Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 104
Portugal
Establishments and facilities installed in shopping centres have in the meantime been expressly
excluded from the application of such regime.
Litigation
Are the courts
operating?
•
Residential tenants eligible for purposes of deferral on the payment of rents, may defer
rent payment falling due in the period from 1 April 2020 up to the end of the month following
the termination of the state of emergency, and the deferred rents shall be paid in monthly
instalments within 12 months after the deferment period lapses. Furthermore, eligible
residential tenants who have their “permanent residence” in the property (and student
tenants who have their permanent residence more than 50 km away from the let property)
may, alternatively, request a loan without interest to the Institute for Housing and Urban
Rehabilitation, to cover the difference between the due rent and the amount corresponding to
the application of the effort rate of 35% to the household income.
•
Non-residential tenants eligible for purposes of deferral on payment of rents may defer
the payment of rents falling due (i) in the period from 1 April 2020 up to the end of the month
following the termination of the state of emergency, or (ii) up to the end of the 3 months
following the reopening or the end of the suspension of its activity (however, the deferral is
not applicable to rents falling due beyond 31 December 2020). The deferred rents shall be paid
in 24 instalments, from 1 January 2021 up to 31 December 2022. The global amount of
deferred rents accrued for purposes of calculation of the due instalments excludes the
overdue and paid rents which shall be deemed as settled. The tenants that intend to benefit
from such regime shall communicate it to the landlord, which can propose a different
payment agreement. Favourable agreements executed between tenants and landlords before
or after the amendment to the deferral regime shall prevail over such regime; agreements
executed with worse terms and conditions than this regime may be terminated by the tenants
by serving a notification to the landlord within 30 days as of 21 August 2020. Any clauses
included in agreements entailing the waiver by tenants to rights provided under this
regime and the waiver to enforce legal action against the landlord, or entailing the acceptance
of increases to rent and duration of lease agreements are deemed null and void.
•
Applicable regime to shopping centres (in force from August to December 2020): the
payment of rents due by tenants of establishments and facilities installed in shopping centres
is governed by the Supplementary Budget (approved by Law no. 27-A/2020, of 24 July), which
determines that up to 31 December 2020 it is only due the payment by tenants of the variable
rent (calculated on the shopkeepers’ sales), accrued with the service charge of common
expenses (being excluded the payment of the fixed rent).
Courts are operating, but as long as the exceptional and temporary measures in response to the
epidemiological situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak are in place, the following shall remain suspended:
• Term for a debtor to file for insolvency,
• Any acts to be carried out in enforcement or insolvency proceedings related to the implementation of
procedures for the judicial surrender of the family home,
• Eviction orders, special eviction procedures and procedures for surrendering rented properties,
• Limitation periods for the proceedings and procedures referred to in the preceding paragraphs, and
• Limitation periods for proceedings that cannot be carried out in person or by means of distance
communication.
• For more information please visit here.
Government measures in key jurisdictions
104