Ficha técnica da habitação in Portugal: what it is, who issues it and whether you still need it to sell, buy or get a mortgage

The ficha técnica da habitação is a document describing the technical and functional features of a residential building, which the developer must prepare (Decree-Law 68/2004 of March 25, article 4). It describes the home as it stood at the end of the construction, rebuilding, extension or alteration work, based on the approved as-built drawings. The template was approved by Portaria 817/2004.

The law was meant to protect homebuyers. That is why the sheet gathers in one place information that would otherwise be scattered across the building file (article 7):

• Who did the work: the builder, the authors of the architectural and structural designs, the site manager and the developer.
• The building: location, tax record number, number and date of the habitation license, floors and dwellings, construction methods, safety and management systems, and the entrance floor plan.
• The home: gross and net floor areas of the dwelling and of each room, materials, windows and frames, water, drainage, gas, electrical, heating and cooling, and telecom installations, kitchen and bathroom fittings, and simplified plans of the home and its networks.
• Use and maintenance: the home warranty and how to claim it, condominium rules and maintenance rules for the equipment.

The council does not issue the sheet. It is prepared by the developer (promotor imobiliário), meaning whoever decides on, plans, manages and funds the construction or rebuilding of a residential building, for themselves or for sale (article 3); if there is no developer, the duty passes to the professional selling the building. The site manager and the developer sign a statement on the sheet that the information matches the home (article 4(3)) and are jointly liable if it does not (article 16).

The developer must keep the sheets it issued for at least 10 years and file a copy for each building or unit with the council that handled the permit, before the deed and against a municipal fee (article 5). The owner must keep it in good condition (article 10(1)). While the work is unfinished, off-plan sales use a provisional version based on the designs and signed by their authors (article 4(4) and (5)).

The sheet only exists for buildings covered by the law, which took effect on March 30, 2004. Article 2(2) excludes two groups of buildings, and the definition of developer also covers someone building a house for themselves. The table sums up the cases.

If your home falls outside the regime, do not look for a sheet that never existed: the document that matters is the use title, explained in the guide to the habitation license, or, for a house built before the RGEU (Regulamento Geral das Edificações Urbanas, the 1951 general building regulation), proof of the construction date. For a covered home, failing to file the sheet with the council is an administrative offense by the developer (article 13); it does not, on its own, make the home illegal.

Until the end of 2023, the ficha técnica was a deed document. Article 9 of Decree-Law 68/2004 barred signing the deed for the purchase of a home without confirming that the sheet existed and was handed to the buyer, and barred a mortgage purchase unless the bank ensured that handover. The Simplex Urbanístico reform repealed that article with effect from January 1, 2024 (Decree-Law 10/2024, articles 24(d) and 26(f)).

The RJUE revision by Decree-Law 108/2026, in force since October 1, 2026, a date set by Decree-Law 155-B/2026, changed what the deed must say about the planning title but did not bring back the ficha técnica: it does not amend Decree-Law 68/2004. The table sums up the three periods.

In most transactions, the sheet is no longer a legal requirement, but it is still useful. In short:

• Selling: the deed does not depend on the sheet. If you have it, hand it to the buyer with the other documents; it is the easiest way to show areas, materials and installations.
• Buying: ask for it for any home built after 2004. If the seller does not have it, a replacement copy can be requested from the council before the promissory contract (contrato-promessa).
• Mortgage: the law no longer requires the bank to ensure the sheet is handed over. The bank and the appraiser may still ask for documents on the home; check the list with your bank.
• Renting: for a covered home, the landlord must give the tenant access to the sheet before the lease is signed (article 17); the Simplex reform did not repeal this rule.
• Building: the developer must still prepare the sheet, file it with the council before the deed and make a copy available at the point of sale (articles 4, 5 and 11).

If you lost the sheet, or bought a home without it, you can ask the developer or the council where it was filed for a replacement copy (segunda via); the council charges a fee set by the municipal assembly (article 10(2) and (3)). The usual steps are:

• Find the right council: the one for the municipality where the home's permit was processed.
• Gather the property details: address, tax record number, land registry description and, if you know it, the building file or habitation license number.
• File the request: through the council's online portal or front desk, with a document proving you are the owner or the owner's representative. In Estarreja, for example, the request can be filed online, in person or by mail, and the council states a decision within 10 days.
• If the council has no copy: contact the developer, who had to keep the sheet for at least 10 years. If neither has it, use the approved plans and the use title in the building file to show what is permitted.

The ficha técnica describes the home; it does not authorize anything. The title proving that the home can be used as a residence is the licença or autorização de utilização (habitation license) or, since October 1, 2026, the use notice with its filing receipts (RJUE article 4-A). The caderneta predial is a tax record, the land registry certificate proves ownership and charges, and the energy certificate has its own rules.

That is why a home with a ficha técnica can have later unpermitted work, and a home without one can be fully in order. If the plan in the sheet does not match the home today, there were changes after construction, which may be building work without a permit or may need a building legalization.

If the home differs from what was approved, or you can find neither the sheet nor the use title, the problem is no longer the sheet: it is the planning title. Apto Group reviews the municipal file and recommends the right route through its building legalization service; what changed in 2024 is covered in the guide to the Simplex Urbanístico.

Before that, avoid the most frequent mistakes with the ficha técnica:

• Delaying the deed while hunting for a sheet that has not been required since 2024.
• Looking for a ficha técnica for a home that was outside the regime, because it already had a license in 2004 or predates the RGEU.
• Treating the sheet as proof of legality without checking the building file for later changes.
• Forgetting that, for a new home, the developer is still required to prepare it and file it with the council.

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

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