What are the running costs of a property in Portugal?

Portugal is known for the low tax fees and that also applies for properties. There is only 1 tax applicable for property owners and that is called:

Council tax

The council tax (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis) is charged by the City Hall of your village (Camara Municipal) and the rate is calculated based on a percentage of the fiscal value of the property. This value is in general much lower than  the current market value as this register in the past was only updated when a public deed had taken place but currently Portugal is re-evaluating the properties fiscal value to have this value more in line with the actual market value.

Electricity

In general, is the consummation of electricity in Portugal, and especially the Algarve, lower compared to other countries in the world. This is because 80% of the houses nowadays use solar boilers to heat the water. This is a common practice and works well in the Algarve due to the many days of sunshine. More traditional houses are using a woodturner or a palletburener for heating, which is a necessity in wintertime. Modern aircon units are energy sufficient so they don´t require a lot of energy. On average, the electricity bill for a detached 3-bedroom villa goes up to €125-€150 a month.

Water

Until now the usage of water in a household was quite cheap. For a detached house you can expect a water bill off € 50-€100 a month. You have to be careful though, because due to a shortage of water in the Algarve, the fines on unnecessary excessive use of water are heavily fined.

Gas

Because the Algarve must deal with seismic grounds, there are not many areas with canalized gas lines. Most houses make use of gas bottles, and in 90% of the casas they are being used for a gas hob. A 50-liter gas bottle costs around € 40 by home delivery and should take you a month to finish Even on the top floor of building, they bring the bottle to your doorstep.

Insurance

Depending on the type of property we at WESTMARK estate agency you to taken on an insurance to protect your investment. Sometimes you don´t need an insurance on the building, because when you own a property in a condo, they have an insurance already in place. When you own a detached villa we advise you to insure the structure.

At WESTMARK we have a specialist insurance advisor, Ana added to our team of professionals, and she is able to guide you. Ana speaks very well English and is a strong advisor with good listening skills.

Insurances we can help you with are:

• Liability insurance,
• Property Insurance,
• Healthcare insurance,
• Car insurance and
• Alojamento Local required insurances.

Pool and garden maintenance

For owners who are living abroad, the convenience of a gardener and pool boy are very nice to have. They take care of your property and make sure that all is being kept in a good shape. Sometimes you hire them separately and some companies can do both. In general, you are looking at a monthly expense of € 200.