Rental Deposit, Fees and Costs in Portugal for Americans and Britons

In Portugal, the Civil Code lets a landlord ask for up to two months of rent in advance and a guarantee of up to two rents, and, unless the lease says otherwise, it puts the condominium charges on the landlord. The tax codes name the landlord as the one who bears the lease stamp duty and the property tax. Agency fees are different: the real estate mediation law names no amount and does not say which side pays, so that depends on the mediation contract.

This guide goes through the costs around a lease one by one. It is based on the official pages we read on 18 October 2026, and it is not legal advice. The form of the lease, its term and the termination rules are in our pillar guide to renting a home in Portugal, so they are not repeated here. The latest change this guide relies on is Decree-Law 97/2026 of 20 May 2026, which added a paragraph on the rent deduction limit to article 78-E of the IRS Code; the section on the IRS deduction explains it.

What can you be asked to pay on top of the rent?

The table sets each cost against the page that backs it. “Unless the lease says otherwise” means the Civil Code article lets the parties agree something different in writing.

How much deposit and advance rent can a landlord ask for?

Article 1076 of the Civil Code gives two separate limits. Rent can be paid in advance, with a written agreement, for no more than two months. The parties can secure their obligations by any form the law provides, up to the value of two rents. The page lists Law 24-D/2022 of 30 December 2022 as the last law to amend the article. Our pillar guide covers the article in the context of the whole lease.

Three points the pages add:

• Receipts. The tax authority’s page on rent receipts says landlords must issue the electronic rent receipt when the rent is received, even if the money is received as a guarantee or as an advance. Ask for it each time you pay. The receipt is explained further down.
• Getting the guarantee back. The tax authority’s FAQ says that, for the landlord’s IRS, a guarantee is rental income and goes on the electronic receipt with the start and end dates of the lease, and that if the guarantee is returned, a receipt for the return is issued. The Civil Code article we read sets no deadline or procedure for returning it, so put the conditions and the deadline in the lease.
• Condition of the unit. Article 1043 of the Civil Code says that, unless the parties agree otherwise, the tenant must keep and return the property in the state in which it was received, except for deterioration inherent in prudent use. If the parties did not write down the state of the property at handover, the article presumes it was handed over in good condition. Article 1044 makes the tenant liable for loss or damage not covered by that exception, unless it was not the tenant’s fault or that of someone the tenant allowed to use the property. A signed condition report with photographs is how you show what you received.

Who pays the estate agent, and how much?

The Portuguese law on real estate mediation is Law 15/2013 of 8 February. Its article 2 defines the activity as a company’s search, on behalf of its clients, for counterparties for deals that include the lease of real estate, and defines the “client” as the person who signs the mediation contract with the company. Under article 3, the activity can only be carried out in Portugal by licensed mediation companies and under a contract. The Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção (IMPIC) FAQ on the mediation activity says the licence is granted by IMPIC and requires commercial good standing and civil liability insurance or equivalent. The consolidated text of the law on the Diário da República still names the former institute, InCI, as the authority, which is why we read the IMPIC page too.

What the law says on the fee:

The law does not say whether the landlord or the tenant is the agency’s client in a given rental. It also gives no fee amount, and neither does any other page we read, so we give none. Read the mediation contract, or the agency’s terms, to see who signed it and what it provides. The law’s last amendment on the consolidated page is Decree-Law 102/2017 of 23 August 2017.

Who pays the stamp duty and the property tax?

The landlord pays both. For the lease, article 3 of the Stamp Duty Code names the lessor and sublessor as the persons who bear the tax, and item 2 of the General Table sets it at 10% of one month’s rent, or of the agreed increase. The tax authority’s FAQ says the duty is calculated when the landlord files the lease declaration on the Portal das Finanças, and the payment document is due by the end of the month after the lease starts. Our pillar guide covers the reporting steps.

For the property tax, article 8 of the IMI Code says the tax is owed by the owner of the property on 31 December of the year it relates to. It names usufructuaries, surface-right holders and some other holders in particular cases, and does not list tenants. The pages we read do not say whether a lease can pass the cost to the tenant, so ask the landlord before you accept any clause on it.

Who pays the condominium charges?

The Civil Code starts from what the lease says. Article 1078(1) says the parties set out in writing the rules on charges and expenses, and the following paragraphs apply when the lease says nothing:

• The current charges for goods or services supplied to the rented unit are the tenant’s.
• When an apartment (an independent unit in a condominium) is rented, the charges for the administration, conservation and use of the common parts and for services of common interest are the landlord’s.
• Charges should be contracted in the name of the person who has to pay them. If the tenant owes a charge contracted in the landlord’s name, the landlord shows proof of payment within one month and the tenant pays by the end of the following month, together with the next rent.
• If the parties agree a fixed monthly amount for the charges, the accounts are settled every six months.

Under the property law, article 1424 of the Civil Code makes the owners of the units responsible, in proportion to the value of their units, for the expenses needed to maintain and use the common parts and for common services, unless otherwise provided. The article lets a condominium regulation share the cost of common-interest services equally or by use under conditions it describes. So a landlord who passes condominium fees on to you is doing so under the lease, not because the Civil Code puts them on the tenant by default. If the lease puts them on you, ask for the condominium regulation, which can set how the cost of common services is shared.

What do you pay for utilities, and can a supplier ask for a deposit?

The tenant pays the unit’s current water, electricity, gas and similar charges unless the lease says otherwise (article 1078(2)). The charge should be contracted in the name of the person responsible for paying it, so decide at signing whether the supply contracts will be in your name.

The Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) pages on electricity and natural gas contracts add three points:

• For household customers on electricity up to 41.4 kVA, the supplier can ask for a guarantee only when supply is restored after a cut for non-payment. For household natural gas customers the rule is the same.
• An electricity contract can include a minimum-term commitment (fidelização) only if it comes with an advantage or benefit, it must say so expressly with the penalty or how it is calculated, and for consumers it cannot exceed 12 months.
• A supplier that changes the contract must tell the consumer at least 30 days before, and the consumer may end the contract without penalty.

The pages do not cover how to move a supply contract from the previous occupant to you, so we do not describe that process.

Who pays for repairs?

Article 1074(3) lists the urgent-repair rule of article 1036 and article 22-A of the decree on works in rented buildings (Decree-Law 157/2006) as exceptions to the written-authorization rule. We did not read that decree.

What is the electronic rent receipt?

Landlords who are IRS taxpayers with property income must issue an electronic rent receipt (recibo de renda eletrónico) on the Portal das Finanças for the rent they receive. The tax authority’s FAQ says the duty covers rent received or made available, including as a guarantee or advance, and applies when the landlord did not choose to be taxed as a business. In practice it is also your proof of what you paid.

From the pages we read:

• The landlord issues the receipt when the rent is received, choosing the lease, the period it covers and the date of payment. It is a document of discharge, so it is issued only when there is a payment; the FAQ says it is not issued for months in which the tenant did not pay.
• One receipt is enough when there are several tenants, since all are named on it if they are identified in the lease record.
• A landlord can authorize a third party to issue the receipts, but the landlord stays responsible for compliance.
• A landlord can cancel a receipt up to the deadline for the IRS return of the year the rent refers to, and the tax authority informs the person the receipt was issued to.
• Landlords aged 65 or over on 31 December of the previous year, landlords under the rural lease regime, and landlords meeting the cumulative conditions on a small income and no electronic mailbox are exempt. Those exempt who do not opt to issue receipts file the annual declaration of rents received (Modelo 44) by the end of February.

Do not assume your landlord is exempt: ask for the receipt, and keep your own proof of each transfer, such as a bank statement.

Can a tenant deduct rent in the Portuguese income tax return?

Yes, in the cases article 78-E of the IRS Code describes. This is what the AT page on the article says; we did not read the other sources the deduction touches.

• What is deductible. An amount equal to 15% of the rent paid by the tenant of an urban property, or of an independent unit, for permanent housing, net of official subsidies, under leases made under the old urban lease regime (RAU) or the new one (NRAU, Law 6/2006), or under long-term housing right contracts. It is deducted from the tax due, not from income.
• Whose rent counts. The 15% applies to the amounts paid by any member of the household. Only rent that reaches the tax authority counts: article 78-E(2) accepts charges that appear on invoices communicated to the authority for property rental, or that were communicated by the means listed in article 115(5) when the landlord is an IRS taxpayer not obliged to invoice.
• The limit. Article 78-E(1)(a) states a limit of 800 euros. Paragraph 4 raises the limit for lower taxable incomes, to 1,100 euros at the first bracket, following a formula in between up to 30,000 euros of taxable income. Law 36/2024 phases in these increases (50% in 2025, 75% in 2026, 100% in 2027). Decree-Law 97/2026 of 20 May 2026 added paragraph 10, which sets the limit at 1,000 euros unless paragraph 4 gives a higher one, from 2027, with 900 euros applying in 2026. For income earned in 2025, the AT’s table of deductions lists 15% of the amount paid with a limit of 700 euros, raised to 1,000 euros at the lowest taxable incomes by a formula.
• Not cumulative. The article says the deductions in paragraph 1 cannot be combined.

This is a deduction against Portuguese IRS, so it matters only if you file a Portuguese return. The pages we read for this section do not say who must file a Portuguese return, so confirm with the tax authority how your situation is treated. For the US side of filing from abroad, see our guide to US taxes for Americans in Portugal.

More guides on this site: setting up electricity, water and gas; Portuguese tax residence.

What to do before you pay anything

For your rights once the lease runs, see our guide to the rental contract and tenant rights.

1. Get a Portuguese tax number first, since the lease must carry it; see our guide to the NIF.
2. Ask who signed any mediation contract with an agency, and read it for the fee and any advance before you hand over money.
3. Keep upfront payments within article 1076, and write in the lease what the guarantee covers and when it is returned.
4. Settle in writing who bears the condominium fees and who holds each utility contract.
5. Sign a condition report with photographs; it is your evidence under article 1043.
6. Ask for the electronic rent receipt each time you pay, including for the guarantee and advance rent, and keep your bank transfers.
7. Plan the money: if you still need a Portuguese account to pay from, see our guide to opening a bank account, and the first month paperwork checklist covers what comes next.

Official pages read for this guide, all on 18 October 2026: the consolidated Civil Code on the Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa site (articles 1036, 1043, 1044, 1073 to 1078 and 1424), Law 15/2013 on the Diário da República (consolidated), the IMPIC FAQ on the mediation activity, Stamp Duty Code article 3 and the General Table of Stamp Duty and the FAQ on lease stamp duty on the Portal das Finanças, IMI Code article 8, the Portal das Finanças pages on rent receipts and on rents (FAQ), IRS Code article 78-E, the tax authority’s deductions table for 2025 incomes, and the ERSE pages on electricity and natural gas contracts. Not read: any page giving an agency fee amount (none was found), the rules on how a supply contract is transferred, Decree-Law 157/2006, and the rules on IRS residence for non-residents.