What You Need To Know About Renting and Living in Lisbon

We arrived in Lisbon in May 2022. A year later, I wrote down what we’d learned about housing here.

We rented a T4 (four-bedroom), two-bathroom flat in the Saldanha/Avenidas Novas area for €2,000 per month. The flat was on the fifth floor, has two elevators, AC, a large balcony (that freaks out the men in my family so it’s basically my own personal retreat), and is entirely remodeled (imagine an IKEA apartment). It included kitchen appliances but we bought a washer/dryer combo unit. It was unfurnished, which is good and challenging at first. 

The market has gotten a lot harder since we locked down our lease in January 2022. There are a lot of little nuances to the Lisbon apartment market. Here are a few things we’ve learned during our time living and renting an apartment in Lisbon.

Listing Details

Most people find their apartments on sites like Idealista or individual brokerage sites. Listings sometimes aren’t 100% accurate. For instance, the listing might not say that there is an elevator/lift, but when you look through the listing photos it clearly has a lift. 

Lease Contracts

We worked with a visa specialist whose attorney reviewed our lease. Some wording was Brazilian Portuguese rather than the European Portuguese we expected. The important part wasn’t the dialect: it was having someone check the actual terms and the law that applied. I’m glad we got professional eyes on it before signing.

D7 Visa Considerations

part of the D7 visa application process is acquiring long-term housing. We got our lease in January 2022, our D7 appointments were at the end of January 2022, and there was a chance we wouldn’t get approved and be stuck with a two-year lease. We asked our landlord if we could add a clause that said that if we weren’t approved that they could keep the prepaid rent and release us from our contract. They agreed! This gave us a huge sense of relief. People said that the landlord would never agree but I’m glad we asked.

Upfront Money

We heard about landlords asking foreigners for a year’s rent in advance. Don’t assume that makes the demand lawful. We paid two months’ rent plus one month as a security deposit in 2022: €6,000 upfront. Under the current wording of Civil Code Article 1076, agreed advance rent is limited to two months, and security is limited to the equivalent of two rents. Have unusual payment demands checked before handing over money.

Lease Terms

Our plans included buying a home, so an exit route mattered. Don’t reduce the notice rules to “a third of the lease and another couple of months.” For fixed-term leases, Article 1098 distinguishes ending a lease early from preventing its renewal. After a third of the term, the usual early-termination notice is 120 days for a term of at least a year, or 60 days for a shorter term. Other conditions and exceptions apply; get your contract and dates checked.

Rent Payments

Advance rent caught me out. Don’t import a US due date or grace period into a Portuguese lease—or assume every US lease works the same way, either. Read the due date in your contract. Article 1075 sets the default where the parties haven’t agreed otherwise. We paid our landlord by bank transfer using their IBAN. Easy peasy!

Utilities

You have options! There are multiple electricity and gas offers to compare. HOWEVER…if you’re lucky enough to have working power and water when you move in, don’t f*ck with it. At least not before understanding the setup. We thought we were smart to switch electricity providers. Cut scene to ISSUES and not enough power to heat our water for four days. Ask about the contracted power, appliance needs and timing before changing anything; an automatic increase isn’t the answer for every household. Use ERSE’s energy-price comparison tool to compare offers using your own consumption.

Elevators / Mobility

elevators break, and ours has broken often! Thankfully, we have a main elevator (broken) and a service elevator that’s been working consistently. If you have mobility concerns, get an apartment on the ground floor (0) or find a building with multiple elevators. Oh! Be sure the elevator door is closed behind you or you’ll get some upset neighbors banging on your door. #sorryyall

Shutters

the metal shutters on most buildings looked kinda tacky to me at first but they are seriously genius! We have electric shutters and they do a great job of keeping the sun out, adding privacy, and reducing our AC use. I had curtains pretty high on my shopping list but now I don’t think we need them at all.

Deliveries

we have received delivery service from IKEA, Worten (electronics/housewares), Amazon Spain, Uber Eats, Glovo, and DHL. We have had to be home to buzz them into our building except one time IKEA was able to get in and left a ton of stuff by our front door.

Energy Efficiency

Portuguese energy certificates use a scale from A+ to F. A letter alone won’t tell you what your bills will be; heating, insulation, orientation, ventilation and how you use the place all matter. Our flat had a C rating and was in a concrete building from the mid-’80s. It did a pretty good job of keeping the place cool and dampening sound. I’d still ask about winter comfort and look for damp before signing.

Laundry

Our unit did not come with a washing machine but we were able to order one online through Worten and it was delivered and installed within 2 days. We opted for a washer/dryer combo and are super happy with that decision. We don’t use the drying function on all loads but we like having the option. The key to making the dryer feature work is to not overload your unit. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, or even a slightly smaller load for best results.

Exteriors

Don’t judge a book by its cover has never been more true than when it comes to Lisbon architecture. In Lisbon, you’ll find a perplexing mix of beautiful older buildings with well-preserved tile exteriors to hideous 1980s-built concrete boxes with zero curb appeal. Some buildings look like they may fall apart with a  strong breeze. But many of the interiors we visited had been well preserved or completely remodeled. It’s worth your time to visit the neighborhood and see what each flat is really like inside.

Water Damage

Stone and concrete do not make a home immune to leaks, damp or mould. Some bathrooms we saw had little ventilation and glass doors that barely kept the water in the tub or shower. Mats and a dehumidifier can be useful, but they don’t repair a leak or fix inadequate ventilation. Check for damp, document problems and agree with the landlord who is responsible for putting things right.

We’ve toured many different styles of homes. Do you have questions about housing in Portugal? Send us a message here.

From finding a flat to making it home

Read how we researched places on our scouting trip and what happened when we bought a home. My free moving checklist includes housing, healthcare and the practical setup jobs.

If you’d like to talk through the practical side of your own move, I offer one-on-one Portugal calls: €95 for 60 minutes. I share what we’ve learned from living here; legal, tax and investment decisions belong with qualified professionals.