Portugal Publishes the Rent Ceilings for Its New Affordable-Rent Scheme, From 392 Euros for a Two-Bedroom Flat to 1,309 in Lisbon

Portugal's new affordable-rent scheme finally has the number every landlord needs before joining it. Portaria n.º 454/2026/1 (Ministerial Order 454/2026), published in the Diário da República (Official Gazette) on Tuesday 13 October, sets the maximum monthly rent for each size of home in every one of the country's 308 municipalities under the Regime Simplificado de Arrendamento Acessível (Simplified Accessible Rental Regime, RSAA). It takes effect on Wednesday.

The ceilings arrive almost four months late. Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 (Decree-Law 97/2026), which created the scheme on 20 May, gave the government 30 days to publish them, and the old Programa de Apoio ao Arrendamento (Rental Support Programme) was switched off on 1 September with no new ceilings in place, as we reported in September. The order covers that gap: for contracts signed between 1 September and its entry into force, the limits set in 2019 under Portaria n.º 176/2019 apply.

What the ceilings are

The decree ties the cap to 80 percent of the median rent published by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE, the national statistics office) for each municipality. The order turns that into a table running from T0 (a studio) to T5 (a five-bedroom home), with a fixed sum of 50 to 150 euros added for each room beyond five, depending on the municipality.

Lisbon has the highest ceilings: 785 euros a month for a studio, 1,006 for a one-bedroom flat, 1,309 for a two-bedroom flat and 1,612 for three bedrooms, rising to 2,066 euros for a T5. Next, for a two-bedroom flat, come Cascais (1,254 euros), Oeiras (1,172), Porto (1,118), Sines (1,113) and Funchal (1,034).

Elsewhere the two-bedroom ceiling is 927 euros in Matosinhos, 819 in Vila Nova de Gaia, 745 in Faro, 711 in Coimbra, 671 in Braga and 603 in Ponta Delgada. In 110 municipalities the order sets the same lowest figures: 224 euros for a studio, 308 for a one-bedroom flat and 392 for a two-bedroom flat.

Two features can raise the cap, and they stack. A landlord may charge 10 percent more if the let includes a private parking space, and a further 10 percent if the home holds an energy certificate of class A or better, valid on the day the contract is signed. Where only part of a home is let, such as a room, the ceiling is a share of the whole home's limit in proportion to the room's floor area, with that area counted at 25 percent more if the room has its own bathroom.

Why it matters to landlords and tenants

Rent from a contract that stays within the ceiling is exempt from personal and corporate income tax (IRS and IRC) under the RSAA, and the order also points to exemptions from the property transfer and municipal property taxes (IMT and IMI) for homes bought, built or restored for affordable rent. In exchange the landlord accepts the cap, a minimum term (three years for a permanent home) and registration of the contract.

What happens next

The ceilings are to be published on an electronic platform run by the Instituto da Habitação e da Reabilitação Urbana (IHRU, the housing and urban rehabilitation institute), which must also offer a calculator for the parking and energy uplifts and for the room formula. The order gives no date for it. Any review of the limits takes effect on 1 January; in years without one, they rise automatically each 1 January by the annual rent update coefficient under the Novo Regime do Arrendamento Urbano (New Urban Lease Regime).

The order, signed by the finance minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and the housing minister, Miguel Pinto Luz, also repeals the three 2019 orders behind the old programme.

The national regime is separate from Lisbon City Council's own housing draws, which resumed on Monday. Younger tenants may also be able to claim Porta 65 Jovem rent support.