Do I need to open a Portuguese bank account to rent long term?

It is _not necessary_ to have a local bank account if you want to rent in Portugal. But since you are from the UK you may have to convert your currency to Euros and your bank in the UK may charge you fees for withdrawing the funds from a local (Multibank) ATM. I am a US Citizen and my bank charges me fees for every ATM withdrawal and the dollar amount is converted to Euros, which makes it a double whammy.

On the other hand, if you can get the account number and other details of your landlord and he/she agrees to you depositing the rent directly into that account at a local bank then no worries.... with a caveat ....... you will still have to withdraw cash from the ATM. And only those ATMs that indicate "Multibank". Another thing to consider is the fact that a maximum of 400 Euros per day are allowed for withdrawal.

More importantly you will need to apply for a Tax ID, without which you will not be able to conduct any financial transactions, including signing a rental contract.[/i] The cost is 10 or 12 Euros and it will take about 5 minutes to fill out the form.

Welcome to Portugal

Thanks very much for your reply! Very helpful:)

No worries mate