Is this rental listing genuine?

Fake rental adverts are a real problem in Portugal: the police (PSP) recorded 4,553 rental fraud crimes in three years. Newcomers who can’t view in person are easy targets, but a few checks will protect you.

How rental scams work

The PSP (Public Security Police, which covers the cities) described the usual pattern in April 2026, with a warning that online accommodation scams are a growing problem.

1. A home appears on a website or in newspaper classifieds at an attractive price, often with real photos and a real address
2. The “owner” deals only by email or phone and says they can’t show you inside
3. They push you to pay by bank transfer, cheque or a cash-sending service to “reserve” it
4. Once the money arrives, the advert disappears and the contact stops answering. The home doesn’t exist or is already let

The GNR (Republican National Guard, which covers most rural and resort areas) issued a similar warning before the 2026 holiday season. In April 2026 the PSP arrested a man suspected of 29 crimes in one rental scheme after a two-year investigation.

Warning signs

• Rent well below similar homes in the same area
• Excuses for not showing you inside: owner abroad, keys elsewhere, tenant still there
• Pressure to pay quickly “because others are interested”
• A request to pay a personal account abroad, or to send cash
• No AMI licence number from an “agent” (see How do I find a place to rent?)
• The same photos in another advert: do a reverse image search and look at the street online

Checks the police recommend

• Use websites and classified services that check the adverts they publish
• Search the address, the building and the advertiser’s details online
• Ask for more photos of the inside, and a copy of an electricity, water or gas bill for the home, and check the name and address match
• Check that the name linked to the IBAN you are asked to pay matches the owner, company or advertiser
• Keep every email, photo and message

Portuguese banks now show you the account holder’s name before a transfer goes through (confirmação do beneficiário): the CGD says this applies in its app, online banking and branches, at no extra cost. If the name doesn’t match the landlord or agency, stop.

Check who owns the home

Portugal’s Land Registry (registo predial) issues a certidão permanente: an online record of the property showing its owners, mortgages, charges and any court actions. Anyone can order one; you don’t need to be the owner. DECO PROteste says it costs €15 online or €20 in person, and gives six months’ unlimited access with an access code. To find the property you need its land registry description number and registry office, or its tax article number (artigo matricial) and parish. Ask the landlord for these; a genuine owner will have them.

• Check the owner’s name matches the person signing the lease, or that an agent has a written mandate from that owner
• Check the address and size match the advert
• Phone the agency on a number you found yourself, not one from the message

Pay the right way

• View inside first and meet the owner or the person authorised to let it
• Get a written lease that sets out the deposit (caução) and how it comes back
• Pay only what the law allows: no more than two months of deposit and two months of rent in advance, under Civil Code article 1076
• Pay by bank transfer to an account in the owner’s or agency’s name, and keep the receipt
• Ask for the electronic rent receipts the landlord must issue through the tax portal once the lease is registered

Each payment is explained in How do deposits and rental contracts work?

Booking from the UK

If you have to arrange something before you fly, book a short stay through a platform with payment protection and find your long-term home after you land. If a friend views for you, ask them to meet the owner or agent inside the home, not just look at the building.

If you’ve been scammed

1. Call your bank straight away and ask it to try to recall the transfer
2. Report it to the PSP or the GNR with the advert, messages, contract and payment details
3. Report the advert to the website so it is taken down
4. If you sent copies of your passport or residence card, tell the police and watch for misuse