Rent update letter — free template in PDF and Word

Every year the landlord can update the rent of contracts in force, applying the coefficient that the National Statistics Institute (INE) publishes in the Diário da República (Official Gazette). The update is not automatic: it only takes effect if it is notified in writing to the tenant, with at least 30 days' notice before the date the new rent becomes due.

There is a rule that catches many landlords of recent contracts: where the contract provides no update scheme, the first update can only be demanded one year after the contract started, and the following ones one year after the previous update (article 1077(2)(b) of the Civil Code). In a contract that started in May, the first update letter only makes sense after the following May — not in January just because the new coefficient has been published.

Once the one-year interval is checked, count back from the month you want to charge the new amount: if you want the new rent to be due in January, the letter must be in the tenant's hands by the end of November. Sending it at the last minute loses you that month's update.

Mind the contract wording: if the contract provides its own update scheme, that is the scheme to apply, not the default scheme in the Civil Code.

1. Check in the contract whether an update scheme has been agreed and the date it was signed.
2. Fill in the header with the landlord's and the tenant's details and the address of the let property.
3. Enter the year's coefficient and multiply the current rent by that value to get the new rent.
4. Set the effective date leaving a comfortable margin: the 30 days count from receipt of the letter, not from the date you wrote it.
5. Sign, keep a copy and send by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the let property.
6. File the registration receipt and the acknowledgement of receipt with the contract — it is the proof of the notification.
7. From the effective date, issue rent receipts with the new amount.

The rent update is provided for in article 1077 of the Civil Code. The parties can stipulate the update scheme in writing (para. 1); where nothing is stipulated, the default scheme in para. 2 applies: the rent can be updated annually according to the coefficients in force, the first update can only be demanded one year after the contract started and the following ones one year after the previous one, with the landlord notifying in writing, with at least 30 days' notice, the coefficient and the new rent.

The form of the notification is in article 9 of Law no. 6/2006 (NRAU): notifications concerning the rent update are made in a document signed by the declarant and sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (para. 1). Letters addressed to the tenant are sent to the let property, unless otherwise stated in writing (para. 2). The same article also allows hand delivery of the signed document, with the recipient signing a copy, with a note of receipt (para. 6). If the letter is returned because it was not collected within the postal service's period, article 10 of the NRAU requires a new registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to be sent 30 to 60 days after the first sending; if it is returned again, the notification is deemed received on the 10th day after sending.