How are the rental scams in Portugal?
The Portuguese rental market, especially in hotspots like Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve, is fiercely competitive. This high demand has created a breeding ground for fraud.
The Public Security Police (PSP) reported a staggering 25% increase in rental scams in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year. These aren't just one-off incidents; they are sophisticated operations.
How the rental scam works in Portugal?
The pattern is deceptively simple:
- The Bait: A property is advertised on a popular platform (or even a newspaper) at a price that’s just a little too good to be true. The photos are appealing, and the description is perfect.
- A Hook: You contact the "landlord," who is often incredibly responsive and charming. They'll build a rapport, but will have a plausible story for why they can't show you the property in person (e.g., they are "living abroad").
- Pressure: They create a sense of urgency. Other people are "very interested," and you must act now to secure it. This is designed to make you panic and skip due diligence.
- The Switch: To "reserve" the property, you're asked to make an advance payment—typically a security deposit and one or two months' rent—via a method that is difficult to trace, like a bank transfer or cash.
- Disappearance: Once the money is sent, the advertiser vanishes. The listing is deleted, emails bounce, and phone numbers are disconnected. You arrive in Portugal to find the property either doesn't exist or is home to a completely different, uninvolved family.
What are the biggest red-flags for rent in Portugal?
Beyond the basics, you need to understand the system to spot the more subtle scams.
Red Flag: The landlord offers an "under-the-table" deal with no contract to "save on taxes."
- Reality: In Portugal, long-term rental contracts must be registered with the tax authorities (Finanças). The landlord pays a stamp tax on this contract. An unregistered contract offers you zero legal protection. If a dispute arises, you have no standing, and you could be evicted with no notice. The landlord may face fines, but you're the one left homeless.
Red Flag: The rental is for less than 3 months but isn't listed as an Alojamento **Local (AL).
- Reality: Short-term holiday rentals require a specific license, the Alojamento Local (AL). You can and should verify the AL license number for any short-term rental on the official Registo Nacional de Turismo portal. Without this license, the rental is illegal. Long-term contracts, by law, are for a minimum of one year, though shorter periods can be stipulated for specific transitional purposes (like business or study), but this must be explicit in a registered contract.
Red Flag: The landlord asks for more than the standard deposit.
- Reality: It is standard practice to ask for 1-2 months' rent as a security deposit (caução) plus the first month's rent upfront. While the law allows for up to 3 months' rent as a deposit, some landlords in high-demand areas pressure tenants for 6 or even 12 months of rent in advance. Do not do this. The legal system to recover this money if things go wrong is incredibly slow and expensive. You have no guarantee of getting it back.
Red Flag: You are dealing with a sub-letter who seems evasive about the actual owner.
- Reality: Illegal subletting is common. A tenant rents a property and then illegally sublets it to others without the owner's permission. To protect yourself, ask for the property's land registry certificate (Certidão do Registo Predial). This document proves who the legal owner is. If the person you are dealing with is not the owner, they must provide a legal, written, and signed authorization from the owner allowing them to sublet.
Arroios rental scam
This real-life scam highlights how rental-adjacent services can be fraudulent. An expat rented a small one-bedroom flat in Arroios, Lisbon. They then "sold" fake residency certificates (Atestado de Residência) to over 1,500 other foreigners, claiming they were all flatmates.
- Scam: For €300-€500, people could get a certificate needed for their visa or NIF application without actually living at the address.
- Double-Dip: The scammer's address was used for the victim's NIF application. When the official NIF document and, crucially, the Finanças portal password arrived by mail, the scammer demanded another €300-€500 to release them. The victim, already implicated, often paid up.
- Aftermath: The loophole was eventually closed. To get a residency certificate from a ‘Junta de Freguesia’ (parish council), you now typically need to present a registered rental contract. The victims of this scam may face serious problems when they try to renew their visas or apply for permanent residency, as their initial application was based on fraud.
How to prevent a rental scam in Portugal?
- VERIFY: Never commit to a property you haven't seen. If you are remote, use a trusted friend or a reputable relocation agent to visit, take videos, and check the property.
- DOCUMENT: Insist on a written, registered contract. Verify the landlord's identity against the property's official ownership document (Certidão do Registo Predial).
- TRUST, BUT VERIFY: Do not rely solely on online recommendations for agents or landlords. Use platforms like Supercasa, which only list properties from licensed real estate agents (with a valid AMI license number, which you can also check online).
- PAY SAFELY: Never pay large sums in cash. Use a bank transfer so you have a record. Ensure the name on the bank account matches the name of the owner on the official documents.
If you become a victim, file a police report (queixa) with the PSP or GNR immediately. Provide them with every piece of evidence: emails, message screenshots, bank transfer details, and the fraudulent advert. Acting fast is your only chance.
