The monthly support for tenants with a high effort rate has been extended to people forced to change their rental contract, although they have remained in the same house.
Rent support: how it works and how it is calculated.
The extraordinary rent support is paid monthly over a maximum period of 5 years and is aimed at families with an effort rate of more than 35%.
To calculate the effort rate of a family with a rented home, all you have to do is divide the monthly rent by the monthly net disposable income and multiply by 100.
The application must be submitted by the last working day of the month following the rent update. For example, if the rent was updated in February, the application must be submitted by the last working day of March.
Who receives rent support?
In order to benefit from the extraordinary rent support, the household must meet several requirements such as:
You must be tax resident in Portugal;
The effort rate must be equal to or greater than 35%;
The annual income must not exceed the maximum limit of the 6th IRS bracket, which is currently 38,632 euros;
For households that are not obliged to submit an IRS declaration, the monthly income must not exceed 1/14th of this amount, and must be made up of income from work or certain social benefits.
It is important to note that, for contracts after March 15, 2023, this aid is only applied if the new contract is signed with the same tenant and for the same property, which is their tax residence. In addition, the tenant must have benefited from this support before and the previous contract must have been terminated by the landlord.
Rent support is also granted to those who are not obliged to submit an annual tax return and to those who are recipients of a retirement, pension or survivor´s pension, or who are recipients of voluntary social insurance benefits granted to research fellows.
In addition to these possibilities, beneficiaries of the following social benefits can also access the support, if the household´s annual income does not exceed the 6th IRS bracket, which is currently 38,632 euros:
Old age, survivors´, invalidity or social pension;
Unemployment benefit;
Parental benefit;
Sickness and occupational disease allowance (for a period of no less than one month);
Social insertion income;
Social inclusion benefit;
Solidarity supplement for the elderly;
Support allowance for the main informal carer.
Payment of rent support: how does it work?
Support is paid by Social Security by the 20th of each month, via bank transfer to the bank account listed in the information system.
Bank transfer is the only payment method provided for rent support. For this reason, it is essential to have an up-to-date bank identification number (IBAN) with Social Security.
The Tax Authority (AT) is responsible for contacting the beneficiaries to confirm whether or not they are eligible for the support. If they are, the amount to be received and the duration of the support must be identified.
Previously, the support was only granted to rental or sublease contracts for first homes concluded until March 15, 2023. The payment of rent support ended with the termination of the lease.
From this date, new contracts must be for the same house and the same tenant. Thus, people who have lost extraordinary rental support due to the landlord´s termination are once again eligible to receive the benefit.
Source: https://www.idealista.pt