de facto union.
Portugal’s highest court said that not compensating the domestic activity exclusively or essentially done by one of the members of a
de facto union leads to “real impoverishment”. And since it also relieves the other member of the union “from performing these tasks”, it leads to his or her enrichment without having to incur any costs or contributions.
“The requirement of equality has long been inherent in the idea of justice, so that it is not possible to consider that the performance of all or a large part of the housework in a house where a non-married couple lives, by only one of the partners, corresponds to the fulfilment of a natural obligation, based on a duty of justice”, according to the judgment.