Working from home has firmly slipped from the ‘every now and then’ into the every day, with professionals across the globe requesting flexi hours or even full-time home working.
While working from home started out as a practical tool in the fight against the pandemic, it has provoked a wider conversation around hours, locations and staff wellbeing. It’s a well-covered topic but it has been taken to the next level by Portugal.
The country has introduced new rules that allow parents to work at home indefinitely – without seeking prior approval from their employer – until their child turns eight. Also acknowledging that working from home in Portugal is a permanent shift and not a fad, companies may have to contribute towards the household bills that increase as a byproduct of home working.
This creates an interesting landscape for professionals with families relocating to the country, with Lisbon becoming an increasingly attractive city in which to live. The capital of Portugal is already popular with hundreds of multinational companies, particularly among car manufacturers (both Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have digital tech hubs in the city), and it’s also home to the Euronext stock exchange.
Employment prospects are enhanced by hot spots such as Oeiras on the fringe of Lisbon, where firms including Google and the Lagoas Business Park are located. There’s also Startup Lisboa – an incubator community that has created more than 1,500 jobs to date.
With an influx of international talent – and now a ruling that parents can work from home more freely – choosing a property to rent in Lisbon has become more important than ever. The city is immensely attractive among the global business community in terms of aesthetics and quality of life. In fact, Athena Advisers’ records found that over the last 15 months, 70% of Lisbon’s rental market demand came from foreign families who settled permanently in Portugal and 30% came from ‘digital nomads or expatriates for professional reasons temporarily settled in Portugal’.
Klippa Relocation’s agents are familiar with Lisbon’s 53 civil parishes, referred to locally as freguesias, and Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area. From the expat heavy Bairro Alto neighbourhood and Baixa right in the city centre, to the artistic and cultured Chiado district and upscale quarters of Parque de Nações, having an experienced agent on board will ensure professionals get the very best out of living in Lisbon. They’ll hand-pick bairros (neighbourhoods) according to a relocator’s, employer, working patterns and family set-up.
The good news is short-term lets are the most popular rental tenure in Lisbon and they will usually be offered fully furnished. Competition, however, may come in the form of seasonal workers servicing the tourist trail, especially for properties closest to the coastline.
Although long-term lets are not well advertised, a Klippa agent will have the right real estate connections to secure agreements in excess of six months. These longer-term properties tend to be in the city centre and will probably be offered on an unfurnished basis. Whatever the tenure, expect to pay two months’ rent upfront as security when a formal contract is drawn up – the contrato de arrendamento.
In terms of rental costs, Lisbon is cheaper than London at €13.3 per m2*, which translates as roughly €400 for a room in the city, €600-€700 for a one-bedroom property and approximately €1,600 for a three-bedroom inner-city apartment.
If your professionals are Portugal bound, please contact Klippa Relocation for property assistance and orientation packages. Our agents in the city are ready to help.
*idealista.pt October 2021
