Illegal evictions top tenants' complaints in Porto. The law bans cutting off water and power to force a tenant out
The Habitação Hoje ("Housing Today") association has been helping tenants in the Porto district since 2021. In that time it has handled more than a hundred cases, most of them illegal evictions, its head, Raul Castro, told the Lusa news agency (Observador). So far in 2026 the association has been contacted 50 times, and more than 20 cases are currently open (Notícias ao Minuto). Tenants also ask whether their landlord was entitled to raise the rent, and complain about landlords who fail to carry out repairs, return the deposit (caução) or issue rent receipts.
According to Castro, people are very rarely evicted for not paying. Instead, the landlord typically raises the rent sharply, often illegally, and then cuts off the water and electricity so that the tenant leaves of their own accord before finding out that in most cases they have the right to stay. This happens in council housing and in homes owned by the state housing institute, IHRU. According to the association, foreigners who do not speak Portuguese tend to put up with poor conditions rather than go to the police or the public authorities.
Since 2019 the rental law (NRAU) has banned pressuring a tenant to leave (assédio no arrendamento). The ban applies to the landlord, anyone acting on their behalf and anyone who wants to buy or resell the flat. It covers threats, noise, dangerous faults left unrepaired by the landlord, and anything that stops the tenant living in the flat or getting into it, including cutting off water, electricity, gas or sewerage (Law 12/2019).
The tenant can demand in writing that the landlord stop the pressure and put things right. To do so, they send a registered letter with proof of delivery (carta registada com aviso de receção) describing what is happening. The landlord has 30 days to reply: they must either show that everything has been put right or explain why they will not do so. At the same time, the tenant can ask the town hall (câmara municipal) to inspect the flat. This is treated as urgent: the inspection takes place within 20 days, and the report is issued within a further 10.
If the landlord does not reply or fails to put things right, the tenant files an application (injunção) for the landlord to be ordered to do so. The tenant can also claim €20 a day from the landlord, or €30 a day if the tenant is 65 or over or has a disability of 60% or more.
The injunção must be filed within 30 days of the landlord's deadline to reply expiring. If you miss this deadline, or if the application is rejected, you lose the right to the daily payments.
For what to check in the contract before you move in, so that you have something to rely on later, see our guide How to rent a home in Portugal.
