Renting or buying?

Renting or buying? The Portuguese response has been clear: almost eight out of ten Portuguese owned their own home in 2016 (75.2%). Of these, more than three had a mortgage or bank loan (36.7%).

Eurostat's figures for 2016 show a slight increase in the number of Portuguese who prefer to buy their own home compared to 2014, when the figure stood at 74.9%. Portugal continues to outperform the European average, which stands at 69.3%.

In other words, only a quarter of Portuguese rent a home, which is a far cry from the German reality: there, 45% of the population prefers to rent a home.

The "cultural factor" and "the question of ownership" don't explain everything, Luís Lima, president of the Real Estate Mediation Association (APEMIP), told CM. When you buy a house "and take out a loan, often for life, people are still tenants". "Many people learned this during the crisis in 2008," recalls Luís Lima.

António Machado, from the Lisbon Tenants' Association, proposes measures to encourage renting. "Rents shouldn't exceed 30% of family income. And councils need to monitor and intervene when they don't comply."


Renting could become more expensive as soon as next year

From January 1st next year, landlords can increase rents by 1.1% if they so decide. In practice, a rent of 500 euros could rise by 5.6 euros per month. But the State Budget for 2018 provides that landlords who join the Affordable Rent Program will be exempt from IRS and IMI reductions.

If they choose to keep the rents at the market reference value, but establish long-term contracts, they will see their IRS reduced. Luís Lima, from the Portuguese Real Estate Mediation Association, proposes the following as an incentive for renting: "The rent should be 40% cheaper than the house payment".