Category: Real Estate Due Diligence

This section collects the articles published on real estate due diligence in Portugal — the verification that precedes the promissory contract and the deed, and which is carried out on documents rather than on assurances.

The analysis runs on three planes, none of which replaces the others. On the registry plane, the permanent land registry certificate identifies the registered owner, the description of the property and the charges affecting it: mortgages, attachments, usufructs, easements and registered rights of first refusal. On the tax-record plane, the caderneta predial allows the area, the permitted use and the tax value to be compared with what the registry describes — discrepancies between the two are common and not always harmless. On the planning plane, what matters are the use permit, whose scope is delimited by article 62 of the Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building, approved by Decree-Law No. 555/99 of 16 December, and the municipal file on the property, which shows whether the works actually built correspond to the works permitted.

Timing is not neutral. Carried out before the promissory contract, due diligence allows the price to be renegotiated, regularisation to be imposed as a condition of the deal, or the deal to be declined. Carried out afterwards, what remains is a dispute over breach, price reduction or damages, with the deposit already paid.

The reform of the RJUE enacted by Decree-Law No. 108/2026 of 29 May, whose amendments enter into force on 1 October 2026 — the date set by Decree-Law No. 155-B/2026 of 31 July — shifts part of the prior control onto the parties themselves. The less the municipality checks beforehand, the more the buyer must check.

Adjacent sections, within these same publications: buying and selling property and urban planning and licensing.

The scope of our work in this field is set out on the real estate due diligence page. General information only; it does not replace advice on a specific case.

Energy certificates in Portugal 2026: when they are mandatory, fines and what the new EPBD changes

Energy certificates on sale and letting in Portugal: when they are required, who delivers them and when, validity, fines and what Directive (EU) 2024/1275 brings — checked against the Diário da República and EUR-Lex.

Buying property in Portugal under the new RJUE: six checks before the promissory contract

Under the new RJUE many works go ahead without a council decision and checking shifts to the buyer. Planning title, deed statement, use title, land registry, pending applications and exempt works.

Use permit in Portugal in 2026: what the use title is today and why it can block a home purchase

Under the new RJUE, use is covered by a prior notification or a prior notification with a waiting period. What the title is, when the property may be used, what the promissory contract requires and the risk of buying without it.

Real estate due diligence in Portugal: what to check before buying (land register, planning, condominium and pre-emption rights)

Due diligence is done before the promissory contract. Land register, tax register, construction and use titles, condominium arrears and pre-emption rights: what each document shows, typical risks and red flags.