Dealing with repairs, maintenance or renovation works in Portugal

Hello everyone,

One day or another, every expat has to deal with a leaking tap, a broken AC unit, electrical issues, or even bigger renovation works. We invite you to share experiences to help each other avoid stress or unpleasant surprises:

The below only refers to repair and maintenance or painting of the apartment, but nothing really big.

Where do you find reliable professionals in Portugal: local online platform, official directory, word-of-mouth…?

Word-of-mouth from other expat neighbours was the main source for us. I also have a service from EDP for appliances.

How do you check if they are trustworthy?
Usually the word of my neighbours or seeing the work of the tradesperson are sufficient. Other that that I have to rely on my gut.

Is it common to request a written quote before work starts?

I never had that, except via the EDP contract.

How do you evaluate if the rates are fair and adapted to the market?

If they feel fair to me then they are god enough for me.

Are deadlines for works usually respected in Portugal?

More of less. Lit really depends. So far we were quite lucky.

What guarantees are typically provided and how do you handle problems if the work is poorly done?

No guarantee or warranty was provided so far, but when something wasn't as expected the contractor usually fixed the problem without much fuss.

Any tips, red flags, or success stories to share with fellow expats?

If possible I would always ask other expats for their recommendation and maybe even have a look at what they had done.

Thank you for your contribution,

Cheryl
Expat.com Team - @Cheryl

I also have a service from EDP for appliances.

This contract is for one year. If you cancel it, you will have to pay for the remaining months until the end of the contract year. If you decide to cancel it one day, do so days / weeks before automatic renewal, otherwise you’ll have to pay for another whole year.