How much does it cost to rent a property in Portugal?

How much does it cost to rent in Portugal? This is a question many people ask when they think about packing their suitcases and trying to live in this European country where our language is spoken. Those considering the idea have probably heard that real estate prices have skyrocketed. But is renting in Portugal really as expensive as they say? To answer this question, we conducted a study of real estate listings in major Portuguese cities. Take a look at the results below.

To make the study objective

we decided to focus on one-bedroom apartments (T2 typology in Portugal) for rent in two cities in the country - Lisbon, the largest and most popular, and Braga, which is not as touristy but has a large Brazilian community. For our search we used the Idealista website, which collects listings from different real estate agencies.

How much does it cost to rent in Lisbon?

To exclude listings that are still on the sites even though the property is no longer available (which is very common in Portugal), we sorted the results by publication date. There were 26 listings published in 24 hours. Now let's organize them by price. The lowest price is 950 euros per month, which is rare. This is followed by the second lowest price of €1,200 per month. Then, between 1,300 and 1,500 euros per month, there are 9 options including T1+1 (which means there is one bedroom with a window and maybe another, possibly smaller, without a window, this is the so-called +1) in Cais do Sodre, which is a very central and popular neighborhood. Between 1,600 and 1,900 euros per month there are 6 listings. One of them is an apartment in Baixa (a very popular and popular neighborhood) for 2,500 euros per month. After these prices, prices range from 3 to 6 thousand euros per month: there are 7 "luxury" ads. Thus, we can conclude that the real cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Lisbon is around 1,500 euros, right? That's about 8 thousand reais.

How much does it cost to rent in Braga?

Now let's look at the cost of renting in Portugal, considering the city of Braga. By the same logic, we sorted the ads to see the most recent first. In 24 hours, only three ads were published.

How to rent accommodation in Portugal?

First you need to get a NIF - a tax identification number in Portugal, equivalent to our TIN. Often you will also need to pay several months rent in advance and a deposit amount equal to one (or more) month's rent. Do you need to prove income? Yes, this is also required. In some cases, if you don't already have income in Portugal, you can provide your tax return and income documents from Brazil. Do I need a guarantor in Portugal? There are no rules that require a guarantor. Some properties want one, but others only accept an upfront payment and a deposit. Where to look for rental properties in Portugal? Those looking for a place to rent in Portugal can rarely beat two websites that are practically "collectors" of listings. These are Idealista, which we used in our search, and Imovirtual.