When can a landlord evict you in Portugal?

In short: In Portugal a landlord cannot evict you at will. The Código Civil sets a closed list of grounds — most importantly rent arrears of more than three months (art. 1083), the landlord's own use of the home, and major building works (arts. 1101 and 1103) — each with its own written notice and, where the tenant does not leave, a formal eviction procedure (despejo) that runs through the Balcão do Arrendatário e do Senhorio (BAS) or the courts. Self-help — changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting the water — is unlawful whatever the contract says. CourtStairs answers Portuguese and EU housing questions like these in plain language, with citations to the Diário da República so you can read the article yourself.

Eviction is the part of Portuguese tenancy law surrounded by the most fear and the most misinformation. The reality is more protective of tenants than many people expect: a landlord needs a lawful ground, must give proper written notice, and must then use a legal route to recover the property. This is general information, not legal advice, and figures and rules change, so confirm anything important against the primary source or a lawyer.

The lawful grounds for eviction

A landlord can only bring a lease to an end in the ways the law allows. Broadly there are two mechanisms: resolução (termination for the tenant's serious breach) and denúncia (the landlord ending the contract for their own reasons, such as living in the home or carrying out deep works). The table below sets out the main grounds and what each one requires.

The single most common ground is non-payment. Under art. 1083(3) of the Código Civil, once rent is unpaid for more than three months, the landlord may terminate the lease. A pattern of paying late — four or more delays within a twelve-month period — is a separate ground under art. 1083(4), even if each debt is eventually cleared.

The written notice a landlord must give

No ground works without the correct written communication, sent the right way and with the right amount of advance notice. In practice this means a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (carta registada com aviso de receção) or an equivalent that proves delivery.

• Arrears (resolução): the landlord communicates the termination in writing once the debt exceeds three months. The tenant can then reverse the termination by paying everything owed plus a 50% surcharge within one month of notification, under art. 1084(3) (this purge-of-default right can be used only once per contract). Note this is stricter than the ordinary 20% late-rent indemnity under art. 1041 — reversing a termination costs more.
• Owner use or major works (denúncia justificada): at least six months' notice under art. 1103. For works, the landlord must also either compensate the tenant or guarantee rehousing. If the landlord relies on owner use, they must actually occupy the home within six months and for at least three years (art. 1103) — otherwise the tenant can claim damages, and a landlord who does not carry out declared works can owe compensation equal to ten years' rent (art. 1103(9)).
• No-cause end of an open-ended lease: art. 1101(c) requires a full five years' notice — a deliberately high bar.

The formal eviction procedure (despejo)

A lawful ground and a valid notice do not let the landlord physically remove you. Once the lease has ended and the tenant stays put, the landlord must obtain an enforceable title through a legal route. The fast-track option is the procedimento especial de despejo, created by the NRAU and regulated by DL n.º 1/2013. Since Lei n.º 56/2023, this runs through the Balcão do Arrendatário e do Senhorio (BAS) — the single desk that replaced the former Balcão Nacional do Arrendamento (BNA).

1. Valid ground + noticeThe lease ends — e.g. arrears over three months (art. 1083), expiry, or a valid denúncia with the notice above.
2. Request to the BASThe landlord files the special eviction request against the tenant who has not left, under DL 1/2013 (now handled by the BAS).
3. Tenant is notifiedThe tenant is served and has a short deadline to pay (where allowed), vacate, or oppose the request.
4. Eviction title issuedIf the tenant does not validly oppose, a título para desocupação is issued — an enforceable order to vacate.
5. Enforcement by an authorityOnly then, and only through the authorities, can the property be repossessed. Opposition moves the case to a judge.

If the tenant opposes, or the case does not fit the special procedure, it goes before a judge in the ordinary courts. Either way, the removal itself is carried out by an authority (agente de execução / court), never by the landlord acting alone. Tenants in genuine hardship may in defined cases apply for a diferimento da desocupação — a deferral of vacating a home — for example on grounds of serious illness or lack of alternative housing.

Lawful route vs. unlawful self-help

The line that matters most for a worried tenant is the difference between the legal procedure and the illegal shortcut some landlords try.

If a landlord resorts to self-help, the tenant can seek protection from the courts and, depending on the conduct, report it to the authorities — coercion and interference with a person's home can have criminal as well as civil consequences. Small money disputes tied to a tenancy (for example an unreturned deposit) can also go to a julgado de paz; if your problem is really a deposit, see our guide on what to do when a deposit is not returned.

Where the reforms fit

The core grounds and notice periods live in the Código Civil, layered with the NRAU (Lei n.º 6/2006) and rebalanced toward tenant stability by Lei n.º 13/2019. Lei n.º 56/2023 later merged the eviction desk and the rent-injunction procedure into the single BAS. Measures such as Mais Habitação mostly changed the economics of renting — rent caps and increase limits and licensing — rather than the eviction grounds themselves, so the Civil Code articles above remain the anchor when you check whether an eviction is lawful.

This is exactly what CourtStairs is built for: it takes a plain-language question — "can they evict me for one late month?", "how much notice do I get if they want to move in?" — and answers it with the specific article of the Código Civil or the NRAU behind it, in English or Portuguese, so you can open the Diário da República and confirm. Older contracts can follow transitional regimes and the details of any one case matter, so treat this as a starting point and confirm anything important against the primary source or a lawyer.