DL 108/2026 explained: what Portugal's new property law means for foreign buyers
DL 108/2026 reshapes Portuguese property law from 3 August 2026, with a mandatory título urbanístico declaration in every deed from 1 September. What buyers must know.
Portugal's property rulebook changes on 3 August 2026. Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio (DL 108/2026), the second Simplex Urbanístico reform, rewrites the Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building (RJUE) and moves the state out of checking property before it is built or sold. From 1 September 2026, every sale deed must declare whether the property holds an urban title (título urbanístico), and the seller does so in one of three ways. Get the declaration wrong, or buy a property without the title, and the transaction is voidable (anulável). For a foreign buyer signing from abroad, this shifts the burden of verification onto you. This guide explains the two dates, what a título urbanístico is, the three seller scenarios at the deed, what anulável means in practice, and what you can check before you sign with the HomeOS Simplex Liability Checker.
Table of Contents
- What is DL 108/2026, and why does it matter to foreign buyers?
- Which two dates change buying property in Portugal?
- What is a título urbanístico, and how is it different from a licença de utilização?
- What must the seller declare at the deed?
- What does "anulável" actually mean for your purchase?
- How does comunicação prévia change who checks the property?
- What can a buyer verify before signing?
- What happens to a CPCV signed before 3 August?
- Who carries the liability when a property is not regularised?
- Does what was built match what was authorised?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
What is DL 108/2026, and why does it matter to foreign buyers?
Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 is the second Simplex Urbanístico reform, and it moves Portugal from checking property before a sale to placing that responsibility on private parties.
Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio (DL 108/2026) is the follow-up to the first Simplex Urbanístico reform of 2024. Where the first reform, DL 10/2024, removed the municipal check that used to sit before a sale, DL 108/2026 reworks the whole Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building (Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação, RJUE) around the same idea: speed up building and selling by replacing prior state control with self-responsibility, and verification after the fact.
For a buyer, that is the headline. The municipal stamp that once stood for "this property is legal" is no longer there in the way it was. The system now trusts the declarations of the people in the transaction, and checks later, if at all. The upside is a faster market. The cost is that the gap between what a property claims to be and what it legally is becomes the buyer's gap to close.
This matters most to foreign buyers, who often sign from abroad, rely on documents they cannot read in the original, and assume the notary verifies the building the way a notary might at home. Under DL 108/2026, the notary records declarations; the notary does not certify that the property is sound or fully legal. The reform is built on the government's "Construir Portugal" axis, authorised by Lei n.º 9-B/2026, de 6 de março. None of that changes the practical reality at the deed: what you fail to verify is what you inherit.
A note on terms. Buyers still search for "licença de utilização", and the news still uses both terms, so this guide uses "licença de utilização" alongside "título urbanístico" throughout. The cost side of a purchase sits in the guide to the real cost of buying property in Portugal; this page is about the legal risk the new law creates.
Which two dates change buying property in Portugal?
The main RJUE changes take effect on 3 August 2026, and a mandatory título urbanístico declaration in every sale deed follows on 1 September 2026.
DL 108/2026 lands in two steps. The first is 3 August 2026, when the main RJUE changes take effect, on the first working day of the third month after publication. From that date, comunicação prévia becomes the default route for much construction, tacit approval (deferimento tácito) is generalised, and municipal oversight shifts to after the work rather than before it.
The second is 1 September 2026, when every deed transmitting an urban property must state whether the property holds a título urbanístico. The declaration is not a formality. Made wrongly, or omitted, it makes the transaction voidable, which is the single most important consequence in the law for a buyer.
For anyone buying between now and the autumn, the dates set the clock. A purchase that completes before 1 September sits under the old declaration rules; one that completes after carries the new obligation. The HomeOS Simplex Liability Checker flags where a property's licensing history exposes a buyer under this regime, so you know which side of the line you are on before you sign.
What is a título urbanístico, and how is it different from a licença de utilização?
A título urbanístico proves the construction was legally authorised, while a licença de utilização authorises the building to be used. Having one does not imply the other.
This distinction is the heart of the law, and it trips up buyers and sellers alike. A título urbanístico is the document trail that proves a building, or a change to it, was legally authorised. It belongs to the construction phase: it says the works that created the property were permitted. A licença de utilização (use licence) belongs to the use phase: it says the building can be lived in or used for its stated purpose.
A property can have one without the other. A building can be authorised and never receive a use licence; a building can hold an old use licence while a later extension was never authorised. Under DL 108/2026, the deed declaration is about the título urbanístico, the authorisation trail, which is broader than the use licence many buyers ask for by name.
For a buyer, the practical move is to stop treating "is there a licença de utilização" as the whole question. The new question is whether the property's authorisation trail is complete and matches the building as it stands. A property condition view helps here: the Property Condition Score measures the gap between what the documents say and what physically exists, which is exactly the gap a missing título creates.
What must the seller declare at the deed?
At the deed, the seller must declare the título urbanístico in one of three ways, and the notary records which, under penalty of voidability.
From 1 September 2026, the notary, lawyer, solicitor or registrar handling the transaction must record, in the document that titles the sale, the property's urban-title situation. The seller's position falls into one of three scenarios.
In the first, the título urbanístico exists and is presented, and the deed records it. This is the clean case. In the second, the seller declares that the title exists but does not physically present it, and the deed records that declaration. The buyer is then on notice that the document has not been seen. In the third, the seller declares that the property has no título urbanístico, and the deed records that too. The sale can still proceed, but the buyer is buying a property the seller has stated is not fully regularised.
The reform makes the declaration mandatory so that the purchase is, in the law's words, conscious and informed. It does not stop a sale in the second or third scenario. It puts the risk in writing and leaves the decision, and the consequences, with the buyer. The deeper advisory on what to do when a seller declares no title is a separate question, and one this guide does not resolve here.
What does "anulável" actually mean for your purchase?
A voidable (anulável) sale is valid and produces effects, but it can be challenged and undone within the legal window, which is different from a void (nulo) sale.
Anulável is a legal word with a practical edge. A voidable contract is not automatically void. It works: you complete, you get the keys, you move in, the registry updates. But it carries a defect that lets an entitled party challenge it and have it undone within the period the law allows. That is different from nulo, void, where the contract never produced valid effects at all.
For a buyer, the risk of a voidable purchase is that the thing you own can be unwound. That uncertainty also reaches your financing: a lender assessing a property whose deed declaration is defective, or whose title is missing, may decline the mortgage or apply a tighter valuation, because the collateral is not clean. A property you can move into is not the same as a property you can resell or remortgage without friction.
The rules on who can challenge a voidable transaction, and within what window, sit in the Civil Code (Código Civil) regime on annulment, and they depend on the specific defect. This is general information, not legal advice, and the consequences in a real case turn on detail. Verify your situation with a qualified lawyer before you rely on any of it. Content verified on 9 July 2026.
How does comunicação prévia change who checks the property?
DL 108/2026 makes comunicação prévia the default and shifts municipal control from before the work to after it, so nobody verifies the property for the buyer up front.
Under the old model, a project passed across a municipal desk before it could proceed. DL 108/2026 makes prior communication (comunicação prévia) the default for much construction: the promoter notifies the municipality, pays the fee, and can proceed, with the receipt of payment becoming part of the title itself. Tacit approval (deferimento tácito) reinforces this. If the municipality does not decide within the set deadlines, the project is treated as approved by silence.
The control did not disappear, it moved. The municipality keeps the power to verify documents for a limited period after the fact, and it keeps the power to physically inspect and act against non-conforming work at any time, with no expiry. A property can be built on a tacitly approved communication and still be challenged years later if the work breaks the rules. For a buyer, that is a latent risk that does not show on a clean-looking file.
The full treatment of deferimento tácito as a buyer risk, and what to do about it, is a topic for a dedicated guide. The point to carry here is structural: with the state checking less before the sale, the verification that protects you is the verification you commission. The HomeOS Bureaucracy Scanner [URL TO CONFIRM] reads a property's documents and public records to surface what is missing before you commit.
What can a buyer verify before signing?
Before signing, a buyer can check the registry, the tax record, the use licence or title, and the energy certificate, and read them against the building.
You cannot rely on the municipal stamp any more, but you can still verify a property on paper, and you should, before the promissory contract (Contrato-Promessa de Compra e Venda, CPCV), not after. The permanent land registry certificate (Certidão Permanente) shows ownership and charges. The property tax register (Caderneta Predial) shows how the tax authority records the property, including its area. The use licence or título urbanístico shows the authorisation trail. The energy certificate (Certificado Energético) shows the energy class. Read together, and against the building as it stands, they reveal the gaps the new law leaves with you.
This guide stops at what to check. The step-by-step of how to verify a título urbanístico online is a separate piece. For the document layer now, the HomeOS due diligence process and the Simplex Liability Checker turn these records into a clear read of risk, and the property due diligence checklist [VERIFY LIVE - EN-J4 publishes 14 Jul 2026] walks the documents one by one.
Before you sign, know your exposure under the new law. The Simplex Liability Checker flags unlicensed-works risk and buyer liability from a property's licensing history, so the título urbanístico question is answered before the deed, not at it.
→ Use the Simplex Liability Checker: your DL 108 exposure before you sign
What happens to a CPCV signed before 3 August?
A promissory contract signed before the new rules still leads to a deed completed under the rules in force on the day of the deed, so timing matters.
Many buyers sign a CPCV months before the deed. The reform does not rewrite a promissory contract you already signed, but the obligations at completion follow the rules in force on the day of the deed. A CPCV signed in July that completes in October sits under the new declaration regime at the deed, even though the promise predates it.
The practical step is to build the título urbanístico question into the CPCV itself, through a resolutive clause that lets you exit or renegotiate if the title situation is not what the seller represented. That protects the deposit (sinal) if a problem surfaces between promise and deed. Where the contract is already signed, it is worth confirming with a lawyer how the new declaration applies at your completion date, rather than assuming the old rules carry through.
Who carries the liability when a property is not regularised?
Under the republished Article 100-A of the RJUE, liability for a non-conforming operation is joint and several across the owner, promoter, contractor and designers.
The reform pairs lighter control before the work with heavier liability after it. The republished Article 100-A of the RJUE makes liability for an unlicensed or non-conforming urban operation joint and several (solidary), reaching the property owner (dono da obra), the promoter, the contractor and the technical designers. The municipality also keeps the power to inspect and act on a non-conforming building at any time, with no expiry.
For a buyer, the reading is blunt. Buy a property with an irregular works history and you step into the owner's position. If the original contractor is insolvent or has dissolved, which the Portuguese construction sector sees often, enforcement flows to the most solvent party still standing, and after a sale that is frequently you. The municipality can require the work to be regularised, and regularisation carries a cost that appears on no listing.
This is the practical reason the document layer matters before the deed and not after. Reading the authorisation trail against the building tells you whether you are about to take on a liability that the price never mentioned.
Does what was built match what was authorised?
The document trail can be complete and the building still differ from what was authorised, which only a physical inspection confirms.
DL 108/2026 is a documentary regime, and HomeOS works on the documentary layer: the registry, the title, the licences, the score. There is a question the documents cannot fully answer, which is whether the building as it physically stands matches what the título urbanístico authorised. An extension that was never declared, an internal change that altered the layout, a use that does not match the licence: these are physical findings.
That is the line where the digital layer hands off. If a HomeOS read of the documents flags a gap, or the seller declares no título, the next step is to confirm the building on site. The InspectOS guide to the Simplex Urbanístico and buyer liability sets out the DL 10/2024 background that DL 108/2026 builds on, and a physical inspection confirms whether what was built matches what was authorised. → Book a physical inspection with InspectOS
Frequently Asked Questions
When does DL 108/2026 take effect?
The main changes to the RJUE take effect on 3 August 2026, the first working day of the third month after the decree was published on 29 May 2026. The mandatory título urbanístico declaration in every sale deed applies from 1 September 2026. A purchase completing after that date carries the new declaration obligation.
What is the difference between a título urbanístico and a licença de utilização?
A título urbanístico proves the construction was legally authorised, in the building phase. A licença de utilização authorises the building to be used, in the use phase. A property can hold one without the other, so a buyer should confirm the full authorisation trail, not only the use licence.
What are the three seller declarations at the deed?
From 1 September 2026, the deed must record one of three positions: the título urbanístico exists and is presented; the seller declares it exists but does not present it; or the seller declares the property has no título urbanístico. The notary records which one, and the omission of the declaration makes the transaction voidable.
What does it mean if a sale is anulável?
A voidable (anulável) sale is valid and produces effects, so you can complete and move in, but it carries a defect that lets an entitled party challenge it and have it undone within the legal window. It differs from a void (nulo) sale, which never produced valid effects. A voidable title can also complicate financing and resale.
Can I still buy a property that has no título urbanístico?
Yes, the sale can proceed if the seller declares the absence and the deed records it. You would be buying a property the seller has stated is not fully regularised, which carries voidability and regularisation risk. Confirm the position with a lawyer and verify the documents before signing the CPCV, not at the deed.
Does DL 108/2026 replace DL 10/2024?
DL 108/2026 builds on and partly supersedes the first Simplex Urbanístico reform, DL 10/2024, reworking the RJUE around comunicação prévia, tacit approval and after-the-fact supervision. The buyer-liability direction set by DL 10/2024 continues, and the new declaration obligation adds to it.
Is this the same as the Simplex Urbanístico reform?
Yes. DL 108/2026 is the second step of the Simplex Urbanístico reform of property licensing, following DL 10/2024. The accurate references are DL 108/2026 and the novo RJUE 2026. Use those terms when searching, since informal version labels return unrelated tax results.
What should I add to the CPCV to protect myself under DL 108/2026?
Build the título urbanístico question into the promissory contract (CPCV) with a resolutive clause that lets you exit or renegotiate if the title situation differs from what the seller represented. That protects the deposit (sinal) if a problem surfaces between the promise and the deed. Have a lawyer draft the clause and confirm how the 1 September declaration applies at your completion date.
Conclusion
DL 108/2026 changes the deal for buyers on two dates: 3 August 2026 for the new RJUE rules, and 1 September 2026 for the mandatory título urbanístico declaration in every deed. The state checks less before the sale, the seller declares the title in one of three ways, and a missing or mis-declared title makes the purchase voidable. For a foreign buyer, the protection that used to come from a municipal stamp now comes from verification you commission before you sign.
Before the CPCV, read the documents and know your exposure. The Simplex Liability Checker flags the título urbanístico risk from a property's licensing history, and the HomeOS due diligence process turns the records into a clear decision.
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Updated July 2026 | HomeOS Portugal Reviewed by [REVIEWER NAME, CREDENTIAL]
Sources: Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio (Diário da República, N.º 104, 1.ª série; main RJUE changes in force 3 August 2026); Lei n.º 9-B/2026, de 6 de março (authorising law); Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação (RJUE); mandatory título urbanístico declaration in deeds from 1 September 2026, with voidability for omission (ECO; idealista; Ordem dos Arquitectos); Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro (first Simplex Urbanístico); Código Civil (annulment regime).