You have the income to pay the rent and your documents in order — and your application still stalls at the same question: “Do you have a guarantor?” If you are young, have only recently arrived in Portugal or are self-employed on recibos verdes (green receipts), you probably have nobody who can (or will) take on that responsibility. And the conclusion many people draw — no guarantor, no home — is wrong.
Demanding a guarantor is legal, but it is not required by law: no rule imposes a guarantor on a residential tenancy. It is a negotiable condition. And what the landlord wants is not the guarantor — it is the certainty that the rent comes in every month.
Here are seven alternatives to a guarantor that work in Portugal, the legal limits in force in 2026 and how to present your application. A note on vocabulary: people search a lot for “alugar casa sem fiador”, but in European Portuguese the formal verb is arrendar (to rent under a lease).
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Asking for a guarantor is legal, but it is not required by law — it is a negotiable condition.
- The most that can be demanded at signing is around 5 months’ rent: 1st month’s rent + 2 in advance + 2 as a deposit (art. 1076 of the Civil Code).
- 7 alternatives: a larger deposit, rent insurance, a bank guarantee, a co-tenant, payment history/references, Porta 65, a complete dossier.
- What convinces is proof: a verifiable dossier answers the doubt that led the landlord to ask for a guarantor.
Why landlords ask for a guarantor
To negotiate well, it helps to understand the other side. A landlord rarely asks for a guarantor out of distrust: they ask because a tenant who stops paying is expensive. In the calculations we made in another article, a default can cost the landlord between €5,400 and €10,800 in lost rent and recovering the property — our own estimate, not a legal figure, but it explains the caution.
The law adds the time factor: as a rule, the landlord can only terminate the lease for non-payment when the arrears are equal to or longer than three months (Civil Code, art. 1083). A guarantor is the traditional way — and, for the landlord, a free one — of shortening that risk.
Hence the conclusion that matters to you: a guarantor is a means, not an end. Whoever reduces that risk another way answers the real question. To see what a guarantor takes on, read the guide on the guarantor in a lease.
What the law allows (and limits) in 2026
Asking for a guarantor is legal. Freedom of contract applies: no rule requires a guarantor, and none forbids the landlord from demanding one. Legal commentary on the anti-discrimination law (Lei n.º 93/2017) even cites “the need to present a guarantor” as an objective and legitimate criterion — provided it is applied equally to all applicants.
A guarantor and a deposit can be combined: the legal limit applies to the amount of the deposit, not to the number of guarantees. But the deposit and rent paid in advance have caps, set by article 1076 of the Civil Code since 1 January 2023 (Lei n.º 24-D/2022, the 2023 State Budget law).
| What they can ask of you at signing | Limit in force (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| First month’s rent | 1 month’s rent (unavoidable) |
| Rent paid in advance (requires written agreement) | max. 2 months |
| Security deposit | max. 2 months’ rent |
| Maximum total | About 5 months’ rent |
The most that can be demanded at signing is around five months’ rent, and only the first is compulsory. A clause requiring a deposit above two months’ rent is, as a rule, void — the clause falls, not the lease. More detail in the guide on deposits and guarantees in rentals.
The alternatives to a guarantor
None of these options legally replaces a guarantee — only a guarantor is a guarantor. What these seven do is answer the need that led the landlord to ask for one. Choose those that apply to your case.
1. A larger deposit and rent in advance
The most direct: instead of a personal guarantee, money up front. You can offer two months’ rent as a deposit — the legal maximum — and, with written agreement, two months’ rent in advance. But that is the limit: demanding three or four months “because you have no guarantor” exceeds the cap in article 1076. And it is a lot of money tied up, so put the amount and the way it will be returned in writing.
2. Rent protection insurance
Rent protection insurance covers the landlord when the tenant stops paying, within the limits and exclusions of the policy.
The detail few people know: it is the landlord who takes out the insurance. Nothing stops you proposing it and discussing who bears the cost, which depends on the insurer. Note that insurers assess the tenant’s profile before accepting.
3. Bank guarantee
It is a bank’s commitment to pay the landlord up to a certain amount if the tenant defaults. It is the route most used by applicants without a guarantor resident in Portugal, especially foreigners, with reported amounts of six months to a year of rent, often “on first demand”. It is solid for the landlord and expensive for you: the bank usually demands that the guaranteed amount be blocked or a credit line, plus fees.
4. Joint application with a co-tenant
If you are going to share the home, both of you sign the lease as co-tenants: the landlord has two people bound and two incomes to add up in their calculation. That calculation is called the rent-to-income ratio (taxa de esforço) — the rent divided by the household’s net income. The market reference is around a third (30% to 35%) and is not a legal limit: it is a convention among landlords, estate agents and banks. Two incomes bring it down faster than any guarantee.
5. Payment history and references from previous landlords
A guarantor is a promise about the future; a payment history is proof of the past — and it weighs more with many landlords. If you have rented before, ask your previous landlord for a statement that you paid on time. In the Tenant Passport this is automated: you send them a link, they answer three simple questions without creating an account, and the attestation is saved in the Passport. If you paid rent through Aluseg, the months paid are recorded without any manual marking. If you have never rented, a bank statement showing regular payments and a statement from your employer will do.
6. Porta 65 Jovem, if you are 35 or under
Porta 65 Jovem is the State support scheme, managed by IHRU (Instituto da Habitação e da Reabilitação Urbana, the national housing and urban rehabilitation institute), which pays a percentage of the monthly rent of young people renting for permanent residence. It is not a guarantee given to the landlord, but it attacks the same problem from the other side: it reduces the rent coming out of your pocket and, with it, your rent-to-income ratio.
As a rule it covers applicants aged 18 to 35 (for a couple, one may be up to 37 as long as the other does not exceed 35), for renewable 12-month periods of up to five years, taking into account age, household, property ownership and income. The most actionable point: application windows are short — around 15 days — and missing one means waiting months. Percentages and caps vary by phase; check them on the Housing Portal (Portal da Habitação).
7. Negotiate with a complete dossier
This last one underpins all the others. The landlord’s question is “how do I know this person pays?”, and a guarantor is just the laziest way to answer it. A complete dossier answers directly — and even better when it is verifiable: the distance between saying “I earn €1,400 net” and showing payslips whose amount has been read and confirmed is the distance between a claim and proof.
| Alternative | What it solves | Cost to you | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larger deposit + rent in advance | Immediate cash | Up to 4 months’ rent tied up | You have savings |
| Rent protection insurance | Covers unemployment or incapacity | ~4% to 6% of the annual rent, if you absorb it | You have provable income |
| Bank guarantee | Commitment from the bank | Guaranteed amount + fees | Foreigner, or no guarantor in Portugal |
| Co-tenant on the lease | Two people bound, two incomes | None | You are sharing the home |
| History and references | Proof of the past | None | You have rented before |
| Porta 65 Jovem | Lowers the rent-to-income ratio | None | You are between 18 and 35 |
| Complete, verifiable dossier | Answers the underlying doubt | None | Always |
How to convince a landlord without a guarantor
At a viewing with ten applicants, the winner is whoever is easiest to decide on, not whoever has the best income. Five concrete steps.
- Prepare the dossier before the viewings. Most people leave a viewing promising documents “tonight”; half never send them and the landlord decides in the meantime. Gather identity, address, occupation and income before the first viewing — the list is in the guide to documents to rent a house.
- Bring evidence, not statements. “I have a permanent contract” is worth little; the contract, three payslips and a statement from your employer are worth the decision. There is no legal list of documents that can be demanded — you decide what you hand over.
- Say you have no guarantor at first contact — and what you are bringing instead. Keeping it until signing turns it into bad news at the worst moment. Said up front, with two concrete alternatives, it becomes a proposal.
- Add references from people who have been your landlord. Two lines confirming you paid on time are worth more than any cover letter: it is the one piece of proof you cannot write yourself.
- Reply quickly and in writing, on the same day, with the link to your Passport. Speed reads as reliability.
This is what the Tenant Passport is for, the free digital tenant dossier: you fill it in once — identity, occupation, income, household, documents — and share it with any landlord through a link.
- You choose what each landlord sees, section by section: identity, contact details, income, occupation, documents, household, attestations.
- Documents only open after you approve the access request, and every opening is logged. Consent is requested before anything is uploaded.
- Automatic reading of income documents: when the amount read matches the one declared, the Passport shows the “Verified data” badge.
- Trust levels that only show which of your details have been confirmed by someone other than you — it is not a score, a risk assessment or a recommendation.
- On the landlord’s side, viewing is free and needs no account, and the page includes the rent-to-income calculation.
Let’s be clear: a dossier does not legally replace a guarantor and does not guarantee that your application will be accepted. What it does is answer the need for trust that led the landlord to ask for one.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal for them to demand a guarantor and a deposit at the same time?
Yes. Nothing in the law prevents combining guarantees: the two-month limit in article 1076 applies to the amount of the deposit, not to the number of guarantees. A landlord can ask for the first month’s rent, two months in advance, two months as a deposit and a guarantor on top. What they cannot do is exceed the cap on the deposit.
I am a student with no income. What do I do?
Without income of your own, the realistic route is a joint application: someone with an income — usually a parent — joins the lease as a co-tenant or guarantor. If you are between 18 and 35, check the dates of the current phase of Porta 65 Jovem. Bring your enrolment certificate and proof of income from whoever is supporting you.
I am a foreigner with no history in Portugal. What can I present?
Start with the NIF (tax number), which you need before signing and which you get at a tax office (Serviço de Finanças). For identity, EU citizens generally need only their national ID card; outside the EU, a passport plus a visa or residence permit. As proof of income, present an employment contract, tax returns from your country of origin and bank statements. A landlord has no legal obligation to accept them — but refusing because the applicant is a foreigner is another matter.
Can the landlord reject my application without giving a reason?
As a rule, yes: nobody is obliged to rent to a particular applicant or to justify the choice. There is, however, a limit. Article 1067-A of the Civil Code prohibits discrimination in access to renting on the basis of sex, ancestry or ethnic origin, language, territory of origin, nationality, religion, belief, political or ideological convictions, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability, and prohibits adverts from containing preferences based on those categories. Lei n.º 93/2017 treats as discrimination the refusal or conditioning of a tenancy because of racial and ethnic origin, colour, nationality and ancestry, with enforcement by the CICDR (Comissão para a Igualdade e contra a Discriminação Racial, the Commission for Equality and against Racial Discrimination). Asking for a guarantor is legitimate; asking for one only from foreigners is not.
What is the maximum deposit I can give?
The equivalent of two months’ rent (Civil Code, art. 1076, no. 2), to which up to two months’ rent in advance can be added with written agreement. A clause requiring more is, as a rule, void. Offer a deposit as a negotiating argument if you can, but above two months’ rent nobody can impose it on you.
Apply with a dossier that speaks for you
Not having a guarantor does not make you a bad applicant: it makes you an applicant who has to prove what others merely promise — and that, well prepared, is an advantage. Arrive at the viewing with everything gathered and shareable in a link, and let the landlord confirm for themselves what the next applicant is still trying to explain.
The Tenant Passport is free, you fill it in once and it works for every application. The guarantor field exists and is optional: if you have one, include them; if not, present everything else.
