The Recent Legislative Changes Applicable to Urban Letting

The changes introduced by Law no. 13/2019 to various legal instruments governing the relationship between landlord and tenant have changed the framework of urban letting in Portugal in several respects.

On 12 February 2019, two new law were published in the official gazette, Diário da República. First, Law no. 12/2019 of 12 February is intended to prohibit and punish harassment in letting, and it introduces the fifth amendment to the New Urban Letting Rules (Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano or NRAU). Second, Law no. 13/2019 of 12 February approves measures to correct situations of imbalance between tenants and landlords, to enhance the security and stability in urban letting and to protect tenants in a particularly vulnerable situation. The new laws came into force on 13 February 2019.