A caução de que o senhorio falou inclui a limpeza final do apartamento.

Caução usually means a security deposit or rental deposit.

In the context of renting a property in Portugal, it is the amount paid as a guarantee against damage, unpaid rent, or other costs. It is a fairly common word in housing and legal contexts.

A native English speaker might also see depósito, but caução is a very standard and precise word for this kind of guarantee.

Because the verb falar normally uses the preposition de when it means to talk about.

So the basic pattern is:

• falar de alguma coisa = to talk about something

When that noun becomes part of a relative clause, the preposition stays:

• a caução de que o senhorio falou = the deposit that the landlord talked about

This is different from English, where the preposition often moves to the end:

• the deposit that the landlord talked about

In standard Portuguese, you keep the preposition before que.

No. De que is the most straightforward and very common form, but you can also say:

• A caução da qual o senhorio falou...

This means the same thing, but da qual sounds more formal or more written.

For most learners, de que is the better everyday pattern to learn first.

Yes. In European Portuguese, senhorio is a normal word for landlord.

A few useful related forms:

• o senhorio = the landlord
• a senhoria = the landlady

This is a very European Portuguese word. In Brazilian Portuguese, other terms are more common, such as proprietário depending on the context.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does.

So where English says:

• the landlord

Portuguese also naturally says:

• o senhorio

Even when English might omit an article in some contexts, Portuguese often keeps it. In this sentence, o senhorio refers to a specific landlord already known in the conversation.

Falou is the pretérito perfeito form of falar, meaning spoke or talked.

So:

• o senhorio falou = the landlord spoke / talked

In the sentence, it refers to something the landlord mentioned earlier. The clause de que o senhorio falou means that the landlord talked about.

Because the subject is singular:

• A caução = the deposit

So the verb must also be singular:

• A caução inclui... = The deposit includes...

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• As cauções incluem... = The deposits include...

It literally means includes, but in practical contexts like contracts, fees, or rental terms, it can often be understood as covers.

So in this sentence, it suggests that the deposit includes or covers the final cleaning cost.

That makes incluir a very natural verb here.

In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• limpeza final = final cleaning
• apartamento grande = big apartment
• contrato escrito = written contract

Putting final before the noun would sound unusual here. The normal order is noun + adjective.

Do is a contraction:

• de + o = do

So:

• a limpeza final do apartamento = the final cleaning of the apartment

Portuguese very often contracts prepositions with articles:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• em + o = no
• a + o = ao

So de o apartamento is not the normal form. It becomes do apartamento.

A rough pronunciation for English speakers is something like:

• caução ≈ cow-SOWN

But the ending -ão is nasal, so there is no exact English equivalent.

A few pronunciation notes:

• cau- sounds a bit like cow
• -ção is a very common ending in Portuguese and is pronounced roughly like sown, but nasal

So try to hear and copy the nasal ending rather than reading it like normal English -tion.

Yes, if the context is already clear.

• inclui a limpeza final = includes the final cleaning
• inclui a limpeza final do apartamento = includes the final cleaning of the apartment

The longer version is just more specific. It makes it clear that the cleaning refers to the apartment, not something else.