Tenant rights in Portugal: notice periods, evictions and the NRAU

In short: In Portugal a home lease is either fixed-term (prazo certo) or open-ended (duração indeterminada), fixed-term contracts run for at least one year (art. 1095 of the Código Civil), and neither side can simply walk away — the law sets written notice periods for ending or declining to renew, and eviction (despejo) has to follow a legal route, usually the fast-track procedimento especial de despejo through the Balcão Nacional do Arrendamento. The framework is the NRAU (Lei n.º 6/2006) sitting on top of the Código Civil, reshaped by Lei 13/2019 and the Mais Habitação law (Lei 56/2023). 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.

Renting a home in Portugal is one of the areas where "what everyone knows" is often wrong. The rules are detailed, they were rebalanced in 2019 toward tenant stability, and they turn on which type of contract you signed. This is general information, not legal advice, and figures can change, so confirm anything important against the primary source or a lawyer.

What are the two lease types in Portugal, and how long do they last?

A Portuguese home lease is either fixed-term (1 to 30 years) or open-ended (no end date), and if the contract is silent it counts as fixed-term for five years. Which type you signed decides your notice periods and how easily the landlord can end the contract.

Under art. 1094 of the Código Civil a residential lease is celebrated either with a fixed term or for an indefinite duration. If the contract says nothing, the law treats it as fixed-term for five years. A fixed-term lease has hard limits: art. 1095 says the term cannot be less than one year nor more than 30 years, and a shorter or longer figure is automatically pulled back to those limits. The narrow exception is a genuinely transitory let (temporary professional or study needs), which can be shorter than a year.

A fixed-term contract renews automatically at the end of its term for successive periods of equal length (art. 1096), unless one side gives notice that it opposes the renewal. There is an important tenant protection layered on top: a landlord's opposition to the first renewal only takes effect three years after the contract began (art. 1097). So even a one-year lease effectively gives the tenant about three years of security before the landlord can decline to renew.

How much notice do you need to end a lease in Portugal?

The notice depends on who ends it and how long the contract runs: a tenant leaving a one-year-plus fixed lease gives 120 days (60 days if the term is under a year), while a landlord opposing renewal gives 120 to 240 days. Notice must always be in writing, sent in advance by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.

Ending a lease early, or stopping it from renewing, is a formal act: a written communication, in practice a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (carta registada com aviso de receção), sent with the right amount of advance notice. The period depends on who is giving notice and how long the contract runs.

The tenant's freedom to leave a fixed-term lease only opens up once one-third of the term has passed; after that you can terminate at any time with the notice above. A landlord's power to end an open-ended lease is far narrower — it exists only on the grounds in art. 1101: to live in the home themselves or house a first-degree descendant, to demolish or carry out deep remodelling works, or, without any reason at all, with five years' notice. The first two grounds are a denúncia justificada under art. 1103, requiring at least six months' notice and, for works, either compensation (up to two years' rent) or guaranteed rehousing for at least three years.

How does eviction (despejo) work in Portugal?

A landlord in Portugal cannot evict you personally: after the lease validly ends, they must use a legal route — normally the fast-track procedimento especial de despejo through the Balcão Nacional do Arrendamento, or an ordinary court action — and only an authority can carry out the removal. The most common ground is rent unpaid for three or more months (art. 1083). If you want a step-by-step of the process, see our guide to eviction rights in Portugal.

Eviction is where the biggest myths live. A landlord cannot change the locks, remove your belongings, or cut off water and power to force you out — that is unlawful self-help, whatever the contract says. To recover the property against a tenant who will not leave, the landlord must use a legal route.

The most common trigger is non-payment. Under art. 1083 of the Código Civil, rent arrears of three months or more make it unreasonable to expect the landlord to continue, and the lease can be resolved (resolução). Other serious breaches — sub-letting without permission, using the home for a forbidden purpose, causing serious damage — can also justify resolution.

Once the lease has validly ended (by resolution, by expiry, or by a valid denúncia) and the tenant stays put, the landlord turns to the procedimento especial de despejo, the special eviction procedure created by the NRAU and regulated by DL n.º 1/2013. It runs through the Balcão Nacional do Arrendamento (BNA) — now operating as the Balcão do Arrendatário e do Senhorio — a national desk that can issue an enforceable eviction title without a full trial when the tenant does not oppose in time.

1. Valid terminationThe lease ends — e.g. rent unpaid for three or more months (art. 1083), expiry, or a valid denúncia.
2. Request to the BNAThe landlord files the special eviction request at the Balcão Nacional do Arrendamento against the tenant who has not left.
3. Tenant is notifiedThe tenant is served and has a short window to pay up (where allowed), leave, or oppose the request.
4. Eviction title issuedIf the tenant does not validly oppose, the BNA issues a título para desocupação — an enforceable order to vacate.
5. EnforcementOnly then, and only through the authorities, can the property be repossessed. Opposition sends the case to a judge.

If the tenant opposes, or if the case does not fit the special procedure, the matter goes before a judge in the ordinary courts. Either way, the removal itself is carried out by an authority, never by the landlord acting alone. Tenants in genuine hardship may also be able to raise the diferimento da desocupação (a deferral of vacating a home) in defined circumstances.

Did the Mais Habitação law change eviction and notice rules?

No — the Mais Habitação law (Lei n.º 56/2023) mostly changed the economics of renting, not the core notice-and-eviction structure. It capped the starting rent of new leases on recently let properties and added tax and licensing measures, while notice periods and eviction grounds still live in the Código Civil and the NRAU as reshaped by Lei 13/2019. So when you check a notice period or an eviction ground, the Civil Code articles above remain the anchor; the newer laws layer price rules on top. For how those price caps work, see our note on rent increase limits in Portugal.

This is exactly the kind of question CourtStairs is built for: it takes a plain-language question — "how much notice do I owe?", "can they evict me for one late month?" — 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. Rules and figures change, 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.