Legislation and Regulations
Legislation and Regulations
The documents listed below are provided only in Portuguese, with exception of Decree-Law No. 144/2009, of 17 June.
The information provided below does not replace consulting the legislation published in the Official Gazette.
Legislation on the Credit Ombudsman
Decree-Law No. 144/2009 of 17 June, which created the Credit Ombudsman in the Portuguese legal framework.
Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 73/2024 of 14 June, which appointed Ana Margarida Machado de Almeida as the Credit Ombudsman.
Legislation and Credit Regulations
Banco de Portugal macroprudential measure directed at new credit agreements concluded with consumers
Notice of Banco de Portugal No. 4/2017 of 22 September, which establishes procedures and criteria to be observed in the assessment of consumers' solvency by credit-granting entities.
Granting of Credit
Decree-Law No. 349/98 of 11 November (consolidated), which regulates the granting of credit for the acquisition, construction, and execution of ordinary, extraordinary, and improvement works for permanent, secondary, or rental housing, as well as for the acquisition of land for the construction of permanent housing.
Decree-Law No. 133/2009 of 2 June (consolidated), which transposes Directive No. 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April, on credit agreements for consumers, into national law.
Law No. 63/2014 of 26 August, which approves the regime for granting subsidized housing credit to disabled members of the armed forces.
Law No. 64/2014 of 26 August, which approves the regime for granting subsidized housing credit to people with disabilities.
Notice of Banco de Portugal No. 5/2017 of 22 September, which regulates various provisions of Decree-Law No. 74-A/2017, of 23 June, which establishes information duties to be observed in the negotiation and conclusion of credit contracts regulated by the same diploma.
Decree-Law No. 74-A/2017 of 23 June (consolidated), which approves the regime for credit contracts relating to real estate, establishing rules applicable to credit to consumers when secured by mortgage or another right over real estate.
Decree-Law No. 44/2024 of 10 July (consolidated), which establishes the conditions under which the State may provide a personal guarantee to credit institutions for the purpose of facilitating the provision of housing credit for first-time home purchases to individuals up to 35 years old.
Prevention and management of default
Notice of Banco de Portugal No. 7/2021 of 20 December, which specifies the duties that, under Decree-Law No. 227/2012, of 25 October, institutions are required to observe in the context of the prevention and extrajudicial settlement of credit contract default situations.
Decree-Law No. 227/2012 of 25 October (consolidated), which establishes principles and rules to be observed by credit institutions in the prevention and regularization of credit contract default situations by bank customers, and creates an extrajudicial network to support these bank customers in the regularization of such situations.
Decree-Law No. 58/2013 of 8 May, which establishes new rules applicable to the classification and counting of credit operation deadlines, remunerative interest, interest capitalization, and debtor default.
Credit moratoria
Banco de Portugal press release of 25 May 2026: Storm Kristin. A new moratorium has come into force for credit agreements with affected customers.
Decree-Law No. 31-B/2026 of 6 February (consolidated), which establishes a loan moratorium for households and companies affected by Storm “Kristin”.
Credit intermediaries
Notice of Banco de Portugal No. 6/2017 of 6 October, which regulates various provisions of the legal regime approved by Decree-Law No. 81-C/2017, of 7 July, relating to the authorization process for exercising the activity of credit intermediary, the registration of credit intermediaries with Banco de Portugal, and the remuneration policies of entities engaged in the activity of credit intermediary or providing consultancy services concerning credit contracts.
Decree-Law No. 81-C/2017 of 7 July (consolidated), which establishes the legal regime defining the requirements for access to and exercise of the credit intermediary activity and the provision of consultancy services concerning credit contracts. It partially transposes Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February, on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential property.
Sale and management of bank loans
Central Credit Register (Portuguese acronymous, CRC)
Decreew-Law No. 103/2025 of 11 September, which transposes Directive (EU) 2021/2167, which harmonises access to and the exercise of the management of non‑performing bank loans and sets out the requirements for credit purchasers, into national law; and, in the annex, approves the regime for the sale and management of bank loans (Annex I) and amends the regime for the Central Credit Register (Annex II).
Last updated: 25 May 2026
