Insights
Trees on a building plot: what can you cut, prune or transplant?
A plot has room for a house, a swimming pool and an access road. But trees are growing exactly where you planned to build. Can they be removed?
The answer depends on the species, its protection status, the location and the proposed work. Owning the land does not give you freedom to intervene on every tree. Nor does the development potential allowed by planning documents settle the issue: for cork oaks and holm oaks, the law expressly states that the protection regime takes precedence over territorial plans. [1]
Before deciding where the building will sit, establish what is growing on the plot and which rules apply.
1. Which trees need particular attention?
There is no single list that lets you decide everything from the species name alone.
| Tree or situation | What to check before intervening |
|---|---|
| Cork oak (Quercus suber) and holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) | Cutting and uprooting are subject to authorization under the specific regime, including isolated specimens. Check whether the trees form a stand or a protected small group. |
| Olive tree (Olea europaea) | Uprooting and clear-felling require CCDR authorization, with an express exemption for isolated olive trees. |
| Wild holly (Ilex aquifolium) | Uprooting and cutting, including partial cutting, are prohibited. The exception is limited to works of general interest, subject to a license. |
| Tree classified, or undergoing classification, as being of public interest | Protection applies to the tree and a general protection zone with a 50 m radius, regardless of species. |
| Tree of municipal interest or covered by local rules | Check the municipal tree regulations, classification and conditions of the planning procedure. |
Sources: [1]–[7], [11] and [12]. The table identifies matters to assess; it does not authorize intervention.
Cork oaks and holm oaks: even one tree matters
Cutting or uprooting cork oaks and holm oaks, in stands or individually, falls under the authorization regime in Decree-Law 169/2001. [1] Applications are submitted to ICNF through the RUBUS module for the protection of cork oaks and holm oaks. For trees outside stands, the powers of ICNF's regional services are expressly established in its organizational law. [2][11]
There are exceptions to a separate application. For example, thinning provided for in an approved forest management plan follows prior notification; certain interventions already assessed favorably by ICNF in an environmental assessment procedure are exempt from a further authorization or notification, under the conditions in Article 3. These exceptions do not mean that a house building permit covers tree removal. [1]
The distinction between isolated trees and a stand is decisive. The law defines a stand by area and density: more than 0.5 hectares and, for linear formations, more than 20 meters in width, with minimum densities that vary with tree size. Where average trunk circumference at breast height exceeds 130 cm, the minimum is 10 trees per hectare. Small groups are also protected as stands when they meet the statutory density thresholds and have high ecological value. [1]
Conversion of a stand is prohibited. The law allows exceptions for projects of indispensable public utility, agricultural projects of significant and sustainable interest to the local economy, and the change of management regime provided for in Article 10, concerning coppicing. Each exception has its own conditions. The intention to build a private house is not, in itself, one of these exceptions. [1]
Even with isolated trees, a tree standing on the proposed house footprint is not automatically one whose removal will be authorized. The design should test alternative locations.
Olive trees: check the exception for isolated specimens
Decree-Law 120/86 makes uprooting and clear-felling olive trees subject to prior authorization. Applications are now made to the CCDR responsible for the territory concerned. [3][12] Article 3(6) exempts isolated olive trees from authorization; Article 1 also provides an exemption for interventions covered by environmental assessment, subject to its conditions. [3]
The law does not define an isolated olive tree. Where a plot contains several olive trees, especially in a former olive grove, confirm the classification with the CCDR before relying on the exemption. When authorization is required, the law allows it in specified circumstances, including location in urban expansion zones designated in the municipal master plan (PDM), supported by municipal documentation. The application must be submitted at least 60 days in advance. [3]
The exemption does not remove other protections: an olive tree may be classified or covered by municipal rules.
Wild holly: protection also covers partial cutting
Decree-Law 423/89 prohibits uprooting, total or partial cutting, transport and sale of wild holly. The exception requires destruction to be indispensable for public or private works of general interest, subject to a license. A private interest in building a house or arranging a garden does not, by itself, establish that requirement. Cutting “just a few branches” is still partial cutting. [4]
The protection applies to wild holly, so distinguish a naturally occurring specimen from a planted one. ICNF's regional services license the cutting of wild holly and issue declarations concerning cultivated holly. [11]
2. Can a tree affect works even outside the plot?
Yes. A tree classified, or undergoing classification, as being of public interest automatically benefits from a general protection zone with a 50-meter radius measured from its base. The zone may be adjusted exceptionally, with reasons given. [5]
Interventions that could damage the tree are prohibited within this zone, including excavation, soil removal, storing materials and cutting roots. Work on the tree itself, including pruning and felling, requires ICNF authorization. [5]
An excavation for foundations or utilities 30 meters from a classified tree on neighboring land can therefore be constrained. The check should cover more than the trees within your property boundary. The 50 meters is not a universal distance for every tree: it belongs to this classification regime.
3. Can I fell a tree if its species is not specially protected?
Do not assume so without checking the location.
The assessment should include municipal regulations, territorial planning instruments, classified areas such as protected areas and Natura 2000 sites, and the conditions of the project or subdivision.
Law 59/2021 provides for municipal urban tree management regulations and covers trees in the public and private domain of municipalities and the State's tree assets. For privately owned land, check the local regulations, any classification or protection of the trees and the conditions of the planning operation. A municipality's “private domain” means municipal property, not a private garden. [7]
In Lisbon, Article 15 of the Municipal Tree Regulations requires express authorization from the mayor, or a person with delegated powers, to fell, transplant or prune trees classified as being of municipal interest, on public or private land. Subdivision or construction procedures involving these trees require a vegetation survey and a landscape architecture design stating what will happen to each protected tree. This example should not be generalized to every municipality. [6]
Timber from forest species intended for sale or own use involving industrial processing may also fall under the tree-cutting declaration (manifesto de corte de árvores, MCA), submitted through ICNF's SiCorte. Article 2(3) of Decree-Law 31/2020 provides MCA exemptions for operations involving no more than 10 trees and for own use without industrial processing. [8]
In classified areas and areas subject to the forest regime, Article 4-A, added by Law 18/2026, subjects cutting, extraordinary cutting, thinning and uprooting to prior ICNF authorization. In these areas, confirm the applicability of the Article 2(3) exemptions with ICNF before cutting. In any event, exemption from the declaration does not remove authorizations required by other regimes, such as that for cork oaks and holm oaks. [8][1]
4. Can pruning or transplanting resolve the conflict with the design?
It depends. These are different operations and should not be used to bypass protection.
Pruning: for cork oaks and holm oaks, authorization is required; pruning is allowed only to improve the tree's productive characteristics and only between November 1 and March 31. For cork oaks managed under the pau batido system, pruning is also prohibited in the two seasons preceding the bark-harvesting year and the two following seasons. [1][2] A crown obstructing the proposed works is not, in itself, grounds for reducing it.
Transplanting: where permitted for the species and location, it needs technical assessment. The ICNF guide recommends advance preparation and follow-up for at least the next three years. For cork oaks and holm oaks, the same guide states that transplanting is not permitted because it mutilates the roots and leads to the tree's death, in connection with the prohibition in Article 17(4). It should not be presented as an alternative to felling. [9][1]
5. Keeping a tree means protecting more than its trunk
Excavation, machinery traffic and changes in ground levels can damage roots and compromise a tree's stability or survival.
The design and site organization should provide a root protection zone suited to the specimen, controlling excavation, circulation and storage. According to the ICNF guide, its size and shape depend on the species, size, age and condition of the tree and the site conditions. The crown's footprint alone does not settle every case. [9]
The guide notes that roots may extend horizontally for a distance of one to three times the tree's height. It recommends marking out the root protection zone with signed barriers or fencing at least 1.20 m high, preferably 2.00 m. [9]
For cork oaks and holm oaks, this goes beyond good practice: the law prohibits any operation that mutilates or damages the trees or leads to their death. [1] Excavation that destroys the roots of a cork oak the design intended to retain breaches this prohibition.
The measures need to appear in the design documents and site instructions so that the preservation shown on the drawings can actually be achieved on the ground.
6. “Clear first, sort out permits later” can jeopardize the investment
Before hiring a contractor to clear the plot or manage combustible vegetation, define what will be cut and which procedures are required. The duty to prevent fires does not, in itself, authorize felling protected trees. [1][4]
Article 61 of Decree-Law 82/2021 provides for a 50-meter fuel management strip for construction or extension works on rural land (solo rústico) outside rural settlements, when located in forest territory or less than 50 meters from it. For construction works, it also requires a minimum setback of 50 meters from the property boundary or the boundary of a neighboring property belonging to the same owner. Application depends on the article's other conditions and exceptions and its relationship with Article 60. These 50 meters concern fire protection; they should not be confused with the protection zone of a tree of public interest. [10][5]
Where a stand of cork oaks or holm oaks is illegally cut or uprooted, the law prohibits building, construction, urban development, subdivision and land reshaping operations for 25 years. The same period prevents changes in land use in stands converted following fire or harmful actions. [1] These consequences concern stands; they should not be attributed indiscriminately to the cutting of any isolated tree.
Assessing a plot should therefore also consider its known history of interventions and fires.
7. What should you do before buying or starting the design?
We recommend this sequence:
- Identify the plot and intention: house, extension, pool, access or another use.
- Survey the trees: location, species, size, including trunk circumference, and apparent condition.
- Confirm the legal setting: protected species, stands, classifications and local rules.
- Overlay trees and design: buildings, excavations, utilities, access and site facilities.
- Test options that retain the trees: before depending on removal.
- Confirm procedures, timing and costs: authorizations, declarations and any compensatory measures.
- Define protection during construction: responsibilities, marked zones and supervision.
Compensation should not be understood as a right to remove trees in exchange for planting others. First, establish that the intervention is admissible; then the conditions set in the relevant procedure apply. In cork oak or holm oak stands, for example, authorization is conditional on compensatory measures covering an area of at least 1.25 times the affected area. [1]
Understand the trees before locating the building
Existing trees should be part of the initial assessment of a plot, alongside its other constraints. A well-prepared design seeks to reconcile the client's objective with what can actually be built.
Buying land or developing a project?
In our Planning Feasibility Study, we compare the PDM, constraints including protected trees, and the planning history with what you intend to build. Send the location, your proposed construction and photographs of the trees for an initial assessment.
Request a Planning Feasibility Study →
Still deciding whether to buy? Start with Property Check: Safe Purchase.
Scope: mainland Portugal. The Azores and Madeira require verification of their regional regimes. The procedure depends on the particular circumstances and the rules in force in the municipality.
Sources
Official sources are in Portuguese. Numbering matches the original article.
[1] Decreto-Lei n.º 169/2001, de 25 de maio, na redação atual, proteção do sobreiro e da azinheira: arts. 1.º, 1.º-A, 2.º–5.º, 7.º–10.º, 15.º e 17.º.
[2] ICNF: RUBUS, Proteção do Sobreiro e da Azinheira, catálogo de pedidos de corte, arranque e poda. O acesso ao pedido exige autenticação.
[3] Decreto-Lei n.º 120/86, de 28 de maio, na redação atual, arranque e corte raso de oliveiras: arts. 1.º–3.º.
[4] Decreto-Lei n.º 423/89, de 4 de dezembro, proteção do azevinho espontâneo: art. 1.º.
[5] Lei n.º 53/2012, de 5 de setembro, arvoredo de interesse público: arts. 3.º–4.º.
[6] Regulamento Municipal do Arvoredo de Lisboa, Aviso n.º 14465/2017, de 30 de novembro, art. 15.º, n.os 1, 3 e 4. Cópia oficial da publicação em Diário da República, disponibilizada pelo Município.
[7] Lei n.º 59/2021, de 18 de agosto, gestão do arvoredo urbano: arts. 2.º, 7.º, 8.º e 25.º.
[8] Decreto-Lei n.º 31/2020, de 30 de junho, arts. 1.º, 2.º, 4.º e 4.º-A, conjugado com a Lei n.º 18/2026, de 5 de maio, arts. 5.º, 6.º, 10.º e 11.º.
[9] ICNF, Guia de Boas Práticas para a Gestão do Arvoredo Urbano, secções 8 e 11: transplante e proteção durante a obra, pp. 60–61 e 66–69.
[10] Decreto-Lei n.º 82/2021, de 13 de outubro, na redação atual, Sistema de Gestão Integrada de Fogos Rurais: arts. 60.º–61.º.
[11] Decreto-Lei n.º 43/2019, de 29 de março, na redação atual, orgânica do ICNF: art. 6.º, n.º 7, alíneas v) e w).
[12] CCDR: formulário oficial para arranque de oliveiras, CCDR Centro e Deliberação n.º 1446/2025, CCDR LVT, competências de autorização de arranque e corte raso de oliveiras.
