How to change estate agent or end an exclusive contract in Portugal

How long does a Portuguese agent contract last?

As long as the contract says. Lei 15/2013, the law on real estate mediation, requires the contrato de mediação imobiliária (mediation contract, often called the CMI) to be in writing and to set out the commission, the VAT rate and any exclusivity (article 16(1) and (2)). If it says nothing about how long it lasts, it runs for six months (article 16(3)).

Find the contract and note four things:

What to find	Where it usually is	Why it matters
Start date and term	The duration clause (clause 8 in the standard model)	Tells you when you can leave without a dispute
Renewal wording	Same clause	Most renew automatically
Notice period and method	Same clause	Miss it and you are bound for another term
Exclusive or not	The contract regime clause (clause 4 in the standard model)	Decides whether you can add or swap agencies now

Does the contract renew automatically?

Usually, yes, but that comes from the contract, not the law. Lei 15/2013 does not regulate renewal. The standard contract model lodged with IMPIC (the regulator) says the contract renews automatically for equal periods, and that either side can stop the renewal by registered letter with proof of receipt, or an equivalent method, at least 10 days before the end of the current term. Agencies using their own wording may set a longer notice period. Check your contract.

Work the date out backwards. A six-month contract signed on 15 March 2026 ends on 15 September 2026. Ten days before is 5 September. Treat that as the date the letter must arrive, not the date you post it. From abroad, allow at least a week for post, or have a lawyer in Portugal send it for you.

Can you end an exclusive contract before it expires?

You can, but it costs more risk than waiting for the end of the term.

Portuguese courts treat the mediation contract as close to a mandate, which the client can in principle revoke. In March 2022 the Lisbon Court of Appeal held that an owner could end an exclusive contract early where there was no clause making it irrevocable. The agency could then claim damages it could prove, such as marketing costs (Civil Code article 1172), but not the commission itself, unless it had produced a genuine buyer and the sale failed because of the owner.

In January 2023 the same court refused commission to an agency after an owner with a serious illness ended an exclusive contract, because the agency could not show it had found a genuine buyer.

Courts do not all agree on early termination, and your contract may contain penalty or irrevocability clauses. In practice:

• Best: let the term run out and stop the renewal.
• Next best: agree an early end in writing with the agency (a revogação por acordo, termination by agreement). Many agencies accept this for a listing they are not selling.
• Last resort: end it unilaterally, ideally after a lawyer has read the contract.

What commission can you still owe?

Situation	Commission owed?	Basis
No buyer found, contract ends	No	Article 19(1): commission depends on the sale happening
Exclusive contract; you found the buyer yourself during the term	Generally no under simple exclusivity. Possibly yes under “absolute” exclusivity wording	STJ 12 April 2023. Check your contract
Exclusive contract; the agency’s buyer was ready and you refused to go ahead	Yes	Article 19(2)
You sell after the contract ended to a buyer the old agency introduced	Very possibly yes	Guimarães Court of Appeal, 11 July 2024
The new agency sells to a buyer it found	You pay the new agency only	Article 19(1)
Commission paid at the CPCV and the deal later fails	Depends on the contract	Article 19(1). Check your contract

Simple vs absolute exclusivity. Simple exclusivity stops you using another agency during the term. It does not stop you selling to a buyer you found yourself, as the Supreme Court (STJ) confirmed on 12 April 2023. Some contracts add wording that also bars private sales, sometimes called absolute or reinforced exclusivity. If yours does, a private sale during the term may trigger commission.

Buyers introduced before the end. The Guimarães Court of Appeal held in July 2024 that commission was owed where the sale happened after the contract ended, to a buyer the agency had introduced during the term. What mattered was that the agency’s work was part of the chain that led to the sale. Some contracts go further, with a “tail” clause that claims commission for any sale to an introduced buyer within, say, six or twelve months after the end. Check your contract.

Before you give notice, ask the old agency in writing for a list of every person it showed the property to. Keep it, and give it to the new agency.

Step by step: changing agent

Step	What to do	When
1	Find the contract; note the term, renewal clause, notice period and exclusivity	Now
2	Ask the current agency for its activity report and a list of buyers introduced	3–4 weeks before the notice deadline
3	Line up the new agency; agree terms but don’t sign an exclusive contract that overlaps the old one	Before the notice deadline
4	Send the notice letter by registered post with proof of receipt, and by email	So it arrives before the deadline
5	Keep the proof of receipt (aviso de receção) and a copy of the letter	On receipt
6	Ask the old agency to take down every advert, and check the portals yourself	From the end date
7	Sign with the new agency from the day after the old contract ends; name excluded buyers	From the end date
8	If adverts stay up, complain in writing, then via the Livro de Reclamações or to IMPIC	2 weeks after the end

Template: letter stopping renewal of a mediation contract

Send it in Portuguese, or bilingual, to the company name and address on the contract (the legal entity, which may differ from the brand on the shop window). Replace the brackets.

[Your name] [Your address] NIF: [your Portuguese tax number]

[Agency company name], AMI licence no. [number] [Registered address from the contract]

Carta registada com aviso de receção

[Place], [date]

Assunto: Oposição à renovação do contrato de mediação imobiliária n.º [number], de [date of contract] (Subject: Notice of non-renewal of real estate mediation contract no. [number] of [date])

Dear Sirs,

Concerning the property at [address], land registry description no. [number], tax article no. [number], I hereby give notice, under clause [number] of the above contract, that I do not wish the contract to renew. The contract will therefore end on [end date] (venho, por este meio, opor-me à renovação automática do contrato, que cessa os seus efeitos em [data]).

Please:

1. remove all adverts for the property from your website, portals and any partner networks by [end date];
2. send me by [date] a list of the people to whom you presented the property during the contract, with the dates of their visits;
3. return any keys and documents you hold for the property.

Yours faithfully, [Signature]

If you are agreeing an early end instead, change the subject to Revogação por acordo do contrato de mediação imobiliária and ask the agency to countersign and return a copy.

What if the old listing stays online?

Once the contract has ended, the agency has no mandate to market your property. Adverts left online make your home look stale, can show an old price and can bring in buyers who later say they “came through” the old agency.

• Ask in writing for removal by a set date (point 1 in the letter above).
• Search the main portals for your address and photos. Portals let you report a listing.
• If adverts stay up, complain through the official Livro de Reclamações (complaints book), which is sent to the regulator, or directly to IMPIC.

What should the new agent’s contract say?

The same checks as any mediation contract (see agent commission and listing contracts), plus three that matter when switching:

• Start date on or after the old contract’s end date, especially if either is exclusive.
• Excluded buyers. Attach the old agency’s list and state that no commission is due to the new agency for a sale to those people. This avoids paying two agencies for one sale.
• A short first term, three to six months, with the notice date written in your diary.

Check the new agency’s AMI licence on the IMPIC register before signing. If you’d like a starting point, Portugal Owners can suggest two or three agencies from its fact-checked estate agent lists.

Key points

• If the contract states no term, it lasts six months (Lei 15/2013, article 16(3)).
• The standard contract renews automatically; stop it by registered letter with proof of receipt at least 10 days before the end, or as your contract says.
• Ending an exclusive contract early is possible but risks a damages claim. Letting it expire, or agreeing an early end, is safer.
• Simple exclusivity doesn’t stop a private sale to your own buyer (STJ, 12 April 2023). Absolute exclusivity wording may.
• You may owe the old agency commission if you later sell to a buyer it introduced, even after the contract ends. Get the list and exclude those buyers in the new contract.
• Make sure old adverts come down, and don’t let two exclusive contracts overlap.