Legal Beagles

[DVBRO]

I am sure someone out there will know the answer.
If you rent, long term a Portuguese property, from a UK owner and have the rental contract drawn up by an English Lawyer, under the UK laws and Constitution in the UK, is it still valid in Portugal and do the same Laws apply?

[steve]

It may well be valid here but I would guess that any dispute would have to be settled through the English legal system. You should really spend the money necessary to get legal advice from a solicitor here so that you know exactly where you stand.

[sam]

Get legal advice. I suspect Portuguese laws would overide and these tend to favour the tenant rather than the landlord. From what I've read it can be difficult to remove a long term tenant.

[SatRoger]

British law doesn't not apply in Portugal and vice-versa. You cannot rent a place in the UK and use Portuguese law to draw the contract.

[Farol]

British law doesn't not apply in Portugal and vice-versa. You cannot rent a place in the UK and use Portuguese law to draw the contract.

Not sure that I agree with that. Many contracts contain clauses that state under which country's laws they are drafted and will be applied if there is a dispute.

If the 2 parties to a contract are in England and the contract clearly states that English law applies and the contract is agreed and signed in England then the location of the subject of the contract should not matter, especially throughout the EU. What it would mean though is that neither party could attempt to use any law other than English law with any expectation to resolve any issue as that is what they signed agreement to.

One option as you are talking about a long term contract might be to have the signed UK contract presented to a Portuguese notary.

However, as has already been stated the best advice is to get the input from a solicitor that is qualified and experienced in international contract law. One that practices solely in one country might still not give correct advice.

[SatRoger]

When you rent a property in Portugal you have to comply with Portuguese law, there is no way around that. You can draw the contract in England but it need to comply with Portuguese law and the Portuguese law/Court will be deciding factor if there is any dispute.

That is why if you only advertise your Portuguese property for rent in UK and rent only to UK residents/citizens, you still have to pay taxes in Portugal, according to Portuguese law.

[steve]

What you say sounds logical but I am not sure that it is altogether true. Here in Portugal I can make out a will to leave all my assets to my wife without provision for my children- something which the forced heirship law here prevents a Portuguese citizen from doing - and this will be put into effect. My solicitor advised me that because I am English the English inheritance law prevails in this respect.
I still say that if trouble is looming over this rental it is foolhardy for DVBRO not to get legal advice to confirm where he stands. The owner of the property although in the UK should have lodged a copy of the rental agreement with the Finanças and paid tax here on the income. I am aware of someone whose rental payments are now being made directly to the Finanças because the landlord had been found not to have complied with his legal obligations.

[SatRoger]

Steve,

The will is a different situation. There is an international convention that applies specific to a will, which both Portugal and UK are signatories. The convention provided for a universally recognized code of rules under which a will made anywhere, by any person of any nationality, would be valid and enforceable in every country which ratified or acceded to the convention.

But on a rental, no. It doesn't matter if you are English, American or Australian, if the property is in Portugal, Portuguese law applies. Finanças will not accept a rental agreement based on English/UK law. If there is a dispute and the owner wants to remove the tenant from the property, a UK court will say they don't have jurisdiction to enforce a removal order in Portugal and a Portuguese court will not accept an rental agreement based on UK law (right now, the Portuguese courts cannot accept anything, but that is another story )

Can you buy a Portuguese property from UK seller using UK laws, signing the buy/sell agreement in the UK? Try take that document to Portugal and register with Conservatória de Registro Civil and Finanças (AT) and they will tell you the document is not valid in Portugal. But you can do a Power of Attorney in the UK that is valid for Portugal (another international convention applies here: Hague Convention).

I live in the US, which has rental laws that favor the landlord. Here, if you are late on your rent, the landlord can kick you out without any problems, and can even keep your stuff and sell it to pay for what is owe to him. I have an apartment in Carvoeiro, can I rent that apartment using the US rental laws since I live here? Off course not. US rental law only applies to US rental properties, no matter your nationality.

The same in Europe, even with European Union, you cannot choose the most favorable rental country law and say: I am renting a property in Portugal but I want to use the rental law in France or Germany on the rental agreement. It doesn't work that way.

[steve]

SatRoger Thanks for an informative and well written contribution.

[DVBRO]

SatRoger Thanks for an informative and well written contribution.

Hear hear!
Many thanks for your responses.
This question was not for me but someone who was adamant that British Legislation and rules apply in Portugal!