Registration of my lease

@pwinternational

Thanks for this question.  I wasn't aware that the tenant also has to register the lease, so I'll be looking for the answer/response to this as well.

Tenants are now able to notify the tax office of their rental contract if the landlord fails to do so. This is a recent change to the law, made about two months ago (*).

The landlord can do this online:

https://imoveis.portaldasfinancas.gov.p … arContrato

As for the tenant, it seems to me that this option is not yet available on portaldasfinancas.

If you can't do it through the link above, you should go to an AT Finanças office and take your rental contract signed by both you and the landlord.

____

(*) September 2023

https://www.dn.pt/politica/saiba-tudo-s … 68771.html

Inquilinos podem comunicar contrato de arrendamento ao fisco

Os arrendatários vão passar a poder comunicar ao fisco os contratos de arrendamento, subarrendamento, promessas e respetivas alterações ou cessação, caso o senhorio não o faça. Os prazos e termos para tal serão regulamentados por portaria do Ministério das Finanças.

@johnnyPT

Thank you for this new information. Although we had the link you provided, we were not aware that the online process is new. The landlady, who we trust, tells us that she has to register the lease within 30 days of us taking occupancy in May 2024. Yet the Portuguese consulate in Canada wants evidence of lease registration by the landlady now, before forwarding our application for a D7 visa. The person that we're dealing with at the consulate in Canada is very good. There appears to be a contradiction here but the confusion may be mine.

I am grateful for any further information or advice.

pam

The process is new for the tenant. For the landlord, the online process has been available for several years.

This problem of rental contracts is quite common with expats. There's some sharing of experiences here.

Experience sharing about Visas to Portugal (D7 & others)

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=971460

@JohnnyPT

Thank you for your help.

@JohnnyPT Thank you! So, as long as the landlord properly registers the lease, the tenant is not required to do so.  Is that correct?  Or is the tenant required to register it either way?

    @JohnnyPT Thank you! So, as long as the landlord properly registers the lease, the tenant is not required to do so.  Is that correct?      -@daphnelavern

Correct.

Then the landlord issues from the portaldasfinancas website the monthly rent receipts electronically.

@JohnnyPT Thank you so much for the clarification; so glad I found this site; very helpful!!

@pwinternational  I had my landlord register the lease before my VFS appt.  I got a copy of the registration but VFS didn't ask for it. Then 2 months later, I got an email that stated VFS wanted the copy of the rental registration. So, if I was you, I would get a copy of the registration and hand it in with your lease (even if VFS doesn't ask for it).

@marybrozik Tank you, Mary!

pam

@pwinternational

It's the landlord obligation to register the contract but by doing so, he/she will have to pay the "imposto de selo". If the contract is only for May 24, they aren't required to pay it just now. Only once the contract is started.  Usually D7 applicants have already a contract started when they apply for the visa and therefore they can present the "imposto de selo" to the VFS agent.

@Nia Queiroz

Thank you! The lease has now been registered by the owner.

How can  I see if a rental contract is registered with the Finanças?

    How can  I see if a rental contract is registered with the Finanças?
   
    -@joecaramelo

Here:

https://imoveis.portaldasfinancas.gov.p … os/locador

(Select "locatário" tab)

Another item to mention as we can second everything above but adding one thing: in our experience, the proof of accommodation we provide as landlords is via the "Modelo 2" form - which the landlord can download after registering the lease with the government. It contains all the essential info on the lease/tenancy.

We have provided this Modelo 2 form, and all our personal information like names, address, contact info, NIFs, etc. for each of our tenants' D7 applications - we've had 5 sets of tenants so far, and all successfully received their D7s. Another 2 sets in processing at the moment too.

To reiterate *both* the Modelo 2 *and* our personal info as landlords, has been requested by our tenant's lawyers leading to their successful D7 applications.  (Our experience is based on renting out apartments in Estremoz, Évora, about 1.5 hours from Lisbon with relocation support.)