Key figures — as of 2026-09-20: Two new rental regimes — RSAA and CIA — took effect 1 September 2026 under Decree-Law 97/2026 of 20 May — rent under RSAA capped at 80% of the median rent per m² in each concelho (INE data) — landlords get full IRS/IRC exemption on rental income, with a minimum 3-year term (or 3 months for temporary/student lets) — CIA investors get up to 25 years of contract, IMT and Stamp Duty exemption on purchase, and an IMI exemption for the first 8 years — as of mid-September the implementing portaria setting exact rent ceilings and the IHRU platform were still pending publication.
Two new levers to pull more homes onto the rental market
Portugal's rental market got a legal facelift on 1 September, when two new instruments created by Decree-Law 97/2026, which approves the regime dos contratos de investimento para arrendamento and the regime simplificado de arrendamento acessível (RSAA) came into force. For foreigners trying to find a lease that doesn't eat half their salary, the headline is simple: the government is now paying landlords, in tax terms, to keep rents below market rate — and it's doing it through two separate tracks depending on the size of the investment.
The first, the Regime Simplificado de Arrendamento Acessível (RSAA), replaces the old Programa de Apoio ao Arrendamento. The Rental Support Programme is replaced by the Simplified Affordable Rental Scheme, while a second measure comes into force at the same time: Investment Contracts for Rental Housing (CIA), aimed at developers and investors with larger-scale projects. Both instruments are designed, as one legal explainer put it, to attract into the formal market homes currently vacant or outside the residential rental circuit.
How RSAA works — and what it caps rents at
Under RSAA, a landlord who signs up commits to charging no more than a set ceiling tied to local market data. The monthly rent must respect the maximum limit set for the relevant typology, based on 80% of the median rent per square metre published by INE for the municipality where the property is located. In exchange, the RSAA grants full exemption from IRS, IRC and Stamp Duty on rental income, with no value cap.
Two contract types exist. For a normal home, for permanent residence, the contract must have a minimum duration of three years. There's also a shorter route clearly aimed at people relocating for work or study: temporary-residence contracts are for tenants whose tax domicile is in a different municipality from where the rented property is located, and must run for a minimum of three months, renewable while the temporary purpose continues. That's the clause worth flagging for foreign remote workers or academics on short postings — a landlord can legally offer a sub-market, tax-exempt lease for as little as three months if you're commuting in from another concelho.
Crucially, this exemption isn't temporary. The exemption has no defined expiry date and continues for as long as the contract remains in force and the scheme's conditions are met. Oversight sits with the housing institute rather than Finanças alone: compliance with RSAA rules will be monitored by IHRU in coordination with the Tax Authority, Social Security, the Registries Institute and INE, and if a landlord breaches the terms the tax benefit can end, forcing them to settle the tax owed plus compensatory interest.
CIA: the big-money track
For institutional or larger private investors building or rehabilitating blocks specifically for rent, the Contratos de Investimento para Arrendamento (CIA) offer a heavier package. CIAs are aimed at construction, rehabilitation or acquisition of properties for residential rental or sub-rental, signed with IHRU on behalf of the State, and can run for up to 25 years. The tax perks stack up: exemption from IMT and Stamp Duty on acquiring the properties, an IMI exemption for the first eight years and a 50% rate reduction for the remainder, exemption from AIMI for the entire contract term, a reduced 6% VAT rate on eligible construction works, and a 50% refund of VAT paid on architecture and engineering services.
GrowIN's take: the maths for a landlord — and the catch for tenants
Run the numbers on a typical mid-market flat renting for €1,200 a month. Rental income (Category F) is normally taxed at a 28% autonomous rate in Portugal, so a landlord outside any special regime would hand Finanças roughly €4,030 a year on €14,400 of gross rent. Opt into RSAA instead, and that entire tax bill disappears — a swing worth over €4,000 a year to the landlord, which is exactly the incentive meant to pull hesitant owners of empty flats back into the formal market. Compare that with the parallel 10% flat rate available since May 2026 for rents up to €2,300 a month, which needs no minimum term or median-rent test — a landlord happy with a smaller discount but more flexibility might reasonably prefer that route over locking into RSAA's three-year minimum.
The catch for house-hunters: as of 16 September, the new regime had entered into force on 1 September but remained unregulated, which is essential for its application, and the IHRU electronic platform where landlords and prospective tenants can register was also not yet active. In practice, that means the exact euro-per-square-metre ceilings landlords can legally offer under RSAA weren't yet published anywhere a tenant could check them.
"A tax break only moves the rental market once landlords can actually see the numbers on paper," is a fair summary of where things stand, according to GrowIN Portugal Editorial.
What foreigners should watch next
Anyone already renting under the old Programa de Apoio ao Arrendamento keeps their existing terms — contracts signed under the previous programme retain the tax effects already granted, with the transition designed so landlords already charging affordable rents under the repealed scheme aren't disadvantaged. For everyone else, the practical advice is to wait for the portaria fixing concrete rent ceilings by municipality and the IHRU registration platform before assuming a specific flat qualifies. Foreign tenants relocating between municipalities for work should ask landlords directly whether a property is being offered under RSAA's three-month temporary-residence track, since that's the fastest way into a below-market lease without a three-year commitment. Check our tax and NIF hub for how rental income and residency rules interact if you're weighing whether to become a landlord yourself.
Until the implementing rules land, treat any advertised "RSAA-compliant" rent as provisional — verify the ceiling and registration status with the landlord and, where in doubt, with IHRU or the Portal das Finanças before signing anything.