Getting Rent Support for Young People (Porta 65 Jovem)

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• People aged 18 to 35 who rent, or want to rent, a whole home in Portugal.
• Young couples and friends sharing a flat who want help with the monthly rent.
• Foreign residents with a residence permit, a tax number, and a social security number.

Not for you if: you need to understand your lease, deposit, or landlord's duties. Read "Renting a Home in Portugal".

Porta 65 Jovem is a monthly payment from the state housing institute, IHRU, towards your rent. It is for people aged 18 to 35 whose income is within the limits. It pays 50%, 40%, or 30% of your rent in the first year, depending on your score, and less later. You apply online, free, at any time. IHRU decides by the 20th of the following month. Support lasts up to five years.

Who can apply

You can apply alone, as a couple, or with friends who share the home.

• Age: you must be 18 to 35. Your age counts on the first day of the month you apply.
• Couples: married or in a de facto union (união de facto), living in the home. Both of you must be 18 to 35, but the law lets one of you be up to 37. The gov.pt service page still gives 36 for the older partner.
• Sharing with friends: each of you must be 18 to 35. You apply together, and every one of you signs the lease.
• Turning 36 while you get support: you can still make one more renewal, as long as it follows straight on.

Everyone who applies must also meet these conditions:

• You live in the home permanently, and your tax address (morada fiscal) is the home's address.
• You do not own another home, and you do not rent another home to live in.
• You are not related to the landlord, by blood or by marriage.
• You do not get any other public housing support.
• You owe nothing from earlier rent support.

If you are not Portuguese, the form asks for your residence permit details instead of a Citizen Card. Each person also needs a tax number (NIF) and a social security number (NISS).

The income limits

IHRU looks at the gross monthly income of everyone in the home. There are three tests.

1. Rent and income: your rent cannot be more than 60% of your total gross income.
2. Income and local rents: your monthly income cannot be more than four times the reference rent for your area and home size.
3. Income and minimum wage: your income, adjusted for the size of your household, cannot be more than four times the national minimum wage.

You choose which income IHRU uses. It can be your income tax return for last year, or your last three months of pay. If you started work in the first half of last year, IHRU divides that year's pay by the months you actually worked. Grants, prizes, and social security benefits that replace lost income also count.

The home and the lease

• A whole home, not a room. You cannot use Porta 65 Jovem to pay for a room.
• The right size. One or two people can rent up to a two-bedroom home (T2). Three people can rent up to a T3, four up to a T4, five up to a T5, and six or more up to a T6. You can go one size up if someone in the home has a disability of 60% or more, or if a room has no outside window. A bigger home is also fine if its rent is within the limit for the right size.
• A registered lease. The lease must be registered with the tax office on the Portal das Finanças.

You can apply before you have found a home. If you are approved, you must register the lease with the tax office within two months of the results. If you do not, you lose the support.

If you share with friends, the lease must let one of you leave while the others stay on.

How much you get

The support is a percentage of your monthly rent. If your rent is higher than the reference rent for your area, IHRU uses the reference rent instead. You may still apply with a higher rent.

Your percentage depends on your score, and it goes down each year:

The score is worked out from the size of your household, the share of your income that goes on rent, your income, and how your rent compares with the reference rent.

Your percentage can rise in some cases:

• by 20% if the home is in a historic area or an urban regeneration area
• by 10% if the home is in an inland area that the state helps with special measures
• by 15% if someone in the home has a dependent child or a disability of 60% or more
• by 20% if someone in the home has two or more dependent children
• by a further 10% or 5% on top of those two rates if you are a single parent

You can combine one area increase with one family increase, not more.

The reference rent for your area

The reference rent depends on your municipality and on the number of bedrooms. The law sorts every municipality into six bands. Lisbon is in the top band, and Cascais, Oeiras, and Porto are in the next. A second table, by region, applies instead when it gives you more. Both are updated every year. The Porta 65 page on the Portal da Habitação (portaldahabitacao.pt), which gov.pt links to, has a simulator that estimates your support.

How to apply

Applications are always open. You apply online, on the Porta 65 Jovem page of the Portal da Habitação.

1. Sign in. Use the Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital), your Citizen Card, or your Portal das Finanças password. Everyone applying must sign in.
2. Fill in the form. If you apply as a couple or with friends, the first person starts the form, gives the others' tax numbers, saves it, and signs out. Each other person then signs in and adds their own details.
3. Attach your documents (see the list below).
4. Send it to IHRU. Choose "Enviar para IHRU". Check that the status says "submetida" (submitted).
5. Answer any questions fast. If IHRU asks you for more information, you have five working days to reply. If you do not reply, your application is rejected.
6. Wait for the result. IHRU approves applications by the 20th of the month after you apply. Results go up on the Portal da Habitação.

You can get help with the form at IHRU and at Ponto JA youth offices.

What you need

For each person applying:

• a tax number (NIF) and a social security number (NISS)
• an identity document: Citizen Card, or residence permit
• proof of income: last year's tax return, or your last three payslips
• the bank account where you want the support paid
• an email address for messages about your application

If you have them, also add:

• your registered lease, or a promise-to-rent contract (contrato-promessa)
• the property's tax reference (artigo and fração), shown on the lease or on the property's tax record (caderneta predial)
• proof of a disability of 60% or more
• proof that the home is in a historic or regeneration area
• a floor plan or property record showing the size of the home, or a room with no outside window
• the court order on parental responsibility, if you are a single parent

IHRU can fetch much of this itself from the tax office and social security. If its data is wrong, you must correct it with those offices.

When the money arrives

IHRU pays 12 monthly payments, by the 8th of each month, by bank transfer. Support is granted for 12 months at a time. To keep it, you make a renewal application (candidatura subsequente) for each new period. You can renew up to a total of 60 months. If you have a couple or flatmates, the five years count from whoever has received the most payments.

At each renewal, IHRU checks that you still meet the conditions. Your score, and so your percentage, may change.

Your duties while you get support

• Keep living in the home, and do not own or rent another home.
• Tell IHRU about any change in your situation.
• If a flatmate moves out, tell IHRU within 15 days. The others keep the support, but the amount may change.
• Pay your rent. If you fall more than three months behind, IHRU can stop the support.
• If you chose to show three months of pay, IHRU later checks your income for the whole year. If it was higher, your percentage can change or the support can stop.

You can stop the support yourself at any time.

If IHRU suspends or stops your support

If IHRU suspects you have broken the rules, it can suspend payments. You then have 20 working days to prove you are in order. If you do, payments start again, including the months you missed. If you do not, the support ends. You must pay back what you received since the problem began, plus 50%.

IHRU can also stop the support for false statements, for leaving out important facts, or for serious rent arrears. You are then barred from any public housing support for two years, or five years if you acted on purpose.

If your application is not approved

Each month has a share of the year's budget. If the money runs out, your application can move to the next month, as long as you agree. If you do not qualify now, you can apply again whenever your situation changes, because applications are always open.

Porta 65+: support at any age

A second strand, Porta 65+, has no age limit. It is for households whose income fell by more than 20%, and for single-parent households. It pays the part of your rent above 35% of your income in the first year, 40% in years two and three, and 45% in years four and five. The payment is at least €50 and at most €200 a month. You cannot apply for Porta 65 Jovem and Porta 65+ at the same time.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

• gov.pt, Candidatar-se ao Porta 65-Jovem (updated 1 September 2026): who can apply, conditions, documents, sign-in, steps, no rooms, free, always open (Portuguese only)
• Diário da República, Decreto-Lei n.º 308/2007, consolidated text as amended to Decreto-Lei n.º 42/2024: age limits, conditions, income tests, 12-month periods, 60-month limit, extra percentages, duties, suspension and penalties, Porta 65+ (Portuguese only)
• Diário da República, Portaria n.º 238/2024/1, de 2 de outubro, with the republished Portaria n.º 277-A/2010: support percentages and score bands, reference rent, home sizes, documents, sign-in, monthly approval by the 20th, payment by the 8th, five-day reply, lease registration within two months (Portuguese only)
• Diário da República, Portaria n.º 53/2024, de 19 de fevereiro (amending Portaria n.º 176/2019): municipality rent bands E1 to E6, annual update (Portuguese only)

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.