12 de December, 2022
What are the websites for renting a house in Portugal? This is one of the many concerns of those who are planning to move to the Portuguese country and want to find a cozy house to call home. If you’ve made it this far, continue with me as I explain to you what the best sites are, tips for researching, average cost of rent, necessary documents, how to rent without a guarantor and precautions you should take not to fall into scams. Let’s go?
Realizing your goal of living in Europe or obtaining European citizenship can be simpler than you think. We offer personalized support to make the immigration process more accessible and uncomplicated.
There are many options of sites to rent in Portugal, but just like anywhere in the real and digital world, there are good and bad options. Therefore, I have prepared a selection of the best sites for you to find your new home!
Idealista is one of the leading websites for house rental in Portugal and is also present in Spain and Italy. Since it covers the whole Portuguese territory and publishes ads for free, every day you can find thousands of rental offers (as they say in Portugal) and also ads for the sale of properties.
It works very simply. Just enter the city to search. To make it easier, it allows you to select the zones or parishes (neighborhoods) of interest, as well as allowing you to draw a map delimiting the region you want to filter the search.
Besides delimiting the region, Idealist allows you to filter in other ways, such as: type of house, number of bedrooms, bathrooms (toilet), typology, floor, equipment (furnished or not), and many others.
The Imovirtual also enters this list of best sites to rent a house in Portugal for acting throughout the territory. In addition to houses, you can also find commercial establishments, offices and more. It works in a very simple and intuitive way and just like Idealista, allows you to activate different filters such as typology, price, floor area, energy performance, among others.
In 2022, the site has already received awards such as #1 Consumer Choice Brand and a Five Star Award.
Uniplaces is another option among the websites for renting a house in Portugal and several other cities in Europe, as well as cities in Oceania and in North and South America, including Brazil.
Although it is most often used to rent rooms in Portugal, it is also possible to find entire houses by activating one of the several filter options available. The site allows seasonal rentals, considering a minimum stay of 27 days.
Uniplaces makes renting easy, since you don’t need to submit a list of documents and not even a guarantor. On the other hand, you have to pay a fee to the site and you cannot schedule a preview visit to the apartment before closing the contract, its main negative point.
For those who are planning to travel to Portugal to enjoy a vacation or to rent for a short period of time so that they can look for a permanent house in peace, Airbnb is one of the best options.
Usually local accommodations, as they are called, are more concentrated in the city centers where there is a lot of tourism on offer. And of course, Airbnb gives you the advantage of having more freedom compared to a hotel, and you can even save on restaurants by having the possibility to cook in the apartment during your stay.
You must be thinking: “OLX among the best sites to rent a house in Portugal?”. That’s right!
The OLX is a very “trendy” in Lusitanian lands and many owners of houses and apartments take the opportunity to make their ads on the site. In it, you can contact directly, schedule a visit and even try to negotiate the price of rent.
To finalize the best sites for house rental in Portugal, we have Casa Sapo, which is present not only in the country but also in Spain, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
According to information on the site, it has been in the market since 2001, and is considered the leading real estate portal in Portugal, with more than 400,000 properties being advertised, including houses for rent, for sale, for vacation, rooms, and business properties.
The search for properties is very simple, just select the type of property you want, mark the district (state) on the map and then the desired city. As soon as the list of available houses appears, you can activate some filters.
Lisbon neighborhoods: get to know the best ones to live in the capital
Most people who come to study in Portugal usually rent rooms and share houses with other students. If this is the case for you, consider searching the following sites:
If, on the other hand, you wish to rent an entire house, either just for yourself or to share with friends or family, the most suitable are the sites presented in the topic above.
Well, now you know which are the sites to rent a house in Portugal. So, there is no secret and it is the same way as in Brazil.
The first step is to know in which region you want to live in Portugal, to analyze the cities in the region, to weigh their advantages and disadvantages to make sure that the place really meets your expectations and needs.
After defining the city in Portugal to live in, another research needs to be done: the freguesia (neighborhood). Here, you should consider some of your needs. Here are some examples:
Therefore, analyze your needs and what really matters to you to define the regions of interest when conducting your research on the sites for renting a house in Portugal.
By defining the region, your search will be much easier. And to make it even more efficient, you can use the filters for typology (number of bedrooms), whether you want an apartment with or without furniture, maximum price you are willing to pay, square meters, among others. Each of the sites to rent a house in Portugal has its own filters.
Another option to rent an apartment in Portugal is through a real estate agency. This option is usually more bureaucratic with regard to documentation and guarantor. On the other hand, having the support of a consultant can be of great help for those who are planning to live in the country.
The three largest real estate companies in the country are:
We have prepared a table with some districts (states) considering the average price per square meter. The figures presented are based on August 2022 data from the Idealist website.
See the average cost of rentals in Portugal:
| District | Average cost of rents |
| Lisbon | 14,1€ / m2 |
| Porto | 10,2€ / m2 |
| Braga | 7,1€ / m2 |
| Coimbra | 7,4€ / m2 |
| Faro | 11,6€ / m2 |
| Leiria | 7,3€ / m2 |
| Santarém | 6,0€ / m2 |
| Setúbal | 9,5€ / m2 |
| Viana do Castelo | 8,3€ / m2 |
| Vila Real | 5,2€ / m2 |
| Viseu | 5,3€ / m2 |
| Madeira Island | 10,6€ / m2 |
The first step is to begin your research on the websites for renting a house in Portugal. Whenever you find a nice place that meets your expectations, contact us by phone, email or message on the site itself.
When you hear back from the owner, try to schedule a visit to the place to meet him in person and check if the house corresponds with the pictures you saw on the website. In case you are still in Brazil and cannot visit the apartment, having the help of a real estate consultant can be a solution.
Try to talk to the landlord to find out what is needed to rent: documentation, guarantor, deposit, advance payment of a few months rent, etc. Understand what all the conditions are for renting the property. Don’t be alarmed if he demands a long list of conditions, but be aware of abuses and keep in mind the Rental Law in Portugal to know what the landlord can really demand from you.
The important thing is not to get discouraged and always try to negotiate the conditions. Remember that the “no” you already have, so fight for the “yes”, especially if you really like the apartment. If you come to an agreement, it is time to sign the contract and move in!
One of the most difficult things about renting a property in Portugal is finding a guarantor. Many landlords require it and even ask that they be Portuguese. For us immigrants, especially newcomers in the country, this point is almost impossible.
I say almost, because for everything there is a solution. And in this case, the solution has a name: Easy Sponsor. It is a platform that seeks to facilitate the bureaucracy regarding documentation for those who are going to rent a house in Portugal.
Through an application on the website, and upon proof of income and other documents, Easy Sponsor analyzes your profile and, if you are approved, they substitute the guarantor or the deposit (if applicable). Everything is done simply and quickly.
The other option to rent without the guarantor is through direct negotiation with the landlord, as I explained in the topic above. Many agree to remove the condition of the guarantor, if you are willing to pay a few months rent in advance. Thus, the owner is prevented by eventual delays.
Are you planning to spend your vacation in Portugal? Some websites that I have already mentioned at the beginning of the article also present houses for vacations, such as:
Besides them there are also other options that work in the Portuguese territory, for example:
Now that you know which are the best sites to rent a house in Portugal, either to live or to spend a season in the country, let’s talk about some precautions you need to take. After all, fake rentals are on the list of the most common scams in Portugal.
Check out the list I prepared for you:
Good luck in your search for a house in Portugal and happy moving!
Article originally published on our partner site Euro Dicas.
Author:
Atlantic Bridge
