Lisbon PDM: the plan in force in 2026 and how to check your property

The Plano Diretor Municipal (PDM) is the plan that zones all the land in a municipality; the general PDM guide explains how it works. In Lisbon, the plan in force is the revision approved by the Assembleia Municipal on July 24, 2012, through Deliberações 46/AML/2012 and 47/AML/2012, and published as Aviso n.º 11622/2012 in Diário da República no. 168, 2nd series, on August 30, 2012. It took effect on August 31, 2012. In areas covered by an urbanization plan or a detailed plan in force, those plans prevail over the PDM, and they are listed in Annex I of the regulations.

Since 2012, the plan has been amended several times, almost always for specific sites. The first simplified amendment, approved by the Assembleia Municipal on March 18, 2014, covered the Military Garage on Calçada da Ajuda, the Alfarrobeira Palace and Quinta, and the Sergeants' Residences at Forte do Alto do Duque. The broadest change was the 2020 adaptation, which amended 23 articles and republished the full regulations. The plan is made up of regulations with 12 annexes, a planta de ordenamento (land-use map) split into seven maps and a planta de condicionantes (constraints map) split into two (article 3). The table sums up the publications listed by the council.

The council is preparing a new PDM, but the formal procedure has not started yet. From April 16 to July 9, 2026, the "Encontro de Urbanismo ’26 - Lisboa, um novo PDM" series debated the topics of the future plan over seven sessions. On July 20, 2026, the Lisbon Strategic Council for the PDM revision met for the first time; according to the council, the Lisboa 2040 Strategy will form the basis of the revision's terms of reference, with public sessions involving the scientific community, the juntas de freguesia (parish councils) and the Assembleia Municipal.

By law, a PDM revision starts with a council resolution, published in the Diário da República, that approves the terms of reference and opens a period of early public input. As of November 1, 2026, that resolution has not been published, and the plan-tracking platform of the Direção-Geral do Território (the national planning agency) lists no revision procedure for the Lisbon PDM. The procedures open in the municipality concern detailed and urbanization plans, such as those for Parque Mayer and Amoreiras.

In practice, nothing changes for your property until the new plan is approved and published: the 2012 plan, as currently worded, is what counts. When the revision starts, the early input period will be the time to submit suggestions. Before filing an application, check the council's PDM page and the Diário da República for any procedure published in the meantime.

The council publishes the PDM in three ways: on Lisboa Interativa (LXi), the municipal map viewer, which has a "PDM em vigor" layer group; as PDFs, with the regulations, the 12 annexes and each map, on the "PDM em vigor" page of the council's website; and in vector format (shapefiles) for the seven land-use maps, on the same page. That page also holds the Orientações Técnicas (technical guidance) on the PDM regulations and the Orientações Procedimentais (procedural guidance) on the RJUE, approved by Despacho n.º 5/DMU/CML/2025 and published in the Boletim Municipal on October 9, 2025.

The viewer is a reference tool: if it differs from the plan published in the Diário da República, the published plan prevails. If you prefer the national SNIT geoportal run by the Direção-Geral do Território, check the date of the version you are viewing. The steps on Lisboa Interativa:

• Find the property in the Pesquisa (search) panel using the Moradas (addresses) option, or by zooming in on the map.
• Turn on the PDM em vigor layer group in the layer list and read the space category and urban layout type on the urban space classification map.
• Read the other land-use maps too: the regulations require them to be read together, with the most restrictive rule applying (article 10).
• Use the Identificar tool to see the information for the feature you click, and the measuring tools for distances and areas.
• Print the location map in A4 or A3 with the map printing tool; the council points to Lisboa Interativa for location maps in those formats.
• Check for an urbanization or detailed plan in Annex I of the regulations: if there is one, that plan prevails.
• Open the regulations at the article for the category and read the rules on backyards, risks and protected views that apply to the property.

Lisbon has no rural land: the whole municipality is zoned as urban land (article 9). The useful question is not whether the plot is urban, but which category and urban layout type it falls in and which other maps affect it. The table shows what to look for on each one, with the articles of the regulations republished in 2020.

Lisbon's urban land is divided into central and residential areas, economic activity areas, green areas, special-use facility areas and infrastructure areas (article 37). Each category is either consolidated or to be consolidated. In consolidated central and residential areas, the building rules change with the urban layout type drawn on the classification map (article 40), summed up in the table.

The layout type also governs changes of use. In layout A, converting housing to another use is only allowed if it covers the whole building or all units, or, for facilities or offices and retail, on the first and second floors and in the basement with a separate entrance. In layouts B and C, it is also allowed when at least half of the housing units already have another legal use, when there are separate entrances (except for tourism) or on ground floors with their own entrance. In layout D, only for facilities in a detached house or for facilities, offices and retail on the streets listed (article 41). Tourist accommodation can occupy just part of a building in layouts A, B and C.

In consolidated areas, the main rule is not a ratio, it is the street. Work has to follow the prevailing form and building type of the street and keep the building line (article 42). Building depth is 15 m, or 18 m for hotels and facilities, and lines up with neighboring facades that are to be kept; free-standing buildings have no limit (article 43). In layouts A and B, a residential building between two buildings taller than the average can match the taller neighbor, if the added floor area is housing only and half of it is subject to capped rent or sale price. One basement floor for housing is allowed, with adequate ventilation and light.

In layout D, on plots deeper than 14 m or larger than 130 m², the permeability ratio is 0.3 and the floor area ratio is 1.0 on lots under 150 m² and 0.7 on the rest, always with at least 150 m² of floor area (article 42(7)). Front yards with more than 10 m of street frontage must be kept, and old structures in a backyard can be rearranged with up to 10% more floor area if the permeable area increases (article 44).

In areas to be consolidated, the rule is an execution unit (a joint development area), with exceptions for maintenance work, infill between buildings to be kept and plots next to consolidated areas (article 58). New buildings follow the rules of the largest adjoining consolidated area, and subdivisions have a floor area ratio of 1.2, or 1.7 in urban hubs, which can rise to 1.5 and 2.0 in specified cases (article 60). In execution units and subdivisions over 1 ha, 20% of the floor area must have a use other than the main one (article 59). The guide on how much you can build on your land explains the concepts.

The risk maps have direct consequences. In very high flood vulnerability areas, underground construction is banned, except for parking, infrastructure and facilities with a drainage design and a study showing the risk does not increase (article 22). On slopes with high or very high susceptibility to ground movement, a geological and geotechnical study is required (article 23). The council set rules for hydrogeological studies in planning procedures through Despacho n.º 148/P/2024.

For work on existing buildings, the regulations ban changes that reduce overall resistance to horizontal forces, such as removing load-bearing elements or adding floors with that effect, and require plans signed by a structural engineer (article 42(8)). Adding height to a pombalino or gaioleiro building (Lisbon's historic building types) therefore needs structural justification on top of the height rule.

The PDM protects what already had approval: it does not override rights granted by favorable PIPs, approved architectural designs, comunicações prévias (prior notices) and valid permits (article 91). Reconstruction and alteration work on buildings built under the previous rules cannot be refused under the PDM if it does not make nonconformities worse. The special legalization window for work dating from before 1983 ran only for the two years after the plan took effect; today the general procedure applies, explained in the guide on legalizing building work.

Reading the PDM gives you an interpretation; a decision on a pedido de informação prévia (PIP) gives you an answer that binds the council. Under the RJUE (Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação, Portugal's planning and building code) as revised by Decree-Law 108/2026, in force since October 1, 2026, a simple PIP confirms feasibility and constraints, and an extended PIP can also set massing, footprint and number of dwellings. The council has up to 20 days for its initial check and then decides within 15 days (simple) or 30 days (extended; 45 for subdivisions); without a decision in time, the PIP is tacitly approved, and a favorable answer is valid for 2 years. You do not need to own the property to apply. The PIP guide explains the rules.

In Lisbon, the application starts on Loja Lisboa Online, under "Novo pedido" and "Pedido de informação prévia", and is filed on the Urbanismo Digital platform. According to the council's 2026 planning fee calculator, the PIP fee is 3 times the VUa unit value (€94.08 in 2026), which is €282.24 for building work, and 4 times, €376.32, for subdivisions, site infrastructure works or earthworks (article 25 of the municipal planning fee regulations). The required documents are those of Portaria 320/2026/1; the full process is in the guide to the PIP in Lisbon. A PIP is worth it when:

• The height you want depends on the average of the street frontage, or you want to use the taller-neighbor exception.
• The property is in an area to be consolidated and you need to know whether the council will require an execution unit.
• You want to convert housing to retail, offices or tourism in layout A, B, C or D.
• The property is in a flood vulnerability area, on an unstable slope or within a protected viewing angle.
• An urbanization or detailed plan is in force, or a building on the Carta Municipal do Património (municipal heritage list) stands on or next to the property.
• You are buying and want to make the promissory contract conditional on the answer: see PIP before buying land. Apto Group prepares and follows up on the PIP in Lisbon.

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

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