Renting a home in Portugal as a tenant in 2026: lease, deposit, rights and duties

Renting a home in Portugal is governed by its own set of rules, most of them in the Civil Code. Many protect the tenant and cannot be overridden by the lease, but they only help if you know them and have your paperwork in order. This guide explains what to check before you sign, how much you can be asked to pay upfront, who pays for what during the lease and how to move out without surprises, under the rules in force in October 2026.

Summary

Topic	Rule
Form of the lease	In writing, registered with the tax authority by the landlord
At signing	First month’s rent, up to two months in advance and a deposit of up to two months
Term	Permanent home: 1 to 30 years; 5 years if the lease says nothing
Renewal	Automatic, for the same period or 3 years if the term is shorter, unless agreed otherwise
Maintenance works	Landlord, unless agreed otherwise
Building fees	Landlord, unless agreed otherwise in writing
Leaving early	After a third of the term, with 120 days’ notice (60 if the lease is under a year)
Rent increase in 2027	Up to 2.56%, with 30 days’ written notice, if the lease sets no other rule
Income tax	Deduction of 15% of rent, up to €900 in 2026 and €1,000 from 2027

Before you sign

What the lease should include

A residential lease must be in writing. Read it carefully and check, at least:

• full identification of the landlord and the tenant;
• identification and address of the property;
• that the use is residential and whether it is a permanent home;
• a reference to the property’s occupancy licence (licença de utilização), or a statement that one is not required;
• the rent, how and when it is paid;
• the term and the renewal rules;
• who pays the building fees and other costs;
• the deposit and any rent paid in advance;
• the date of signing.

Attach a record of the condition of the home at the start, with dated photographs and an inventory of furniture and appliances, signed by both parties. It will be the reference when you leave and ask for your deposit back.

The energy certificate

The landlord must have an energy certificate when the home is put up for rent, and the energy class must appear in the listing. The certificate is presented when the lease is signed. A low class usually means higher heating and cooling bills.

The lease must be registered with the tax authority

The landlord must register the lease with the tax authority and pay stamp duty by the end of the month after the lease starts. This matters to you: without a registered lease and electronic receipts, you cannot deduct your rent from income tax or apply for some support schemes.

If the landlord does not register it, since August 2025 the tenant can do it on the Tax Portal through the tenant’s lease notification (Comunicação do Locatário), attaching the lease. The taxes are still the landlord’s.

What if there is no written lease?

If the lack of a written lease is not your fault, you can prove the tenancy by any legal means, for example by showing that you have lived in the home without objection from the landlord and paid the monthly rent for six months. Keep your bank transfers and messages. Even so, the safest course is to insist on a written lease from the start.

How much you can pay upfront

Item	Limit
First month’s rent	One month
Rent in advance	Up to two months, agreed in writing
Deposit	Up to two months

Example with illustrative figures: for a rent of €1,200, the most you can be asked for on the day you sign is the first month’s rent (€1,200), two months in advance (€2,400) and a two month deposit (€2,400), a total of €6,000.

The deposit (caução) secures your obligations under the lease, including damage beyond normal wear and tear, and is returned at the end. Rent in advance is different: it is rent already paid, used up in the following months. Ask for receipts for everything, and check that the lease says which amount is the deposit and which is advance rent.

The law accepts a deposit in any legally recognised form, and one of them is a guarantor (fiador), a person who undertakes to pay your rent if you do not. If the landlord asks for a guarantor, check in the lease how far that guarantee goes. If rent falls into arrears, the landlord must notify the guarantor within 90 days before claiming payment from them.

During the lease: your duties

The tenant must:

• pay the rent on time;
• use the home for its agreed purpose and with care;
• let the landlord inspect the home;
• allow urgent repairs and works ordered by the authorities;
• not sublet, assign or lend the home without the landlord’s permission;
• tell the landlord promptly about faults, defects or hazards;
• hand the home back at the end of the lease.

Late rent

If rent is late, the landlord can claim, on top of the rent, compensation of 20% of the amount due. That right falls away if you pay within eight days of the due date. With three or more months of rent in arrears, the landlord can terminate the lease. They can also do so if you pay more than eight days late more than four times in twelve months, provided they warned you by registered letter after the third delay.

During the lease: your rights

Works and repairs

Maintenance works, ordinary or major, are the landlord’s responsibility unless the lease says otherwise. The tenant can only carry out works if the lease allows it or with the landlord’s written permission.

If an urgent repair is needed and the landlord, once told, does not do it, you can carry it out and claim the cost back. If it cannot wait at all, you can do it straight away, telling the landlord at the same time. Always communicate in writing and keep the invoices. If the landlord fails to carry out works and this makes the home unfit to live in, the tenant can terminate the lease.

Building fees and utilities

The lease should say who pays what. If it says nothing, the costs of the building’s common parts and shared services are the landlord’s, and the utilities in the home, such as water, electricity and gas, are the tenant’s. If you agree a fixed monthly amount for costs, it is reconciled every six months.

Rent increases

If the lease sets no other rule, rent can only go up once a year, starting one year after the lease began or after the last increase, using the coefficient published by the State. For 2027 it is 1.0256, an increase of up to 2.56%: a rent of €1,200 can rise to €1,230.72. The landlord must tell you in writing, 30 days in advance, stating the coefficient and the new rent.

Right of first refusal

If the landlord sells the home and your lease has been in place for more than two years, you have a right of first refusal: you can buy it on the same terms as the buyer. The landlord must notify you of the deal by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and you have 30 days to reply.

If the tenant dies

The lease does not end if the tenant is survived by a spouse living in the home, a partner in a de facto union for more than a year, or someone sharing the household for more than a year, with some exceptions set out in the law.

Term and renewal

A lease for a permanent home runs for 1 to 30 years. If the lease says nothing about its term, it is treated as a 5 year lease. The one year minimum does not apply to non-permanent housing or temporary purposes, such as study or a work posting.

At the end of the term, the lease renews automatically, for the same period or for 3 years if the original term was shorter, unless the lease says otherwise or one of the parties objects.

If the landlord does not want to renew, they must tell you 240 days in advance for leases of 6 years or more and 120 days for leases of 1 to 6 years. A landlord’s objection to the first renewal only takes effect three years after the lease was signed, unless they need the home for themselves or their children.

How to move out

Situation	Notice to the landlord
Not renewing, lease of 6 years or more	120 days before the end
Not renewing, lease of 1 to 6 years	90 days before the end
Not renewing, lease of 6 months to 1 year	60 days before the end
Leaving early, after a third of the term, lease of 1 year or more	120 days
Leaving early, after a third of the term, lease under 1 year	60 days
The landlord has objected to renewal	You can leave with 30 days’ notice

Leaving early takes effect at the end of a calendar month. If you give less notice, the lease still ends, but you owe the rent for the missing notice period. There are exceptions for involuntary unemployment, permanent incapacity for work or the death of someone living with you.

Send your notice in writing, ideally by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. On the day you hand back the keys, inspect the home together and compare it with the record made at the start. The deposit should be returned, less only damage beyond normal wear and tear or debts such as unpaid rent.

Support for tenants

Income tax deduction

If you are taxed in Portugal, you can deduct 15% of the rent on your permanent home from your income tax. The cap is €900 in 2026 and rises to €1,000 from 2027, under Decree-Law 97/2026. To qualify, the lease must be registered with the tax authority and the rent must have electronic receipts.

Porta 65 Jovem

Porta 65 Jovem pays part of the rent for young people aged 18 to 35. In a couple, one partner can be up to 37. The support lasts a year, renewable up to 60 months, and applications open every month on the Portal da Habitação. Since 2024 you can apply before you have a lease. The amount depends on income, the rent and the maximum reference rent for the municipality. Check the current conditions on the Portal da Habitação before applying.

The law may change

On 30 September 2026, Parliament approved in principle a Government proposal to revise the rental regime. Among other changes, it would alter the limits on advance rent and deposits and allow eviction from two months of arrears. The proposal is now being debated in committee and is not yet in force: until the new law is published, the rules in this guide apply.

How we help

We have homes for long-term rent in Lisbon, Cascais and Sintra, with viewings in person or by video call and a reply within 24 working hours. See our homes to rent. This guide is general information, not legal advice: if you have a dispute with your landlord, speak to a lawyer or a consumer association.