My landlord wants me to leave the apartment where I live. What are my rights?

If you are subject to an eviction process and believe that you are right, you can manifest yourself through the National Rental Desk. As a tenant, you have 15 days from the notification of the eviction request to file the opposition electronically. In addition, you must contact a representative (lawyer or solicitor), and the process will be treated with special and urgent character and automatically goes to court.

There is also the free telephone line SOS Despejo, which is designed to report eviction situations in the city of Lisbon and inform them of their rights. The telephone number is 800 919 075 and is available for contact between 09:00 and 18:00.

Seniors who have lease agreements already entered into under the New Urban Lease Scheme (NRAU), ie after 1990, and have lived in the same house for more than 20 years, are protected in case of eviction with the new law. According to the package of measures to amend the rent law that came into force in February, in practice, landlords will not be able to oppose the renewal of contracts and move forward with evictions only if they wish to carry out remodeling or restoration works that the tenant.

If it is not against the request of the special eviction procedure or the court gives reason to the landlord, this requisition is converted into a title of vacancy of the lease and must leave the house within a maximum of 30 days.

Source: Economic Newspaper, July 15, 2019