Insights
Buying land or property to build: the technical and documentary feasibility checklist
When buying land to build on, or a property to transform, the costliest mistakes are made before any design work begins: at the moment of choosing. A cheap plot where nothing can be built, a house with outbuildings that were never licensed, or a parcel with no access to utilities can turn an apparent bargain into a process that remains blocked for years.
That is why the preliminary assessment, documentary, planning-related and technical, matters as much as negotiating the price. The feasibility checklist that CertiAmb applies when supporting private buyers and investors at this stage completes the analysis we made in building from scratch or buying ready-made. The aim is simple: to know, before signing, what can actually be done with the property.
Land registry and tax record: the documentary starting point
The first check focuses on two sources that do not always match: the land registry and the tax record. The permanent land registry certificate (certidão permanente), which can be requested online and is valid for six months, identifies the owner, the property's description (areas and boundaries) and, above all, the charges and encumbrances: mortgages, attachments, usufructs, registered easements or pending court actions. It should be up to date at the time of the transaction, and any unexpected entry deserves clarification before proceeding.
The tax record (caderneta predial), issued by the Tax Authority, describes the property for tax purposes: matrix article, areas, use and taxable value. In practice, discrepancies between the registry, the tax record and physical reality are common: differing areas, buildings that appear in neither document, imprecise boundaries. For rustic properties, the georeferencing drive run through BUPi (the single land-registration desk) has exposed many of these inconsistencies, and resolving them may be necessary before the purchase can be registered. Discrepancies left unresolved before the deed become, after it, the buyer's problem.
The deed no longer filters planning legality
This is a decisive and still little-known point. Until 31 December 2023, Decreto-Lei n.º 281/99 required the use permit (licença de utilização) to be presented before the notary whenever urban property changed hands. The Simplex reform (Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024) repealed that regime with effect from 1 January 2024: today, an urban property can be bought and sold without its planning status being verified at all during the transaction.
The practical consequence is clear: the filter, imperfect as it was, is gone, and the responsibility for verifying compliance has shifted entirely to the buyer. The property remains subject to the planning-enforcement measures provided for in the RJUE (embargo, corrective works, demolition, cessation of use); the problem simply no longer surfaces at the deed, but after it. Note also that, where bank financing is involved, lenders may still require the use permit for their own protection.
The PDM and land classification: what may be built
No documentary analysis replaces the central question: what does the municipal master plan (PDM) allow on that particular property? The classification of the land (urban or rustic) and its zoning category determine the permitted uses, the building indices, the maximum heights and the setbacks. On top of these rules come the constraints: the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN), the National Ecological Reserve (REN), the water domain, administrative easements for roads, power lines or gas pipelines, and heritage protection zones.
The zoning and constraints plans are available on municipal websites and on the national territorial-information platforms, but reading them takes practice: the same parcel may fall under several overlapping categories and restrictions. On rustic land, building is the exception rather than the rule, we examine this subject in detail in our article on the PDM and rustic land.
The PIP: legal certainty before you buy
For those who want more than a technical reading of the PDM, the appropriate instrument is the prior information request (PIP), provided for in Articles 14 to 17 of the RJUE. Any interested party may submit a PIP concerning any property, even without owning it: which makes it perfect for the negotiation stage. The municipal council issues a decision on the feasibility of the intended operation, as a rule within 20 days, or 30 days where the request includes the detailed specifications of Article 14(2).
A favourable prior information decision binds the competent authorities when they decide on the future application. And, since the Simplex reform, a favourable detailed PIP may dispense with prior control of the operation altogether (Article 6(1)(h) of the RJUE): the operations must be started within two years of the favourable decision, after which the interested party may ask the mayor for a declaration that the underlying assumptions still hold, to be decided within 20 days. A favourable PIP changes the nature of the purchase: you acquire an enforceable right, not an expectation.
Utilities and access: the invisible cost
A plot that is viable in planning terms can be economically unviable if the utilities are far away. Before buying, it is important to confirm the existence and capacity of the public water, sewerage, electricity and telecommunications networks at the property's frontage. Where the networks do not reach the site, the cost of extending them is, as a rule, borne by the developer, and can run to tens of thousands of euros. In areas without a public network, standalone solutions (a borehole, a sealed tank or a local treatment system) have their own licensing procedures and demanding technical requirements, as we explain in our article on water supply and drainage networks.
Access is another critical check: the property must front onto a public road or benefit from a legally constituted right of way. A track used "since forever", but with no existence in the registry, does not guarantee the access that the construction, and the permitting process, will require.
Existing buildings: use permit, unrecorded works and areas
Where the purchase concerns an existing building to be extended or refurbished, the checks widen: beyond the use permit (generally waived only for buildings predating 1951), the actual construction should be checked against the municipal file and the as-built drawings. Annexes, extensions and habitable attics executed without a permit are unrecorded works, and their legalisation can be slow, costly or, in some cases, impossible.
Areas deserve particular attention: discrepancies between the actual area, the registered area and the tax-record area affect the value, bank financing and the building capacity available for a future extension. A rigorous architectural survey before the purchase costs a fraction of what it costs to discover the problem after it.
What is about to change: a new amendment to the RJUE in August
The legal framework for permitting is still on the move. Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, the 21st amendment to the RJUE, enters into force on 3 August 2026, continuing the reform of urban-planning procedures begun with the Simplex. For anyone assessing a purchase, the practical implication is twofold: confirm which regime applies to your process (depending on when the applications are submitted) and make sure the feasibility analysis is based on up-to-date information, not on rules that no longer apply.
Typical mistakes to avoid
- buying on the basis of the tax-record areas, without a topographic or architectural survey;
- assuming that rustic land "with good access" can be built on;
- ignoring registered charges, or de facto rights of way that do not appear in the registry;
- acquiring a building with unrecorded works while counting on a "quick" legalisation;
- underestimating the cost of extending the utilities to the property;
- skipping the PIP "to save time", and losing years to a refused application.
CertiAmb's integrated approach
A serious feasibility study crosses all these dimensions: documents, the PDM and its constraints, utilities, access and a preliminary architectural study demonstrating what the property can actually yield. At CertiAmb, this work is carried out within our technical consulting and project management services, including the preparation and submission of the PIP to the municipal council and the technical negotiation with the utility operators.
For foreign investors, this support is even more critical: distance, language and differences in the legal regime make local due diligence the only effective protection against surprises, especially now that the deed no longer plays any planning-verification role.
Frequently asked questions
Can I submit a prior information request (PIP) without owning the land?
Yes. Under Article 14 of the RJUE, any interested party may submit a prior information request concerning any property, even without owning it: the ideal instrument for assessing feasibility before purchase.
Does the deed guarantee that the property is legal from a planning perspective?
No. Since 1 January 2024, under the Simplex reform (Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024), the use permit no longer has to be presented when urban property is transferred. Verifying planning compliance is now the buyer's responsibility.
Which documents should I review before buying?
The permanent land registry certificate (owner, areas, charges and encumbrances), the tax record (caderneta predial), the use permit for existing buildings, the municipal file and the property's status under the PDM, including constraints such as RAN, REN and easements.
How long is a favourable PIP valid?
Since 2024, the urban operations must be started within two years of the favourable decision. After that period, the interested party may ask the mayor for a declaration that the underlying assumptions still hold, to be decided within 20 days.
The land is classified as rustic: can I build?
As a rule, rustic land is subject to strong restrictions on building, which is admitted only in exceptional cases defined by the PDM and by law. Feasibility must be confirmed case by case, ideally through a prior information request.
Closing notes
Buying to build is, first and foremost, buying a legal and technical framework, and that framework is verified, not presumed. A well-executed feasibility checklist turns uncertainty into an informed decision: it confirms what can be built, what it will cost to service the property with utilities and which planning liabilities come with the deal. If you are assessing a plot or a property and want to decide with confidence, talk to the CertiAmb team.
This article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or technical advice. Each situation should be assessed individually by a qualified professional.