The Government has approved a set of rental reforms aimed at tackling Portugal’s housing crisis. It touches on a particularly sensitive issue: speeding up evictions in cases of unpaid rent. The strategy, according to the Executive, is to give landlords more confidence to put homes on the rental market, while also creating a safety net for tenants who are forced to leave.
The main change on the eviction side is a reduction in the grace period for rent arrears. At present, landlords can begin eviction proceedings after three months of missed payments. The Government wants to shorten that period to just two months of non-payment, under the proposal approved by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, 9 July, which still needs to be reviewed by Parliament.
In addition, repeated late payment will now count as non-compliance if a tenant pays rent eight days or more late on three occasions, consecutive or not, within 12 months, or more than four times within 18 months. In these situations, the landlord may start eviction proceedings
Landlords will also have more time to decide whether to proceed with terminating the contract due to non-compliance. If the new rules are approved by Parliament, property owners will have six months to exercise this right after the rent arrears occur. Under the previous Mais Habitação regime, this deadline was shorter, set at three months, according to ECO.
Faster evictions after a court decision
The new law also simplifies the procedure following a court ruling, removing what are considered unnecessary formalities and combining the repossession of the property and the recovery of unpaid rent into a single process. The stated aim is to cut bureaucracy and speed up repossession once there is a judgment.
Miguel Pinto Luz, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, acknowledges that the issue is “sensitive”, but says the Government wants to “address it head-on”, restoring confidence to those who rent out property, as reported by Expresso.
The new framework also strengthens the public guarantee of rent payments to landlords in cases of eviction due to arrears. The State will therefore guarantee the payment of overdue rents to landlords after the deadline for opposing the eviction has passed, or after that deadline has been suspended due to a request for legal aid, according to ECO. The law currently in force only provides this guarantee for rents that fall due after the opposition period has ended.
“These changes aim to reduce bureaucracy, speed up processes and strengthen legal certainty, while maintaining the protection of tenants who meet their obligations,” the Executive said in a statement published on its official website.
How will the new support for tenants work?
To offset the easier eviction rules, the package includes the Emergency Housing Fund (FEH), designed to respond to extreme situations. Managed by the IHRU (Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation) and coordinated with Social Security and other public bodies, the fund is intended to support individuals and families who suddenly find themselves without a home.
The social support will be at least one Social Support Index (currently €537.13) and may reach up to €2,300 per month to cover accommodation or rehousing costs, for a maximum of six consecutive months.
The Government states that the process will be swift, with an automatic response within 10 working days of the application, and that this support can be combined with other permanent housing assistance in cases such as victims of domestic violence.
Alongside these measures, the new reform package also includes changes to new rental contracts (including the end of the 2% caps and adjustments to deposits), as well as to rental agreements signed before 1990.
