General Daily Briefing — Thursday, 13 August 2026
Good morning. Here is your Thursday briefing for 13 August 2026 — the day's essential Portugal stories, from a rental-law overhaul that could unfreeze the country's oldest rents to a plan to reconfigure six million electricity meters, plus a new practical guide to the beneficial-ownership register every company owner must keep current.
The Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo (RCBE) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide
Own a Portuguese company or hold property through a foreign entity? You must keep the RCBE (Central Register of Beneficial Ownership) current. Our 2026 guide covers who must declare, the 25% ownership rule, the 31 December annual confirmation, how to file it for free, and the €1,000–€50,000 fines for getting it wrong.
- The government's overhaul of the rental law has reached Parliament, and its sharpest clause would restrict how Portugal's frozen pre-1990 "old rents" pass on when the original tenant dies — opening a slow path to updating some of the cheapest homes in the country.
- Energy regulator ERSE will reconfigure the meters of six million flat-tariff households from July 2027 so they can see the savings of time-of-use pricing, while simplifying the plans of the 500,000 already on hourly tariffs.
- A generic version of the diabetes drug dapagliflozin has entered the reference-pricing system, but the APDP warns patients could pay around €40 for a medicine that recently cost €4 to €5 if pharmacies run out of the generic.
- The Ordem dos Médicos is calling for a nationwide audit of how well Portugal's hospitals would survive a major earthquake, plus regular disaster drills.
- The Education Ministry has opened an inquiry into schools over the national-exam marking chaos, and the teachers' union FENPROF has rounded on Minister Fernando Alexandre.
- Savannah Resources has signed new land deals with the baldio commons communities of Trás-os-Montes for its Barroso lithium mine, even as a protest camp nearby drew about a thousand people.
- Portuguese emigration has held steady at about 70,000 departures a year for three years, with Switzerland now the top destination after Brexit curbed arrivals to Britain.
A Rent Overhaul Lands in Parliament, and the Death of a Tenant Could Unfreeze Portugal's Oldest Rents
The government's long-promised revision of the rental law has been formally lodged in the Assembleia da República, and its most consequential clause targets the frozen rendas antigas that predate the 1990 reform. When the original tenant of one of these old contracts dies, transmissibility of the below-market rent would be restricted — allowing it to move back toward the property's fiscal value rather than staying pinned to inflation. The bill also makes two months' arrears grounds to end a contract and revises the sitting tenant's right of first refusal.
Portugal's Energy Regulator Will Reconfigure Six Million Electricity Meters and Simplify Time-of-Use Tariffs From 2027
Only about 500,000 residential customers — some 8% — pay a bi-hourly or tri-hourly electricity tariff; the other six million or so remain on the flat tarifa simples. From 1 July 2027, ERSE will reconfigure those flat-rate meters so households can see whether time-of-use pricing would save them money, while stripping complexity from the hourly plans by scrapping most summer-winter schedule switches. The overhaul is feasible because smart meters now sit in about 99% of Portuguese homes and can be updated remotely.
A Cheaper Diabetes Generic Arrives, yet Some Patients Risk Paying €40 for a €5 Pill
Since the start of August, generic versions of the type-2 diabetes drug dapagliflozin (10 mg) have reached pharmacies and entered the reference-pricing system, which reimburses only up to the cheapest equivalent. The diabetics' association APDP warns that if a pharmacy has run out of the generic, a patient who buys the branded original could face a bill of around €40 for a medicine that recently cost €4 to €5. It is urging the regulator Infarmed to guarantee generic supply for the country's 900,000-plus diabetics.
Portugal's Doctors Demand a National Earthquake-Resilience Audit of Hospitals and Regular Disaster Drills
The Ordem dos Médicos wants a nationwide assessment of how well Portugal's hospitals would withstand a major earthquake, together with regular disaster drills. A quake-damaged hospital, the medical association warns, becomes "a catastrophe within a catastrophe" precisely when the injured most need it — a pointed reminder in a country that sits on active seismic faults and remembers the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
The Ministry Investigates Schools Over the National-Exam Marking Meltdown, and FENPROF Rounds on the Minister
Portugal's first attempt at marking national school exams digitally suffered file-export failures, unmarked items and grading errors, and the Education Ministry has now opened an inquiry into schools that sent papers for grading after the deadline. The teachers' union FENPROF accused Minister Fernando Alexandre of shifting blame onto schools and teachers, called it one of the biggest episodes of disorganisation in decades, and pledged to block any sanctions — escalating if needed to the President and Parliament.
Barroso's Lithium Developer Strikes Land Deals With Commons Communities, Targeting a 2027 Mine Start
Savannah Resources has signed fresh agreements with the baldio commons communities of Trás-os-Montes to secure land for its Barroso lithium project, including a new contract covering 150 hectares in Ribeira de Pena and a memorandum with the regional baldios secretariat. The deals promise community seats on a monitoring committee, inflation-indexed compensation and a foundation with a minimum €500,000 annual budget. The project remains fiercely contested: a protest camp at Covas do Barroso last weekend drew around a thousand people.
Portuguese Emigration Settles at 70,000 a Year, With Switzerland Now the Destination of Choice
The Observatório da Emigração estimates that about 70,000 Portuguese have emigrated each year for three years running — a "period of relative stabilisation" after the post-austerity exodus. Switzerland has consolidated as the leading destination, stepping into the gap left by the collapse in arrivals to the United Kingdom after Brexit. Portugal still counts one of the highest emigrant shares relative to population anywhere in the world.
