Rental contract

In practice, the owner assigns the use of his property to the tenant upon payment of a certain remuneration, known as rent.

There are 3 types of lease with the respective 3 types of contracts, namely: Housing Lease Agreement, Rural Lease Agreement and Commercial Lease Agreement.

Housing Lease Agreement

The contract for this type of lease, the most common, has to be signed by the owner, the tenant and the guarantor (if the owner requires one).

The contract must be formalized in writing and 3 copies must be made, all equally signed by the parties involved, being that: one will be in the possession of the landlord, the other in the tenant and the third copy will have to be delivered to the Finance Department of the area of the property. The contract is liable to pay Stamp Duty . The amount of the tax is equivalent to 10% of the agreed rent amount (or the amount of the rent increase , if it is a rent increase contract) and will have to be paid by the landlord.

What information should be included in the Housing Lease Agreement?

The Housing Lease Agreement must contain the following information:

• Identification of the parties (place of birth, date of birth and marital status);
• Identification and location of the leased property;
• The purpose of the lease: in this case the lease is for the tenant's dwelling;
• Data on the Use License (number, date, issuing entity or reference);
• The value of the rent;
• Date of the signing of the Lease Agreement.

If you wish you can use this Model of Lease Agreement for Housing purposes , made available by DECO .

How long is a Housing Lease Agreement?

The urban lease for housing can be concluded with a fixed term or for an indefinite period, whereas in the fixed term agreement it can be agreed that, after the first renewal, the lease has an indefinite term. In the absence of a stipulation by the parties, the contract is considered to have been concluded, with a fixed term, for a period of 2 years. The term must be included in a clause inserted in the contract and cannot be longer than 30 years, considering it automatically reduced to that limit when it exceeds it.

Opposition to the renewal of a lease with a fixed term

The timing of the termination of a lease will depend on the initial term of the lease or its renewal and whether it is the landlord or tenant to terminate. we have:

Landlord:

The landlord may object to the automatic renewal of the contract by communicating to the tenant, in accordance with Articles 1097 and 1098 . To do this, you will have to respect the minimum advance required by law, which is determined according to the duration of the contract / renewal, as mentioned in the following table:

P.ex. if the Lease Agreement was signed initially, or in a subsequent renewal, for a fixed term of 24 months, the landlord will have to notify the tenant of his opposition to the automatic renewal at least 240 days in advance.

Respecting the aforementioned advance, it will suffice that the notification to the tenant is made by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. In this link you can find a draft of the letter of opposition to the automatic renewal of a Lease Agreement (with a fixed term) ,

Tenant:

In the case of the tenant, the tenant may also object to the automatic renewal of the contract by communicating to the landlord, in accordance with Articles 1097 and 1098 . To do this, you will have to respect the minimum advance required by law, which is determined according to the duration of the contract / renewal, as mentioned in the following table:

Can the landlord terminate a lease?

The Lease Agreement can be terminated by the landlord when it comes to:

• Default by the lessee , namely for non-payment of rent , charges or expenses that are his responsibility. It is considered that there is a default that could terminate the contract before the end of the period provided, when:
  • The payment delay is 3 months or more ;
  • The lessee was late in paying the rent, for a period exceeding one month, and this occurred more than 1 time during the term of the contract in question;
  • The lessee was late in paying the rent, for a period exceeding 8 days, for more than 4 times, consecutive or interpolated, in a period of 12 months, during the term of this contract.
• The demolition of the building or the performance of in- depth works on the property (provided that the cost of the intervention is at least 25% of the property's VPT-Patrimonial Tax Value). In this case, the landlord will have to deliver the necessary proof of the works in the town hall and pay compensation to the tenant equivalent to 2 years of rent.
• The landlord's need to inhabit the property, or their descendants in 1st degree.

To cancel the Tenancy Agreement, the landlord must notify the tenant of the eviction order, in one of the following ways (duly substantiated, stating the obligation that the tenant has not fulfilled):

1. Single notification ;
2. Personal contact through a legal representative (lawyer, solicitor or enforcement agent) provenly mandated for this purpose;
3. Written signed and sent by the landlord.

Can the tenant terminate a Lease Agreement?

The Tenant can also terminate the contract before it expires, however there are legal deadlines to respect. According to article 1098º 2 of the Civil Code , after 6 months from the completion of the contract, the tenant can notify the landlord 120 days in advance that he intends to leave the dwelling. If you do not comply with the notice, you must pay the rent corresponding to that period.

Transmission in case of death of the tenant

In the event of the tenant's death, the lease is transmitted to the following persons , in the same order: spouse; person with whom the tenant lived in de facto union; ascendant who has lived with the tenant for more than a year; child or stepson under one year of age, or who is a minor; son or stepchild under 26 who is still studying; son or stepson who has lived with the tenant for more than a year, with a disability with a degree of disability greater than 60%.

Commercial Lease Agreement

The commercial, industrial or liberal lease contract is part of the typology of non-housing contracts. In this case, there is great contractual freedom for both parties.

This type of contract differs from the contract for the transfer of exploitation or lease of an establishment, since the former temporarily assigns the enjoyment of a property for a fee, in order to carry out a commercial activity there. The second, on the other hand, temporarily yields, upon payment, the economic unit constituted by a certain commercial establishment, which includes the enjoyment of the property where it is installed.

What documents are needed?

The contract must be formalized in writing in triplicate, with all copies equally signed by the parties involved, being that: one will be in the possession of the landlord, the other in the tenant and the third copy will have to be delivered to the Finance Department of the property area . The contract is liable to pay Stamp Duty . The amount of the tax is equivalent to 10% of the agreed rent amount (or the amount of the rent increase , if it is a rent increase contract) and will have to be paid by the landlord.

The term of the contract is 5 years and the following documents are essential for its elaboration:

• Tenant, landlord and guarantor Citizen Card (if any);
• Certificate of Commercial Registry ;
• Certificate of Land Registry of the content of the description and of all the inscriptions in force, issued by the Land Registry Office;
• Land booklet or certificate of the content of the matrix article and of the equity value, issued and updated by the Finance Department;
• User license issued by the City Council less than 8 years ago.

Rural Lease Agreement

The Rural Lease Agreement applies to the rental of rustic buildings, used for agricultural or livestock purposes.

This type of lease covers the land and housing of the tenant, permanent non-forest vegetation (eg fruit trees) and buildings intended for agricultural or livestock purposes (eg wineries, granaries, stables, mills, haystacks) .

What documents are needed?

• Identification of the granting parties (with indication of their tax identification number and residence or registered office);
• Identification of the building object of the lease (the purpose for which it is intended, the amount of the rent and the indication of the date of its execution);

The landlord has 30 days, after signing the contract, to deliver the original to the financial services of his residence or registered office.