Decree-Law 108/2026 came into force on 1 October 2026. It is the second big change to Portuguese licensing in under three years, after the 2024 Simplex reform, and it changes what has to appear on the deed when you buy. It does not change who checks the building. That job still falls to the buyer.
What the law says
DL 108/2026 was published on 29 May 2026 and amends the RJUE, the main licensing and building law. Its start date was pushed back to 1 October 2026 by DL 155-B/2026. Two parts of the new article 4.º-A matter most to a buyer.
The title of use (título de utilização) now passes to the new owner automatically with the property. And any deed transferring a building, a plot or a fração has to state that the título urbanístico exists, or carry the seller’s declaration that they hold one or don’t. Leave that out and the sale can be annulled.
As we understand it, and as the law firms reading the decree have said, a property without a título can still be sold. The deed simply has to say so. Your lawyer will confirm how it applies to your purchase.
How it follows on from 2024
The 2024 Simplex reform (DL 10/2024) removed the need to show the licença or autorização de utilização and the ficha técnica da habitação at the deed. For more than two years plenty of sales went through without anyone asking for them. DL 108/2026 puts a statement back on the deed. It is a statement about paperwork, and the seller is the one making it.
What the deed still won’t tell you
A título says a building was licensed. It says nothing about whether the building you are standing in is the one that was licensed. The gap is common: an extension at the back, a closed-in balcony, an attic or garage turned into a room, a pool or annexe added later, internal walls taken out. On a house that has had two or three owners, some of that is normal. Some of it is expensive.
Making unlicensed work legal (legalização) can mean an architect, an engineer, months of back and forth with the Câmara and fees before any building work starts. Where the work can’t meet current rules, the only route may be to take it out. If you find this after the escritura, it’s yours to pay for.
What to do before you sign the CPCV
- Ask the seller or agent for the título or alvará de utilização (number and date), the caderneta predial and the certidão permanente.
- Have your lawyer request the approved plans (the processo de obra) from the Câmara. They show what was licensed.
- Have the building inspected against those plans. Anything on site that isn’t on them gets noted, with what it would take to deal with.
- If something doesn’t match, make the CPCV conditional on it being resolved, or take it off the price.
Our pre-purchase inspection checks what’s on site against whatever plans and caderneta you can give us. We’re builders, so we can usually tell a properly built addition from a weekend job, and give you a rough cost for putting it right. Whether it can be licensed is a question for your lawyer and the Câmara.
More background: what the 2024 changes meant for buyers. Before you sign anything, read what to check before the CPCV.
General information, not legal advice. Confirm how DL 108/2026 applies to your purchase with a Portuguese lawyer.
Sources: Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio; Decreto-Lei n.º 155-B/2026, de 31 de julho; Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024.
Thinking of buying — or stuck with a problem?
If you’ve found a property, or you’re fighting damp that keeps coming back, talk to us before you commit to anything. WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us — we respond the same day, in plain English.
Message us on WhatsApp