How much your rent can rise in 2027

Your landlord can raise the rent a little more next year. It’s Sunday, 11 October. Twenty-two degrees. Air quality: 28 (Fair). Expect road closures for the half marathon this morning. Here’s what you need to know.

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RENTS CAN RISE 2.56% IN 2027. HERE’S WHAT THAT MEANS IN LISBON

Landlords will be able to raise rents on existing contracts by up to 2.56% next year, up from 2.24% this year. The figure is calculated by INE, the national statistics institute, from inflation excluding housing over the 12 months to August, and it’s the standard annual rent update under the NRAU, the urban lease law, unless your contract sets its own terms.

In Lisbon, the extra cost is modest. The city has the highest rents on new leases of any large municipality in the country, at a median of €17.79 per m² in the second quarter, according to INE. At that rate, a 70 m² flat would cost about €1,245 a month, and a 2.56% rise would add around €32 a month, or about €380 a year.

The bigger story is the gap between staying and moving. New-lease rents in Lisbon rose 5.1% in the year to June, twice the cap on existing contracts, and they rose even faster across the country, by 10.2%. If those trends hold, tenants already in a contract will keep paying well below what the same flat would cost a new tenant.

Your landlord can’t apply the rise straight away. The coefficient first has to be published in the Diário da República, the official gazette, by 30 October. Only then can landlords formally notify tenants, and they must give at least 30 days’ notice before the new rent applies.

Households struggling with rent may also qualify for extraordinary rent support of up to €200 a month, which doesn’t have to be paid back. It’s paid automatically, with no application. To qualify, you need to be tax resident in Portugal, have a registered lease on your main home that dates from before 15 March 2023 (renewals with the same landlord for the same home still count), spend at least 35% of your income on rent, and have household income no higher than the top of the sixth IRS income tax band, €43,090 in 2026.

If you rent, any increase letter can only arrive once the figure is published, by the end of October at the latest. Check the rise is no more than 2.56%, and make sure you’re given at least 30 days’ notice.

Bottom line: a typical Lisbon rent can rise by about €32 a month next year, while moving would likely cost you more.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended while the Portuguese Football Federation investigates his walkout. The federation opened disciplinary proceedings on Friday and confirmed yesterday that the 41-year-old will stay suspended under a preventive measure while the case is investigated. It has been classed as urgent, and details will stay confidential until the investigation ends. Ronaldo left the national team’s camp in Copenhagen on 30 September, three days after he was left on the bench in the 2-1 win over Norway, following comments by coach Jorge Jesus. He apologised earlier this week, blaming a breakdown of trust with Jesus, and said he hopes to return after any suspension. The suspension is not a final sanction.

Petrol prices are set to rise this week, while diesel eases slightly. According to the ACP, the Automóvel Club de Portugal, petrol is expected to go up by around 5 cents a litre from Monday, to an average of about €2.123, while diesel should fall by about 1 cent, to around €2.136. These are forecasts based on oil markets, and prices vary between petrol stations and regions.

The Prime Minister says he’s “absolutely convinced” US use of the Lajes airbase in the Azores has been lawful. Speaking in parliament on Friday, Luís Montenegro said all the legal rules of the Lajes agreement had been followed, while respecting the prosecutors’ inquiry opened after a complaint by the Left Bloc. The PCP, the Communist Party, accused the government of being complicit in US and Israeli military action against Iran. Montenegro also said he had raised fuel prices with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Lisbon on Thursday.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

GRILL N’CHILL (ARROIOS)

From the outside, Grill n’Chill on Praça do Chile looks like any suburban grill, with a terrace cluttered with beer branding. Inside, there are plastic plants and a menu of bifanas and grilled chicken. Ignore all that. Time Out’s critic gave it five stars as some of the best Nepalese street food in the city, and it’s in Time Out’s list of Lisbon’s 100 best restaurants. Sundays are the day to go: the tables fill with Nepalese families on their day off, the charcoal grill never stops, and a small, tightly run kitchen sends out plate after plate.

The critic’s advice is to start with a few snacks. There’s a Nepalese chicken samosa with glass-crisp pastry, and pani puri, little wheat shells filled with spiced potato that you top up with tamarind broth at the table. There’s also chatpat, a street snack of puffed rice tossed with crunchy noodles, fresh chilli, onion and pickles in citrus. Then move on to the sekuwa, charcoal-grilled skewers, especially the chicken marinated in yoghurt, and wash it all down with a Lukla, a Nepalese beer. For dessert, there’s kulfi, a mango and cardamom ice cream.

Worth knowing before you go: it’s open every day for lunch and dinner, and there’s a terrace at the back as well as the main room. The menu also covers Indian and Portuguese food, so it works for a group that can’t agree.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: order a mix of momos, the Nepalese dumplings, so you get both the ones served in broth and the fried ones.

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