income is used confuses people the most. The payment for a given year is calculated from the latest completed IRS assessment, that is, from your income two years earlier. So it is normal for the money to come one year and not the next: what changed was your income from two years ago, not today's.
Another source of confusion is the letter itself. At the top it says ‘Valor do Apoio’, and below, on a separate line, ‘Subsídios atribuídos pelo IHRU’, which is often zero. That does not mean you have been given nothing, nor that the amount is under €20 a month: the second line is about other, separate IHRU housing subsidies, which by law are deducted from the payment (Article 6(4)). A zero there means there is nothing to deduct.
What to do if no money comes but you meet the conditions. Sometimes the award is put on hold until you confirm your details: this happens when the tax office has found a discrepancy between the landlord's returns and yours, or when the rent is higher than your declared income; you confirm the details in the same account (Article 8(6)–(9)). If you disagree with the calculation, an objection is lodged in the account within 60 days of the date of the letter. If there was no letter at all and you think you are entitled, you can send supporting documents up to the last working day of March of the year you are claiming for (Article 10.º-A). The amount is recalculated retrospectively, from the point at which your circumstances changed.
Two small things worth knowing. This payment cannot be taken for debts: it is declared exempt from seizure (Article 5.º-A). And it stops as soon as the tax office reports that the contract has ended (Article 11), except in the very case where the landlord ended the contract and you stayed in the same flat under a new one.
How this fits with the annual rent increase. The rent update coefficient for 2027 is 2.56%: rent of €700 becomes €717.92. On its own, a rent rise also raises your share of income, and with it the payment, but only up to the same €200: the ceiling does not follow inflation. And note the overlap: the coefficient is used to update precisely the old contracts, and the payment is only for contracts from before 15 March 2023. It is the same group of people.
What we did not find. In three years of conversations, nobody has written about how an objection through the account turned out or how long a recalculation takes: there are questions about it, but no answers. Nor is there a clear answer in the chats to another common question, whether this payment has to be shown on your annual tax return; the decree itself says nothing about it, so that is a question for an accountant, not a chat.
“Well, I wouldn't exactly say figured it out 🙈 I logged in to the site given in the letter from Finanças - [link] You log in there through your tax office account, so I didn't enter any details apart from email and niss (the site asked for those after logging in). Next to 2024 or 2025 (can't remember which) it says - approved. And you can see the details of how much you'll get (same as in the letter, just in more detail). I can't change or add anything there. I added my iban in the SS account, I gathered from the chat that you need to do that.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde05.09.2025
“[link] all the processes are there, with income and calculations for 2024 they take income for 2022, for 2025 - for 2023”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde05.09.2025
“Good afternoon! I'd like to ask a question: in 2024 my wife and I got a subsidy of 122 and a bit each.letters came, everything was calculated automatically. In 2025 - there was no subsidy.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde10.03.2026
“Up at the top there's something like Valor do Apoio: 200,00 And further down, separately, some sort of reimbursement from Subsídios atribuídos pelo IHRU: 0 But as I understand it that's something else”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt03.09.2025
“I got approved for 2024 the other day, looks like they'll send it in one payment, in the segurança calendar it's down for the 5th. This year they paid monthly from about March, but then suddenly today on the portal they started asking me to confirm that my rent is more than 100%, and it's not clear whether they'll suspend payments while they wait for an answer. Until they send that big payment I'm scared to touch anything. I'll answer their questions afterwards) But I'd like to get my head round it now.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde01.09.2025
Your landlord is selling the home you rent: you have the right to buy it first if you have rented it for over two years
Your landlord has decided to sell the flat you live in: you can become the buyer, ahead of everyone else. The right is called direito de preferência; it is given by Article 1091.º of the Civil Code, and subsection VI, where it sits, has that very name. There is one condition: by the time of the sale you have been renting the home for more than two years. The threshold used to be three years; Law n.º 64/2018 of 29 October 2018 lowered it to two, and the rule has applied since 30 October 2018. The article with all its amendments can be read in the consolidated Civil Code on the Diário da República website.
How it should work. The landlord sends you a registered letter with proof of delivery (carta registada com aviso de receção) setting out what is being sold and on what terms: the price, the timings, the conditions of the deal (Article 416.º(1) and Article 1091.º(4)). From the day the letter is delivered, you have 30 days to reply. If you say nothing, the right is lost; under the Code's general rule such a reply gets eight days, and the thirty days are a concession made specifically for residential tenants.
Accepting means buying on exactly the terms in the letter. The right of first refusal does not give you a discount, it gives you a place in the queue: the price is the same as offered to an outside buyer, and at that point there is nothing to haggle over. After that it is all like an ordinary purchase: escritura, IMT, stamp duty, a mortgage if you need one; the process is explained in our guide How to buy a home in Portugal. Those same thirty days are also when you have to find out whether you will get a loan, so you start talking to the bank on day one, not day twenty.
What the right covers and what it does not. The article names two cases: a sale and dação em cumprimento, handing over the home to settle a debt. Gifts, exchanges, inheritance and putting the flat into a company's capital are not listed. The tenant's right ranks immediately above the right of the owner of the land the building stands on (paragraph 3). It also applies to someone renting premises for purposes other than housing: the article is general, and the special paragraphs on housing only start from the sixth. And as a separate case, the same article contains a second right that almost nobody remembers: if your contract fell through because the landlord's own right to let ran out (paragraph 1(b) and paragraph 2), a new contract for that home must also be offered to you first, until the date for handing the home back arrives.
The flat is sold not on its own but together with something else. Whole buildings are sold this way, and it is a legal method, but with conditions. The landlord can insist that you take everything together only if the deal cannot be split ‘without appreciable harm’ (prejuízo apreciável, Article 417.º), and since 2018 they have to show that harm in the letter itself: a reference to a clause in the contract saying the deal cannot be split does not count as proof (paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 1091.º). The price of your flat is then stated separately from the total.
The second trick of the same kind is an extra obligation to the seller (prestação acessória) that you are clearly unable to meet. For this there is Article 418.º: whatever can be valued in money is compensated in money, and an obligation invented to shut you out does not have to be met at all.
The building is not divided into flats. Here the 2018 law had a paragraph 8, on the right to buy the share of the building that corresponds to your flat. It does not apply: the Constitutional Court, in ruling n.º 299/2020, declared it unconstitutional with binding force for everyone, and not from the date of the decision (18 September 2020) but from 30 October 2018, that is, from day one. The paragraph still appears in the text of the Code, but it is dead and you cannot rely on it. The neighbouring paragraph 9, however, is alive: if the landlord sells an undivided building, the tenants can buy it together, in shares, and become comproprietários, co-owners of one building.
It was sold and you were sent nothing. Then you do not complain, you go to court with a pre-emption claim (ação de preferência, Article 1410.º via paragraph 5 of Article 1091.º). The deadlines are strict: six months from the day you learned the essential terms of the deal, and within 15 days of filing the claim the price has to be paid into court. So you need the money at once: without the deposit the claim does not work. Winning the case transfers the flat to you, and the buyer gets their money back. How much such a case costs and how long it takes is set out in our guide Courts in Portugal; how to choose a lawyer is in the guide How to find and check a lawyer.
Now the second half, which is almost always overlooked: this also concerns whoever is buying the flat. It is the seller who must notify the tenant, but it is the buyer who pays for a skipped procedure: nobody will stop the deal, but for six months it will hang by a thread, and at the end you may be left with money instead of a home. So when you buy a flat that someone is living in under a contract, ask the seller not for assurances but for papers: a copy of the registered letter, the proof of delivery and the tenant's reply, or their written waiver of the right. And compare the price in the letter with the price in the escritura: if the tenant was quoted one amount and the deal shows another, it is as good as if there was no notice at all, because what was offered is not what was sold.
Do not confuse this with another right of first refusal, the state's. Government bodies and the câmara municipal can also have a right to buy, but they are not notified by letter: the seller posts a notice of the essential terms of the deal on Casa Pronta, which costs €15, and that is where the authorities reply whether or not they will use their right. Waiting for that reply is what people in the chats call ‘another two weeks for the direito de preferência’: it has nothing to do with the tenant, who needs a letter.
And the main thing, which people ask about more often than buying itself: a sale does not throw you out of the flat. The buyer takes the previous landlord's place with all their rights and obligations (Article 1057.º), and the contract continues on the same terms: the same rent, the same term, the same deposit. What changes is the payment details and who issues the recibo. You do not have to re-sign the contract for this, and there is no point rushing to: the ‘more than two years’ period is counted by how long you have been renting this home, and if it comes to it you will have to prove it, so keep the old contract, the registration with Finanças and the payment receipts.
What we did not find. In three years of chat conversations there is not a single account of a tenant being sent such a letter and how it all ended; the words direito de preferência themselves came up once, and that was about waiting for the authorities' reply when buying. People ask about something else, what happens to the contract after a sale, and answer each other by guesswork. So we cannot say how often landlords actually send this letter or how often it ends up in court: there are no such stories in our chats.
“Even with an approved amount, everything still drifts towards about a month. The bank has to do an avaliação and approve the specific flat. And another 2 weeks for the direito de preferência.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes14.11.2025
“Yes. I was in a similar situation myself - when the owner of our flat died of covid (( the transfer process there took a long time, more than a year. In that situation just take all the documents done with the first owner, the resibos, the rental registration form.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkdigitalnomadportugal17.05.2026
“I don't know the finer points, I suppose the rental contract passes to the new owners with the inheritance. And they give notice either of eviction or of re-signing the contract (an addendum)”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa01.06.2023
What it costs, according to community conversations
| Upfront payment for a long-term rental | at least 2 months' rent and 2 deposits; the upfront payment often comes to €5,000–10,000 | source |
| Tough terms for some places | asked for 4 deposits instead of 2; another landlord wanted a year paid in advance | source |
| A room | from €350 | source |
| A flat in a small town or outside the centre | about €700–1,000 a month | source |
| A good flat in the suburbs | about €1,500 a month | source |
What changed
- 7 September 2026 — added a step on the tenant's right to buy the home first
- 3 September 2026 — added a step on state help with rent
- 2 September 2026 — added a step on the RSAA affordable rent scheme
- 28 August 2026 — added a link to the guide on the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações)
- 26 August 2026 — added readers' stories
What to bring
- NIF (Portuguese tax number)
- Passaporte (passport) or another identity document
- Comprovativo de rendimentos (proof of income)
- Contrato de trabalho (employment contract), if you have one
- IRS (tax return), if you have one
- Recibos de vencimento (latest payslips), if you have them
- Extratos bancários (bank statements)
- Dados do fiador (guarantor's details), if the landlord requires them
- Comprovativo de morada anterior or a short description of your situation for the landlord or agent
- For a visa or residence permit: Contrato de Arrendamento, recibos de renda and, if needed, Declaração do Senhorio sob compromisso de honra / Declaração de Alojamento
Where people most often trip up
- People look only at the price in the listing and forget about the first payment: you often have to hand over several months and a deposit at once.
- People agree to an unofficial rental not registered with Finanças and then cannot use the home for a visa, AIMA or proof of address.
- People do not check that the landlord actually issues recibos de renda and that the contract has appeared on the Portal das Finanças.
- People hide their pets and then end up in a dispute with the landlord or the condomínio (the building's owners' association).
- People sign the contract without checking the term, renewal and termination conditions.
- People search only in Lisbon and Porto, although in the suburbs and smaller towns your chances of renting are often better.
- People try to rent remotely at a price that is too good to be true and fall for scammers.
- People think you cannot rent at all without a Portuguese income; in practice you can, but often at the cost of more rent up front or a bigger deposit.
- People treat ‘affordable rent’ as a housing waiting list: it is the landlord who signs up to the RSAA scheme, and council flats are allocated by competition through the câmara.
- People take it on trust that a flat is let under the affordable rent scheme: as of 2 September 2026 the regulation setting the rent caps has not been published, so there is no way to check yet.
- People expect to have to ask for help with rent: IHRU awards it on its own and nobody applies for it at all, so what you need to check is not an application but your details in your account on the housing portal.
- People assume that if no money came, they are not entitled to it: the award can be put on hold until you confirm your details, and an objection can be lodged within 60 days of the letter, or by the end of March if there was no letter.
- People think that if the flat is being sold, they have to move out: a sale does not cancel the contract, and the buyer takes the landlord's place with all of their obligations.
- People are quick to sign a new contract when the landlord changes: the ‘renting for more than two years’ period, on which your right to buy the home first depends, is something you will have to prove, so keep the old contract and the receipts.
- People miss the thirty-day deadline in the letter about the sale: no reply means no right, and the only option left is court within six months, with the price paid into court.
How it went for people
Renting a flat in two weeks
A family of 2 came to Portugal for 2 weeks before applying for a D7 at the consulate. With the help of specialists they rented their first flat and opened a bank account in that time. After the move they asked for help again and rented a second flat.
A rental helped change the address on the NIF
A person without a residence permit changed the address on their NIF to a Portuguese one online. With the request through e-balcão they attached, as a single PDF, the rental contract, the contract's registration with Finanças, a recibo, an electricity bill, an employment contract, the NISS, the passport and confirmation of an AIMA appointment. It was a successful case; they noted that the whole process usually takes 24 hours, and that after a refusal the request can be submitted again.
The employer helped draw up proof of residence
A person needed proof of residence, and specialists from the employer drew up the Declaração de Alojamento themselves. In the document the landlord confirmed on oath that the tenant lived at the stated address under the attached one-year rental contract. In the end the declaration was ready, with the details of both parties, the date the tenancy started and the landlord's signature.
An 11% rent rise fought off with a letter quoting the law
After the first year the landlord raised the rent by the 2% state index, but late: from August instead of June. The next year he wanted to add almost 11% and start from 1 January. The tenant sent a formal letter quoting the law: rent can only be raised a year after the previous rise. The landlord thought it over for a week, admitted he was wrong and apologised, so the rise started seven months later. Relations did not suffer: they lived in the flat for another two years, and were allowed to move out with a month's notice.
A heating contract they were told about after signing
A family was looking for a flat through an agency and asked directly which bills were included in the rent. The answer was vague, electricity and water, and nothing was written into the contract; it was left to verbal agreements. Only after signing did the owner say a separate contract for central heating and air conditioning was needed: for two years, about €70 a month and a deposit of over €500. It should have been set up before moving in, but they found out too late and moved into the flat without air conditioning in 35-degree heat.
The agency insisted nothing could be found with pets for €1,000
A person went to an estate agency twice with a budget of up to €1,000 a month, and both times was offered places from €1,200 upwards, with the explanation that with three cats and a dog it does not get any cheaper. The agency's services cost half a month's rent, but no less than €1,000. The search came down to links sent over from a listings site, which they could have found themselves and gone to the viewing just the same. In the end they found a flat on their own in two days, pets included; the first time round, the estate agent had been paid by the flat's owners.
Retold in our own words from messages in open chats. The link leads to the full original message.