The steps for this process are several and it is important that you know them to ensure the safeguarding of your rights.
Source: Freepik
Author: Redaction
Before proceeding with a rental process, there are a number of rights, duties and bureaucratic steps that are important to consider in order to ensure the safeguarding of the parties involved. There may be costs associated and some care to be taken, so it is important, even before proceeding with the signing of a contract, to know exactly the procedures necessary to know what you are going to get into.
What are the obligations of a landlord?
Before entering into a lease, be aware that there are legal obligations that a landlord must ensure, namely the obtaining of the energy certificate of the property, which is mandatory according to Decree-Law 118/2013 of August 20.
However, it does not stop here, because it is also up to the landlord to set the price of rent to be charged, through calculations that will assess the monthly expenses that he has with the property he wants to rent, and which will focus on taxes such as IMI, on rents, but also on insurance value, maintenance expenses, condominium fees and the value of the mortgage loans, if applicable. Many of these expenses, despite being deductible in the IRS, will be added to total the amount of rent to be collected, safeguarding the expenses that landlord has for the property.
This income calculation can be made based on the Housing Rents Statistics, which you can find on the website of the National Institute of Statistics. In this platform, you can consult the values of rents practiced in new lease contracts, as well as the average prices per square meter, in the various national locations.
Lease: what is it?
After weighing all the aforementioned variants, knowing exactly what your responsibilities as a landlord are, you can proceed with the lease agreement, a document that stipulates the rights and duties of the parties involved (landlord and tenant). In this document, the rights and obligations of a guarantor may also be stipulated, if applicable.
It is important to bear in mind that this is an important document with several legal responsibilities to you, so it is advisable that you ask for help from a lawyer or solicitor to review the stipulated information or hire your services for its preparation. All constant information must be clear and correct to ensure compliance with the law.
To enter into a lease, as a landlord, you will need to ask the tenant for your personal identification documents, the last IRS statement and the last payslips. The same applies if there is a guarantor.
The owner must provide the following documentation:
• Building book/certificate of content
• Energy certificate
• License for housing
How to draw up a lease?
A rental agreement will only be valid if it contains certain mandatory information, and therefore, to ensure that everything complies with the law, you should consult a specialized professional to help you with the revision of the clauses. After everything validated and signed between both parties, you can submit it on the finance portal. But first, find out what you can not miss.
Identification of the parties involved in the contract
Even before the drafting of the contract you must have on your side all the necessary information about your future tenant, including full name, marital status, citizen card number and its validity, taxpayer number, place of birth, address and date of birth. This is the information that you will need to fill out in the first paragraph, identifying yourself and the tenant with this information.
1st Clause - object of the contract
In this clause, it will identify the object for which the contract is being concluded, which corresponds to the property. Thus, it must indicate all the elements that identify the property, and that must correspond to the letter of the autonomous fraction, floor, street name, building/door number, parish and county.
It must also indicate the number under which it is identified in the Land Registry, the article of registration in the property matrix and the number, date, and municipality where the housing license is registered.
2nd Clause - purpose of the contract
Here you must indicate the first grantor, who will be the owner who rents, and the second grantor, corresponding to the tenant who takes the fraction identified in the first lease clause. It is also in this clause that it indicates for what purpose the contract is intended, indicating that the housing of the second grantor is exclusive.
3rd Clause - term of contract
It must stipulate the duration of the contract, which by law is at least 1 year, with renewal to 3 years later.
4th Clause - values
Indicate in this clause the amount of the monthly rent to be paid by the second grantor, as well as the day of the payment limit and the means of payment, but also the amount of the security deposit and the anticipated rents you want to receive.
By law, only up to two advance rents and a single security deposit can be required, which can amount to two rents.
5th Clause - associated expenses
This clause stipulates who must pay expenses related to electricity, water, gas, telecommunications and others. It can be either the landlord or the tenant, however, it is information that must be included in the contract, defining the obligations of each party.
6th Clause - sublease and assignment
It is stipulated in this clause that the property cannot be subfiled or assigned by the tenant without the express consent, and in writing, of the owner.
7th Clause - information on works
It is stipulated here who is responsible for carrying out improvement works on the property, in order to avoid future misunderstandings. It is usually the tenant who is responsible for this type of interventions, having the prior written authorization of the owner, except for urgent repairs.
8th Clause - conservation of the property
At this point, it is indicated the obligation of the tenant to proceed to the preservation of the property, keeping it in the state in which he found it, namely its facilities, plumbing, walls, floors, paintings, appliances, housing stuffing, among others.
9th Clause - Inventory
It must indicate that a survey was made to the property, in the presence of the tenant, in which a list of the complete inventory and the state of conservation of the property was prepared. This is information that should be attached to the contract to safeguard both parties.
10th Clause - Rental Law
Here will be indicated the law currently in force in Portugal, with the appropriate updated legislation.
11th Clause - duties
In this last clause, it must be stated that the tenant agrees to all the clauses of the contract and undertakes to respect and comply with everything that was stipulated in full. If applicable, you are also committed to respecting the condominium regulations, with a declaration attached to the contract.
Optional clauses
In addition to the clauses we have already told you about, there are others that may include the lease agreement and that may apply, for example, in the presence of animals at home, but also on bail, if there are guarantors. The most common concerns the conditions in which the owner can make visits to the property, which must be moderated, but still allow the landlord to access the property in specified situations and agreed by the parties.
The contract shall be valid once it has been signed by the parties involved and shall show at the end of the contract the place and day of its conclusion.
Submit the contract in Finance: how to do?
Once concluded, the contract must be delivered by the landlord to the Tax Authority within 30 days, which can be done directly at a counter of a tax office or online.
Care to be taken
Renting a house can mean a stable and profitable source of income for the landlord who owns the property, however, should pay attention to implicit care to avoid problems.
Before proceeding with the signing of a contract, make sure that you find the right tenant, taking the time to know the profile of the person or household interested, and meets the necessary conditions to ensure the payment of the rent and associated expenses. Defend your rights by also ensuring your obligations, and make a thoughtful and informed choice.
Nederlands
Português
English
Français
Español
Deutsch
Русский
中文(简体)
