Mid-term vs short-term rental in Cascais: what each earns and what the law says

Does a mid-term stay earn more than a short stay in Cascais?

Per night, no. A stay of 28 nights or more earned €164 a night, against €207 for stays under a week and €225 for stays of 7 to 27 nights. The table covers 990 bookings that started in the 12 months to 31 October 2026, in the 34 homes Portugal Portfolio manages in the Cascais area.

990 bookings starting between 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, homes in the municipality of Cascais. Portugal Portfolio booking records.

The shares of nights and revenue tell the rest. Stays of 1 to 6 nights made 35% of nights and 35% of revenue. Stays of 7 to 27 nights made 49% of nights and 53% of revenue. Stays of 28 nights or more made 16% of nights and 12% of revenue from only 29 bookings, which is 3% of all bookings. Figures are accommodation revenue, before costs, and not what an owner keeps.

What does a monthly stay pay in Cascais?

The median price for a stay of 28 nights or more was €4,950 per 30 nights over the 12 months. The table covers 29 stays in 19 homes, accommodation only, before cleaning and tourist tax.

Stays of 28 nights or more arriving between 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Accommodation only, before cleaning fees and tourist tax. Portugal Portfolio booking records, homes in the municipality of Cascais.

The median T2 stay paid €3,650 per 30 nights and the median T3 stay paid €5,850. One stay in four paid more than €6,150 across all sizes. Arrivals clustered in the first months of the year: 8 in January, 5 in February, 4 in March and 3 in April. Sample sizes are small, with 5 and 8 homes in the two size groups, so read these as a guide and not a price list.

The winter picture uses arrivals from November to March across winters 2024/25 and 2025/26 together. It covers 34 stays in 21 homes with a median length of 42 nights. Of the 34, 26 arrived in January or February.

Stays of 28 nights or more arriving from November to March, in the winters of 2024/25 and 2025/26. Accommodation only, before cleaning fees and tourist tax. Portugal Portfolio booking records, homes in the municipality of Cascais.

The median winter stay paid €4,000 per 30 nights. By size, the median was €2,000 for T0-T1, €2,800 for T2 and €6,000 for T3. For comparison, a winter night sold to a short stay averaged €80 in a T0-T1, €117 in a T2 and €201 in a T3.

Where are the empty nights in a Cascais holiday home?

They sit between November and March. The table shows occupancy, nightly rate and revenue for each month.

Source: Portugal Portfolio booking records, 34 homes in the municipality of Cascais. Accommodation revenue after discounts and before cleaning fees, tourist tax, platform commission, management and tax.

Occupancy was 36% in November, 35% in December, 38% in January, 47% in February and 48% in March. July reached 73%. November to March made 23% of annual revenue, while June to September made 54%. Winter bookings also ran longer, averaging 9.8 nights against 6.2 in summer. A longer stay is one way to fill a block of those quiet nights in one booking.

What does the law say about stays under 30 days?

A furnished stay under 30 days with services is presumed to be local accommodation. The rule is in article 4, n.º 2 of Decreto-Lei 128/2014, as republished by Decreto-Lei 76/2024.

The article presumes the operation of local accommodation in two cases. One is when a property is advertised or offered through any entity or website as tourist or temporary accommodation (alínea a). The other is when a furnished and equipped property is offered to the general public with services beyond a bed, such as cleaning, for periods under 30 days (alínea b). Under n.º 3, the presumption can be rebutted under the general rules of law, namely by showing a residential lease duly registered at the tax office. Registration as local accommodation is a necessary condition for operating (article 5, n.º 3).

This is an outline of the text and not advice on one case. Ask the council or a lawyer how it applies to your home.

What is a longer furnished stay in law?

It can be a lease for non-permanent housing or for special transitional purposes. Article 1095 of the Civil Code covers it in its n.º 3.

The article sets a one-year minimum for a fixed term in n.º 2. N.º 3 then says that minimum does not apply to contracts for non-permanent housing or for special transitional purposes, such as work, training, education or tourism reasons. N.º 4 limits tourism contracts: for each calendar year and each unit or building, only one may be signed. Which contract fits a given stay depends on the guest, the dates and the purpose written into it, so ask a lawyer to draft or check it.

Portugal Portfolio rents furnished homes for short stays and for stays of a month or longer. For anything longer, ask the team. You can start on our mid-term rentals page or see monthly rentals in Cascais.

How are the two kinds of rental taxed?

Both are taxed under the personal income tax code (CIRS), and the details depend on your situation, so ask an accountant. Here is the outline from the two articles.

Article 31 sets the coefficients of the simplified regime. It lists 0.50 for income from local accommodation in a house or apartment located in a containment area (n.º 1, alínea h). It also says the positive result of rental income equals net category F income (n.º 4). Article 72 sets autonomous rates. It gives 25% for residential lease income (n.º 2) and 28% for rental income not covered by the 25% rate (n.º 1, alínea e). We could not confirm from the article which coefficient applies to local accommodation outside a containment area, and no containment area for Cascais was found on 9 November 2026. The accountant should settle both.

Why do many Cascais homes do both?

Summer pays more per night and winter has the empty nights. A home can take short stays from June to September and a longer furnished stay across the winter.

June to September made 54% of annual revenue, with July at 73% occupancy and €284 a night. In November to March occupancy ran between 35% and 48%. The winter stays in our data were longer, with a median of 42 nights, and 26 of 34 arrived in January or February. A single booking across that period fills nights that would otherwise stay empty. The price per night is lower, but an empty night earns nothing. We do not promise that a particular home will find a winter guest. Compare the numbers for your size on the Cascais statistics page or in the income calculator, and read our page on winter rentals in Cascais.

Where does the information in this guide come from?

The revenue, occupancy and price figures on this page are Portugal Portfolio's own data. Legal and tax rules were read at the official sources listed below on 10 November 2026. If a source changes, the source is right.

• Portugal Portfolio booking records 34 homes in the municipality of Cascais with guests across the 12 months from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, 6,468 nights sold. Each night is counted once. Where the same stay appears twice, the lower price is used. No group has fewer than 5 homes.
• Decreto-Lei 76/2024 (republishing Decreto-Lei 128/2014, local accommodation regime), Diario da Republica Article 4 n.os 2 and 3 (presumption of local accommodation under 30 days, rebuttable by a registered lease), article 5 n.o 3 (registration necessary), article 6 n.o 3 (update data within 10 days of a change), article 6-B n.os 4 and 5 and article 9 n.os 2 and 8 (condominium powers), articles 15-A and 15-B (containment areas, limits on transfer of new registration numbers).
• PGDL, Codigo Civil article 1095 N.o 2 sets a one-year minimum for a fixed term, n.o 3 disapplies it for non-permanent housing or special transitional purposes (work, training, education, tourism) and n.o 4 allows one tourism contract per calendar year per unit or building.
• Portal das Financas, CIRS article 31 N.o 1 alinea h gives a 0.50 coefficient for local accommodation (house or apartment) in a containment area, and n.o 4 says the positive result of rental income equals net category F income.
• Portal das Financas, CIRS article 72 N.o 2 sets a 25% autonomous rate for residential lease income and n.o 1 alinea e sets 28% for rental income not covered by it.

What could not be confirmed. We could not confirm from article 31 CIRS which simplified-regime coefficient applies to local accommodation outside a containment area, nor which article 72 rate fits a furnished transitional lease. We did not find an official definition of a mid-term rental. No containment area for Cascais was found on 9 November 2026 by Portugal Portfolio's own check.

Who writes this guide?

Frequently asked questions about mid-term and short-term rental in Cascais