# Property Rental Procedure in Portugal



## Ash Jez (Feb 17, 2013)

Hello all. I'm looking to visit Portugal next month and have accommodation booked for 30 days. Following that, I'm looking to rent for 6 to 12 months, so long term. What is property rental procedure in Portugal? Would I require references etc. I've not rented there or anywhere before so can't supply references.


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## Jormedawson (Apr 4, 2016)

Very easy over here. No references needed. i usually offer to pay 6 months up front and try to get a discount. You can get the rent associated with your IRS-tax number or without. i think it might be law for them to declare the fact they are renting out their accommodation so make sure they do this. 

Things you will have to consider is electric, water,gas and internet bills. You will need to register at the Finance office to get a tax number. This is like gold dust here in PT and you cant usually open things without one. I find it rare now to rent properties with all these things included. 

Rent prices vary a lot depending on location & tourism impact, Lisbon being the highest. You have agencies like Remax that will have lots of places to rent but will be higher priced than normal. OLX is a good place to look as it is their classifieds website. everyone uses it here. things are a lot cheaper on there. 

I think if people where to help more we would need more info about were you are thinking of etc...

Good luck.


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## Ash Jez (Feb 17, 2013)

Many thanks for that and further is I'm visiting Portugal soon and have accommodation sorted for a month until 11th July. I'm hoping to source more permanent accommodation whilst over for perhaps 3, 6 or 12 months. I'm looking for something 50km or so above or below the line between Castelo Branco and Lisboa i.e. E802 - A23 - E1 Roads. That said, other areas may be considered if pleasing.


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## Jormedawson (Apr 4, 2016)

i would be wary. your accommodation you have sorted is until the middle of peak summer. It took me months to find an apartment recently. Portugal is going Airbnb and holiday letting crazy. Everyone has hooked on to the idea they can make 3 times the income if they rent their property for holidays rather than longer let. it took my friends all summer to find an apartment for the school intake in september. they ended u with something they hated but had to take. I think you will be ok as you are further away from the tourist trail but still worth considering. 

For your area i would say OLX website is ideal.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Jormedawson said:


> i would be wary. your accommodation you have sorted is until the middle of peak summer. It took me months to find an apartment recently. Portugal is going Airbnb and holiday letting crazy. Everyone has hooked on to the idea they can make 3 times the income if they rent their property for holidays rather than longer let. it took my friends all summer to find an apartment for the school intake in september. they ended u with something they hated but had to take. I think you will be ok as you are further away from the tourist trail but still worth considering.
> 
> For your area i would say OLX website is ideal.


That's probably true of the a lot of places in the coastal areas but it certainly isn't as true of the inland areas of the northern & central zones where a significant percentage of landlords don't want and in some cases can't get (many) short term lets nor advertise with sites such as airbnb etc. (for a variety of reasons)


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Jormedawson said:


> i would be wary. your accommodation you have sorted is until the middle of peak summer. It took me months to find an apartment recently. Portugal is going Airbnb and holiday letting crazy. Everyone has hooked on to the idea they can make 3 times the income if they rent their property for holidays rather than longer let. it took my friends all summer to find an apartment for the school intake in september. they ended u with something they hated but had to take. I think you will be ok as you are further away from the tourist trail but still worth considering.
> 
> For your area i would say OLX website is ideal.


Portugal is most definitely NOT going Airbnb and Holiday Letting crazy, the implications of the new Alojamenta Locale (Rental Licence) and the fact that the rental season itself is around ten weeks long, on average, mean that it is still preferable to go for a long let.

Holiday rentals need constant support from maids and service people, holiday renters damage and use a place hard. They have no consideration for electricity costs and use a place like a hotel. Long term renters pay the service bills and have a a whole different respect for a property.

Long term renters pay per month what holiday renters pay per week in summer (approximately) but they also pay EDP, Gas, Phone and Internet, Water and their own maid, laundry and cleaning costs.

Disregarding the legal issues, no owner ever made money from rentals of any kind.


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## Jormedawson (Apr 4, 2016)

Travelling-man i agree and sorry for generalising. The experiences i have had have been in the Lisbon and Setubal areas,in particular the northern part of Setubal region, Almada, Caparica, Seixal. Other major cities are having this effect too such as Porto & even friends in the Algarve have mentioned it.

Mr Bife, im sorry but you seem to be a bit out of touch. A few points on where you are wrong. The holiday season is NOT 10weeks long. You seem to be missing the point that Lisbon & Porto have now become the "fashionable" cities to go to on city breaks. Tourism is year long. Yes there are peaks & troughs but there is a steady influx of tourists all year round. Not a day goes by where i dont see a newspaper or magazine with the top ten cities to visit & Lisbon being in the top 5. The Algarve on the other hand is very seasonal so i would expect this area to be just, as you stated, 10 weeks long. 

Airbnb is a very uncontrollable way of renting a property too. Laws such as the one you stated wont really bother most people. 

You state _"Disregarding the legal issues, no owner ever made money from rentals of any kind",_ which i find strange. So many studies in the news at the moment where Portugal has the highest return in Europe on buy to let. 6% returns & has been this way for a long time. See link below:

Mapped: European countries with the best buy-to-let income

Also, a close friend i know rents her beach side property (that was inherited) for 150euros a week during off peak season & then 550 a week in peak!and its fully booked. Even the 150 a week off peak gives returns of an average Portuguese wage (which is 600euros a month) but the summer season of June,July & August gives her an income of around 6600euros for 3 months work. Very nice considering the circumstances. 

The airbnb market has gone massive. I have even met agents that work purely through Airbnb. they contact people that are renting houses, tell them they can rent out their houses for a lot more than they are asking via holiday lets & then add it to their airbnb home page. Landlord gets a cut & so does the agent. Thats why the housing system isnt copying with people coming to live in cities like Porto, Lisbon & surrounding areas. There just isnt enough housing. The government has gone on record stating this fact. They are building new hotels everyday to cater for tourists. 

Dont expect it to last though. Berlin has banned Airbnb recently and i fear the same will happen in other parts of the EU. It would be shame as it really contributes to the economy so much, especially those services that MrBife mentions such as maids,cleaners etc...!

Berlin bans thousands of Airbnb properties

Ash Jez sorry if i confused you. As i said i think you will be fine around the area you are looking at but just be wary. When your over here in PT use the place you have as a base to explore and seek out rentals.

A few links to the agents of classifieds i used in Portugal. they seem to be the main ones but will change from area to area. First 3 are classifieds like Gumtree in the UK. Other 2 are just normal estate agents. If you need any help then let me know. I grew up over here so speak the language so can help out if you need it.  

www.olx.pt

http://www.custojusto.pt/

http://casa.sapo.pt/

http://www.remax.pt/

http://www.era.pt/


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## Ash Jez (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks for the above comments but what about the property rental procedure in Portugal I was asking about in the first place. Thanks.


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## Jormedawson (Apr 4, 2016)

Procedure in PT is very similar to UK in my experience. It can vary. Last place i paid 1 months deposit and then the 1st month up front. The deposit was used as my last months rent. This seems very normal here in PT. 

Place im in at the moment was a bit different. 3 months deposit. then a month upfront & 1st months rent. Seemed a lot at the time but contract was straight forward. Its a new build so owner is just covering himself. 

Im not sure if most people will be able to give you a set procedure. It varies quite a bit as to how local you are or if you are in a touristy area where the owner isnt local. Some like to do things officially, for example through the Financas and some dont. it really depends. 

Do you have a tax number yet? i think this is the 1st thing i would do if i where you. If you get a place where the owner is insistant on you setting up your own water, electric & internet services then you will need it. Also if the owner wants to put the rent through the Fincancas then you will need that tax number.


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## Ash Jez (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks for that. All helps and no tax number at the moment.


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