Renting in Portugal: legal precautions to avoid losses

Written by Vivian Perfeito on 8 de December, 2025. Posted in Uncategorized.

Many foreigners arrive in Portugal and choose to rent before buying a property. It’s a wise choice, but it also requires care.

Rental contracts need to comply with legal requirements. However, it is common to find contracts that are poorly drafted, invalid, or signed by people who don’t even have legal powers over the property.

Some points that a lawyer can check before signing:

If the landlord is really the owner (via the land registry).
If the contract contains unfair or null clauses.
Whether the property has minimum living conditions.
Whether there are any legal restrictions on the use of the property.
If the property matches the conditions/photos in the ad.

In addition, there are cases of fraudulent rentals in which the same house is offered to several people at the same time. Legal support protects against this type of scam, which is increasingly common in big cities.

Renting in Portugal is an important step in your integration. Doing so safely avoids financial losses and guarantees stability for starting life in the country.

⚠️ Important note: When sharing personal and confidential information, it is essential to entrust this responsibility to a qualified professional. You can check professional credentials at the following link: https://portal.oa.pt/advogados/pesquisa-de-advogados/.

Dra. Vivian Perfeito

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14:48 13 Nov 25

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Her advice was clear, she was understanding, and was always quick to communicate. There was an instance where I flew into Porto to attend to some matters, and within a day, with Vivian's help, I had obtained my tax number and a bank account.

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Thank you.

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17:42 02 Jan 24

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09:54 12 Dec 23

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10:49 07 Dec 23

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17:22 06 Dec 23

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11:27 05 Dec 23

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17:40 20 Nov 23

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15:00 27 Oct 23

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ilan

16:22 10 Oct 23

I was referred to Vivian and I wanted to thank her for her responsiveness and help. Vivian is very thorough and professional, in addition to being very nice person. Her English proficiency was very much appreciated and it made our communication easy. I would definitely recommend her for anybody who is looking to purchase property in Portugal or move to this wonderful country and I will definitely use her legal services in the future.

Paula Correia

15:09 10 Oct 23

Renting in Portugal: legal precautions to avoid losses

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Dra. Vivian Perfeito

Porto, Portugal