After the necessary fitting-out works, António de Oliveira Salazar moved into the mansion in May 1938, even though the formal unveiling only took place eleven months later, in April 1939.

[1] After the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, the mansion and the gardens were slightly modified, but it was only in 1986, when they saw new renovation works, that the official residence gained greater operability and a modern image.

[1] In 2007, in order to increase the residence's energy efficiency, it was equipped with a wind turbine, with a production capacity of 3.5 MWh/year, and photovoltaic panels, capable of producing up to 6.7 MWh/year.

[2] Starting 5 June 2016, the gardens of São Bento Mansion are open to the public on Sundays, bar those in which visits would collide with the prime minister's official schedule.

In 2018, it was announced that several reports (including one from the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering) identified safety issues on São Bento Mansion; from April to October of that year, the gardens were closed and the residence was renovated with new heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical wiring and fire protection systems.