How many months of rent upfront do landlords ask for in Lisbon?

"Months upfront" lumps together two different payments, and separating them is how you negotiate.

The three counts you will hear

The caução is the security deposit, returned at the end of the lease minus documented damage. Rendas antecipadas, advance rent, are rent for future months paid early and used up as you go. Since 1 January 2023, Article 1076 of the Civil Code, as amended by Lei 24-D/2022, caps the deposit at two months of rent and the advance rent at two months, the latter only by written agreement. Any agency fee sits outside this count: Global Citizen Solutions puts it at one to two months of rent when an agent is involved. Who pays it varies, so ask at the first viewing.

Why newcomers get asked for more

Without Portuguese payslips, a local credit history or a fiador, landlords compensate for risk. Global Citizen Solutions (updated 21 July 2026) reports that landlords commonly ask foreign tenants without a guarantor for six to twelve months upfront, which is beyond the advance rent cap. What usually works better than quoting the law: bank statements, a letter from your employer or main client, proof of savings and a Portuguese bank account for the rent.

Before any money moves

Get the written contrato de arrendamento first, with the deposit, the advance rent, the return conditions and the IBAN written into it, and a receipt for every payment. If a landlord insists on more than the caps, take advice from a Portuguese lawyer before you pay.

We price all of this in euros for a 1,400 euro T1, scenario by scenario, in the 5,600 euro signing day for a Lisbon T1. The guarantor question is in what is a fiador.