What Makes Renting Work for Both Sides?

Every lease we sign runs for at least three years. That's our own rule. We chose it because a home only feels like a home when you know you can stay. Three years is enough time to settle a child into school, get to know the neighbours and stop thinking about moving.

This week the same question came up in the national debate.

Two sides of one contract

In an interview with idealista/news, Alfredo Valente, vice-president of iad Portugal, says the proposed rental reform aims to "balance the relationship between tenant and landlord". As he puts it, the tenant needs predictability and stability, and the owner needs somewhere to turn if the rent stops coming in. He argues that until owners feel that risk is manageable, too few homes will reach the rental market.

Others read the same proposal very differently. In an opinion sent to Parliament, the consumer association DECO warned that, without extra safeguards, some measures could add to tenants' financial exposure. Tenants' associations went further, calling the reform an attack on the right to housing and asking for it to be stopped (Jornal de Negócios).

Where it stands

The proposal was approved in principle and is now being debated article by article in Parliament, where parties can still change it. Nothing is final yet, and the debate is contested.

What we think it comes down to

We can't know how the final law will read. Our view from the owner's side is simple: renting works when both sides can plan. Tenants need to know their home is theirs for years, not months. Owners need confidence that the agreement will be kept. Long leases, clear terms, rent due on the same day each month (the 8th, for us) and a landlord who picks up the phone do more for that balance than any single article of law.

What has made you feel at home, or not, in a place you rented?

Sources

• idealista/news, 12 Nov 2026 — Lei do arrendamento vem "diminuir riscos para os proprietários"
• Jornal de Negócios, 25 Sep 2026 — Nova lei das rendas "transfere o risco de forma desproporcionada" para os inquilinos