Renting a home: what the law says
The rules that protect people renting a home to live in Portugal: how much you can be asked to pay up front, what contract you should have, how long it lasts and how to leave. Each rule shows the article of the law it comes from.
Before you sign
You cannot be refused for being a foreigner
No one may be discriminated against in access to rental housing on grounds of nationality, territory of origin, language, ethnic origin or religion, among others. Adverts cannot contain such restrictions either (for example, «no foreigners»).
📜 Civil Code, art. 1067-A
The contract must be in writing
The lease must be made in writing. If there is no written contract through the landlord’s fault, the tenant can prove the lease by showing that they live in the home without the landlord’s opposition and have paid the rent every month for six months — so keep your proof of payment.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1069
How much you can be asked to pay up front
Rent in advance: at most 2 months
Rent can only be paid in advance, with a written agreement, for a period of no more than two months.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1076(1)
Deposit: at most 2 months’ rent
The deposit (the guarantee the landlord keeps in case of unpaid rent or damage) cannot exceed two months’ rent.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1076(2)
Ask for a receipt for everything
The landlord must issue an electronic rent receipt on the Portal das Finanças (tax portal) when receiving rent, even when the money is a deposit or advance. Landlords aged 65 or over, for example, are exempt.
📜 Tax Authority — Rent receipts
How long the contract lasts
At least 1 year
A fixed-term lease for housing cannot be shorter than 1 year or longer than 30; if the contract says less, it automatically becomes 1 year. The exception is contracts for non-permanent housing or temporary purposes (for example, for work or study), which can be shorter — but that reason must be written in the contract.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1095
If the contract does not state the term
If nothing is said, it is deemed to be a fixed-term contract of five years.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1094(3)
Automatic renewal
Unless otherwise agreed, at the end of the term the contract renews automatically for periods equal to the initial one, or for three years if the initial term was shorter. Contracts for temporary purposes do not renew automatically, unless agreed.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1096
The landlord cannot end it in the first 3 years
The landlord’s refusal of the first renewal only takes effect three years after the contract was signed. The exception is when the landlord needs the home to live in or for their children.
📜 Civil Code, art. 1097(3) and (4)
How to end the contract
At the end of the term
To not renew, give the landlord at least 90 days’ notice if the contract is for 1 to under 6 years (120 days if it is 6 years or more; 60 days if it is 6 months to under 1 year).
📜 Civil Code, art. 1098(1)
Before the end of the term
Once a third of the contract term (or renewal) has passed, you can leave at any time, giving at least 120 days’ notice if the contract is for 1 year or more (60 days if shorter).
📜 Civil Code, art. 1098(3)
What the landlord must do with the Tax Authority
Report the contract
The landlord must report the contract to the Tax Authority by the end of the month after the lease starts, as well as any changes and the end of the contract.
📜 Tax Authority — Urban lease contract
Official sources (in Portuguese)
- Civil Code (consolidated version, PGDL) — art. 1067-A, 1069, 1094 to 1098
- Civil Code, art. 1076 — rent in advance and deposit (wording of Law No. 24-D/2022)
- Tax Authority — Urban lease contract
- Tax Authority — Rent receipts
Checked in October 2026. This summary is not a substitute for legal advice: if you have a dispute with your landlord, see a lawyer.
Still have a question about renting a home?
Ask the community — other immigrants have been through the same, and you will get an email when someone replies. Most answers are in Portuguese.