Building legalization in Portugal: how it works and when you need it

Legalizing work means obtaining, after the fact, the planning title (título urbanístico) that should have existed before construction. The Câmara Municipal (city council) compares what was built with the PDM (Plano Diretor Municipal, the municipal master plan), local regulations and technical building rules, and decides whether the work can stay as it is, needs corrections, or cannot be approved.

It helps to separate two problems. Formal illegality means the permit was missing but the work complies with the rules; this is the easiest case. Substantive illegality means the work breaks the rules, for example because it exceeds the floor area allowed or encroaches on a mandatory setback. In that case, legalization is only possible with corrective works, or not at all.

It also helps to know what legalization is not. Paying a fine does not legalize the work. Updating the caderneta predial (the tax record of the property) or the land registry entry does not either: those documents serve tax and registry purposes and do not prove the council approved the work.

The Simplex reform (Decree-Law 10/2024) abolished the alvará (permit certificate) and, from January 1, 2024, stopped requiring the autorização de utilização (often called the habitation license) and the housing technical file to be shown at the deed. Decree-Law 108/2026 of May 29 revised and republished the RJUE and has been in force since October 1, 2026, the date set by Decree-Law 155-B/2026.

If you have work to legalize, these are the changes that matter most:

• Use: the old habitation license (licença or autorização de utilização) has been replaced by a comunicação prévia (after permitted works) and a comunicação prévia com prazo (prior notice with a waiting period, with no works or only exempt works). Older licenses remain valid.
• Planning title: the title is now the application or notice together with proof of fee payment and, where applicable, the notice of decision or proof of submission.
• Deed: the seller must state whether the property has a planning title; without that statement, the sale can be annulled.
• Fines: there is once again a specific fine for work done without the required permit.
• Municipal regulations: each municipality must regulate the legalization procedure, and Ordinance (Portaria) 320/2026/1 approved the standard application forms and required documents in force since October 1, 2026.

Legalization applies to work that required a license, a comunicação prévia or a favorable PIP (pedido de informação prévia, a binding planning inquiry) and was done without it, or that does not match the approved project. The most common cases are:

Before you start, rule out three situations that can make legalization unnecessary. The work may be exempt from prior control (articles 6 and 6-A of the RJUE), such as an outbuilding of up to 10 m² and 2.2 m high that does not border a public road. The building may predate the RGEU (the 1951 general building regulation) in that area, a case covered in our guide to pre-1951 houses and annexes. Or the mismatch may be just an error in the tax record or the land registry, which is fixed at those offices, not at the council.

• Unpermitted extensions of floor area, stories or footprint.
• Annexes, garages, carports or swimming pools built without a permit and beyond the limits for exempt works.
• Enclosed balconies (marquises), changes to facades, roofs or building volume.
• Changes to the project made during construction and never reported: Decree-Law 108/2026 requires them to be handled as legalization.
• Changes of use involving works, such as turning a shop or an annex into a home.

The procedure can start in two ways. Either the council finds the illegal work and, if it can meet the rules in force, notifies the owner to legalize it within a deadline it sets. Or the owner takes the initiative, which is usually the better option because you choose the timing and prepare the file properly.

In practice, a well-run legalization follows these steps:

• 1. Gather the records: ask the council for a copy of the building file (licenses, approved plans, notices, use titles) and add the certidão permanente (online land registry certificate) and the caderneta predial.
• 2. Survey what exists: measure the property and draw what was built, with photos and evidence of when each piece of work was done.
• 3. Compare and classify: identify each mismatch and check whether it complies with the PDM, regulations and technical rules, or needs corrections.
• 4. Ask for the legalization terms: you can ask the council how the legalization should be done; it must answer within 15 days.
• 5. Prepare the application: fill in the standard form under Portaria 320/2026/1, with the architectural design, any engineering designs the council requires, and the professionals' statements of responsibility.
• 6. Council review: the council examines the file, may request more documents or impose conditions or corrective works, and decides. The planning title consists of the application, proof of fee payment and the notice of decision.
• 7. Use and records: file the appropriate use notice and update the tax record at Finanças (the Portuguese tax authority) and the entry at the Conservatória do Registo Predial (land registry).

Required documents depend on the case: the council may ask for engineering designs, but should not demand what makes no sense for work that is already built. When legalization involves no extension or alteration works, the RJUE waives the works schedule, cost estimate, bond, construction and workers' compensation insurance, and the builder's permits.

The most useful rule for older buildings is the technical waiver. The council may waive technical building rules that have become impossible or unreasonable to meet, if the work complied with the rules in force when it was built. The owner must prove the construction date, for example with aerial photos, tax records or invoices. This waiver does not cover the PDM, whose rules still apply.

If a notified owner does not legalize, the council may legalize the work on its own initiative and charge the fees due, provided no structural calculations are needed. This ex officio legalization only recognizes that the work meets the planning rules, is subject to third-party rights, and is no substitute for a well-prepared application by the owner.

Since October 1, 2026, application forms and required documents are set nationally by Portaria 320/2026/1, and the council may only ask for additional documents if it cites the rule that requires them. Each municipality may also add its own rules in its legalization regulation.

For most files, prepare at least the following (our guide to documents for a PIP helps with shared items such as the location plan):

• Access code to the certidão permanente from the land registry and the urban caderneta predial.
• Municipal records: licenses, approved plans and use titles, if any.
• Topographic and architectural survey of the current situation.
• Architectural design of what is to be legalized, with a written statement showing compliance with the rules.
• Engineering designs the council requires, such as structure, water, sewage or fire safety.
• Statements of responsibility from the professionals who signed the designs.
• Evidence of the construction date, if you want the technical waiver.

Since October 1, 2026, no habitation license or use permit is issued anymore. After works permitted by a license, a comunicação prévia or a PIP that exempts them, use is covered by a comunicação prévia and can start as soon as it is filed. With no works, or only exempt works, a comunicação prévia com prazo applies: use is allowed 10 days after filing unless the council rejects it or orders an inspection. In a legalization case, confirm with the council which notice applies to you.

Legalization does not update the other records on its own. New floor areas must be declared at Finanças (IMI Form 1, for the municipal property tax), which may change the property's taxable value and the IMI. The property description at the land registry should be updated based on the planning title.

If you want to change the property's use, for example to housing or short-term rental, see our change of use service: a change of use without works is filed as a comunicação prévia com prazo, but the new use must be allowed by the PDM and the building must meet the requirements.

Article 98 of the RJUE, as amended by Decree-Law 108/2026, sets the fines (coimas) below. Attempt and negligence are also punishable. The council sets the actual amount within these limits.

Besides fines, the council can stop the works (embargo), order corrective works, require legalization, order demolition or restoration of the land, and order use to stop (articles 102, 102-B, 106 and 109). Demolition cannot be ordered if the work can be legalized, with or without corrective works, and the owner must be heard first, usually for 15 days.

No Portuguese law forbids selling a property with illegal work. Between January 1, 2024 and September 30, 2026, it was enough for the notary or lawyer to warn the buyer. Since October 1, 2026, the deed must state that the planning title was shown, or that the seller declares having one, or that the seller declares not having one. If that statement is missing, the sale can be annulled (article 4-A(14) of the RJUE).

In practice, selling gets harder. The buyer learns from the deed itself that the property has no title and inherits the problem: enforcement measures, such as a correction or demolition order, may then be directed at the new owner. Banks and appraisers usually compare the approved plans with what exists, and a mismatch can lower the valuation or the loan amount.

If you are selling, legalizing first usually adds value and shortens negotiations. If you are buying, request the municipal file and compare it with the property before the promissory contract (contrato-promessa), or add a condition about legalization to the contract.

The law sets few specific deadlines for legalization: 15 days to answer a request about the terms, and the deadline the council sets in its notice. The rest depends on the complexity of the work, opinions from outside agencies and the council's workload. A simple case of formal illegality is resolved much faster than an extension that needs corrections and engineering designs.

The total cost has several parts: survey, architectural and engineering designs, statements of responsibility, municipal fees, any planning compensation and, if needed, corrective works. Fees depend on each municipality's regulation and fee schedule; check them before you apply. A preliminary review of the municipal file lets you estimate the route and cost before you commit.

The RJUE is national, but the actual procedure, fees and some documents depend on each council's regulation. In Porto, legalization has its own page on the Portal do Munícipe and is processed as a license under the legalization regime, with online submission and digitally signed PDF/A files. In Lisbon, Portugal, planning applications are filed through Loja Lisboa Online (Urbanismo Digital); check the current document list and fee schedule there or with the council's offices, because some municipal lists still cite ordinances that have since been revoked.

In other municipalities, start with the local planning and building regulation and the fee schedule. If you need help rebuilding the file and choosing the right route, Apto Group reviews your case through our building legalization service. If, besides legalizing, you plan to alter or extend the property, a prior information request (PIP) can test the solution before the full design.

The official sources are in Portuguese. Check the version in force before preparing a notice, project or application.

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