Urban rental for housing is an increasingly present and essential reality for the country's economy. Appeals to landlords to place their vacant properties on the rental market are huge, as the country needs these properties to guarantee housing.
This ensures, on the one hand, the internal mobility of people, and on the other, conditions for foreigners to settle in Portugal.
Unfortunately, there are many vacant properties, which is justified by the fact that, after the end of the lease, many owners/landlords are faced with their property being very degraded or, at times, destroyed, resulting in conflicts to ascertain responsibility for repairing the site.
Even if the interveners (landlord and lessee) inspect the place prior to signing the lease - and both accept the property in the exact terms in which it is found -, it happens that, not infrequently, at the end of the contract, the property is degraded , starting the litigation.
At this stage, the exchange of arguments between landlord and tenant is common: the former demands compensation from the tenant for damages; the second counters, stating that the damage already existed and that it only aggravated with the use given to it, even though this use has always been prudent and careful.
This dialectic ends up being resolved in one of two ways: either the owner assumes the costs and repairs the property or goes to the courts to be a judge to decide, and the courts are faced with a great difficulty in ascertaining the facts that support the action.
In most situations, to establish the truth, the judge only has testimonial evidence and the conviction with which he stands from these testimonies.
Two key ideas: doubts about the alleged facts that give rise to litigation and the existence of less litigation presuppose fewer cases in the courts.
In order to prevent the existence of disputes, the lease must be accompanied by a Notice of Finding made by a Solicitor. This Notice of Finding is the appropriate mechanism to prevent conflicts from reaching the courts.
The Solicitor prepares the Certificate of Finding through direct contact with reality and describes, in an impartial, clear and exhaustive manner, the state of the property.
With the use of this tool, landlords feel safer to place their properties on the rental market, as they are in possession of a document that allows them to avoid future conflicts. And even if conflicts do arise, the existence of a Self-Declaration makes their resolution easier.
The Notices of Finding are now starting to be known in Portugal and the Solicitors are the professionals qualified to prepare them.
So, you already know: if you want to rent an urban property or if you own a property and want to put it on the rental market, contact a Solicitor and assert your rights.
Author: Natércia Reiga is Solicitor and Enforcement Agent
Note: Article published under the partnership between the Sul Informação and the Order of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents
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