House rents in Portugal continue to rise, at a time when supply is not keeping up with the dynamism felt in demand. But, looking at the national panorama, there are very different realities. Most municipalities even have house rents below the national median, which was set at 7.60 euros per square meter (euros/m2) in the last year ending in June. And there are even 10 municipalities that have house rents below 3 euros/m2, being the cheapest in the country, according to a report by idealista.

“In the first half of 2024 (last 12 months), 39 municipalities had rents above the national value (7.60 euros/m2)”, highlights the INE in the bulletin. This means that the vast majority of the 215 municipalities with available data - out of a total of 308 municipalities that make up the country - have house rents below the national median.

There are also 106 municipalities where houses were rented for less than 5 euros/m2. And, of these, there are also 56 municipalities with median rents below 4 euros/m2. In other words, a 100 square meter (m2) home will have been rented for less than 500 euros/month in these locations.

Where are the 10 cheapest municipalities to rent a house?

You have to travel inland to find the 10 cheapest municipalities to rent a house. These are the only municipalities in the country where houses were rented for a median price of less than 3 euros/m2.

The municipality of Vila Flor, in the district of Bragança, has the cheapest house rents of all: 2.28 euros/m2 in the last 12 months ending in June. Next is Vila Nova de Foz Côa, in Guarda, (2.35 euros/m2) and Sátão, in the district of Viseu (2.66 euros/m2). In these three municipalities, rental contracts were closed for less than 270 euros per month (in median terms).

It was also possible to rent a 100 m2 house for less than 300 euros per month in Gouveia, Valpaços, Moimenta da Beira and Borba, for example, as shown by the INE data.

The most expensive municipalities to rent a house

On the other side of the table are the municipalities that have the highest house rents in the country, with Lisbon leading the list (15.63 euros/m2). In the Portuguese capital, a 100 m2 house was rented for the median cost of 1,563 euros in this period.

The second municipality with the highest house rents of all is Cascais (14.87 euros). And right after it is Oeiras (13.46 euros/m2) and Porto (12.21 euros/m2). Renting a 100 m2 house in these municipalities had a median cost of over 1,200 euros per month.

It is clear that most of the municipalities that make up the top 10 most expensive to rent a house are located in Greater Lisbon. The only exceptions are Porto, Matosinhos and Funchal.

“The territorial pattern of rents per m2 of new rental contracts by municipality highlighted, with values ​​higher than those of the country, all municipalities in Greater Lisbon and the Setúbal Peninsula, the Algarve (10 out of 15 with available information) and the Porto Metropolitan Area (5 out of 17)”, reads the document released by INE.