Amendments to lease laws in Portugal

The main amendments to the lease laws will provide more time to non-paying tenants before eviction, as well as more protection for those who have old rents; this change in the law will provide councils greater intervention in the control of construction improvements which justifies evictions and creates a protection regime for historic properties:

Cancellation of contract and eviction - It is only possible for the landlord to cancel a lease and proceed with eviction after 3 months of nonpayment. This avoids the ease of evicting the tenant, justifying the need for deep works in the building, by increasing the amount of compensation to double - from 1 to 2 years of income - and strengthening the council requirements in the definition of what is a deep construction improvement: the budget of the construction must correspond to at least 25% of the Property Tax Value of the property.

Old Lease – The transition period for updating old rents (contracts prior to 1990) has been extended until 2022 (it should have ended this year) in the case of renters over 65 years old and / or disabled people. Families with a gross annual income of less than € 38,990 will have a transition period of 10 years, compared with the current 5 years, i.e. until 2020.

Historical properties - It is the responsibility of councils to recognize buildings that have had at least 25 years of activity and a material and immaterial heritage with cultural, historical or social value. To these properties the general rules of the Urban Lease Scheme do not apply for a period of 5 years. In addition, the landlord can not oppose the renewal of the contract for an additional period of 5 years.

The Casas do Barlavento team is always aware of all changes to the law in order to provide a better response to all our customers. An informed team is a more effective team.