🏠 RENTING IN PORTUGAL? Some important changes may be coming — but they are NOT law yet.

If you are a tenant, landlord, or planning to rent a home in Portugal, you may have seen headlines saying that Portugal’s rental rules are about to change.

They probably are. But an important clarification first:

⚠️ These changes are still a legislative proposal. The current rental rules remain in force.

The Government approved a reform proposal in July, which entered Parliament on 12 August 2026. If approved, it could bring some significant changes to Portugal’s urban rental market.

Here are 7 points worth knowing:

1️⃣ New contracts could return to freely negotiated rents
The restriction linking the rent of certain new contracts to the previous rent charged for the property would disappear.

This does not mean landlords could freely increase the rent during an existing contract. Annual rent increases would continue to follow the contractual or legal rules applicable to that tenancy.

2️⃣ Security deposits could become freely negotiated
Perhaps one of the biggest changes for newcomers to Portugal.

The current statutory limit on the security deposit (caução) would be removed, allowing landlord and tenant to agree on its amount.

At the same time, the maximum amount of rent paid in advance would increase from two to three months.

And those are two different things: advance rent ≠ security deposit.

3️⃣ Non-payment could lead to termination sooner
At present, three months of unpaid rent can provide grounds for termination.

The proposal would reduce this to two months and would also address repeated late payments — even where the rent is eventually paid.

4️⃣ Email could finally have greater legal relevance
Important communications between landlord and tenant could be made electronically where both parties have formally agreed in writing to an electronic address for that purpose.

Portugal may finally start moving away from the registered-letter-for-everything culture. 😉

5️⃣ Some very old rental contracts could transition to the newer regime
The reform also addresses residential contracts dating from before 1990, while maintaining specific protections for elderly tenants, people with significant disabilities and economically vulnerable households.

6️⃣ Major renovation works could make temporary or permanent vacancy easier to obtain
The proposal changes some of the procedures and notice periods applicable when substantial renovation or restoration works require the property to be vacated.

7️⃣ Compensation in cases of major works would also change
The minimum compensation of two years’ rent would remain, but some of the existing calculation rules would be simplified. Rules governing alternative accommodation would also be revised.

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So, should tenants or landlords do anything differently today?

No.

Until the legislative process is completed and the final legislation is published in the Diário da República, the existing law continues to apply.

A landlord cannot suddenly demand a larger deposit, apply the proposed eviction rules or change an existing tenancy simply because these measures have been announced.

And tenants should not assume that rights they currently have have already disappeared.

For international residents, this distinction is particularly important: in Portugal there is often a considerable distance between a Government announcement, a parliamentary proposal and the law that eventually enters into force.

📌 Proposal ≠ law.

I’ll keep following this reform and explain what actually changes once the final legislation is known.

Article/source: Doutor Finanças — “Contratos de arrendamento vão mudar: 7 alterações que senhorios e inquilinos devem conhecer”, 31 August 2026.

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