Cancelling contracts in Portugal: telecoms, power, gas, water, gym and purchases

Which rule applies to each contract

There is no single law for “cancelling a contract”. Each type has its own, and the notice and the cost of leaving depend on it:

For telecoms, work out the exact ceiling in the fidelização calculator.

The letter: what to write and how to send it

A cancellation letter needs four things: who you are (name, address, ideally your NIF), which contract (customer or contract number, supply point code for power and gas), a clear statement that you are ending it, and the date it should take effect. Add the legal reason when one removes the charges, and ask for written confirmation, the final bill and the return of any deposit or credit.

Send it by email to a contact listed in the contract or by registered post with proof of receipt, and keep the proof: the date of receipt is what starts the notice period. Our letter generator writes it in Portuguese for telecoms, power, gas, water, gyms and online purchases.

Leaving Portugal: what to cancel, in what order

The order matters because the notice periods differ and some contracts need you on the spot. A workable sequence:

1. 1
   Two months or more ahead: the lease
   It usually has the longest notice. Check yours with the lease notice tool and plan the return of the deposit.
2. 2
   30 days or more ahead: internet, TV and landline
   Moving outside the EU, unforeseen: no lock-in charges with 30 days’ written notice and proof of residence or work there (art. 133). Any country: suspension without charges (art. 137). Return rented boxes and routers before you go.
3. 3
   Gym, insurance and subscriptions
   These follow the contract’s own notice; see gym, insurance and subscriptions.
4. 4
   Your last week: power and gas
   Cancel in writing with the date and a meter reading, or have the next occupant sign in their name. Until one of these takes effect, you remain liable.
5. 5
   Your last days: water
   Written notice with the address for the final bill, and access to the meter within 15 days. In Lisbon, EPAL wants you present when the water is shut off.
6. 6
   Transport pass
   The monthly pass is valid for the calendar month, so simply do not buy the next one (transport passes).
7. 7
   Last: your mobile number
   Keep it while you still need SMS codes from your bank, Finanças or Chave Móvel Digital, then cancel it under the same rules as step 2.
8. 8
   Finanças and the bank
   Update your tax address on the Portal das Finanças; if the new address is outside the EU, check whether you need a fiscal representative. Give the bank your new address or close the account.

Gym, insurance and subscriptions

We found no specific Portuguese law for gym contracts: the contract and the standard-terms law (Decreto-Lei 446/85) apply, and the latter prohibits, depending on the case, excessive contract or notice periods and automatic renewals where the deadline to opt out is excessively far from the end of the term (art. 22). If you signed online or by phone, you have 14 days from signing to withdraw (Decreto-Lei 24/2014). Cancel in writing with the contract’s notice and ask them to stop the direct debit from the end date; the letter generator has a gym template. In one case, a Porto arbitration centre ruled that moving abroad during the lock-in allowed leaving without a penalty (CICAP, case 2673/2025); it is a single decision, not a rule.

An annual insurance policy renews automatically. To end it, send a written notice at least 30 days before the renewal date (art. 115 of Decreto-Lei 72/2008). If a policy ends early, the premium is refunded in proportion to the time left, unless a claim was paid (art. 107). For car insurance, selling the car ends the policy at midnight that day, and you must tell the insurer in writing within 24 hours (art. 21 of Decreto-Lei 291/2007); beyond that, we found no general legal right to cancel an annual policy mid-year, so check your policy terms.

Where to complain

Complain to the company first, in writing. If that does not work, use the Livro de Reclamações, in the store or online; for each sector the complaint also reaches the regulator.

Power, gas, water, telecoms and postal services are “essential public services” (Lei 23/96): disputes go to mandatory arbitration when the consumer chooses it, and the right to charge for the service expires six months after it was provided. Details for purchases are in returns, guarantees and complaints.