Buyer's due diligence checklist for Portugal
Buyer's due diligence checklistLista de verificação antes da compra de imóvel
The documents and checks a buyer should complete before paying a sinal under a CPCV: ownership and charges in the land register, the tax register, planning and use licences, the energy certificate, condominium debts, tenants and pre-emption rights, and the taxes due before the deed.
Use it from the first serious visit until the CPCV. Ask the seller or the agent for each document, and order the land register certificate yourself online. Repeat the land register check just before the deed, because a new mortgage or attachment can be registered in the meantime.
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Key facts
- Applies to
- Whole country (mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira). IMT rates differ in the autonomous regions.
- Stamp duty on the purchase
- 0.8% of the higher of the price and the tax value, paid before the deed.
- Condominium debt statement
- The administrator issues it within 10 days of the request (Código Civil, art. 1424-A).
- Deed without the debt statement
- Allowed only if the buyer waives it and takes over the seller's condominium debts (art. 1424-A).
- Licence of use at the deed
- No longer has to be shown since 1 January 2024 (Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024).
- Urban title at the deed
- Since 3 August 2026 the deed must state whether the urban title exists, or the sale can be annulled (Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026).
- Tenant's pre-emption right
- A tenant of more than 2 years may match the sale. The seller writes by registered letter, and the tenant has 30 days to answer (art. 1091).
- Energy certificate
- Required for a sale or a lease. Every advertisement must show the energy class (Decreto-Lei n.º 101-D/2020, arts. 18(1)(e), 22(3) and 32).
- IMT Jovem
- Buyers aged 35 or under, buying a first permanent home, may be exempt from IMT and stamp duty (Decreto-Lei n.º 48-A/2024).
- Non-resident buyer
- Flat 7.5% IMT on a home, with no exemption or reduction, unless an exception in CIMT art. 17(10) applies (Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026).
- IMT refund
- If the buyer becomes tax resident within 2 years or lets at a moderate rent, the tax authority refunds the difference (art. 17(10) to (12)).
- Casa Pronta fee
- 375 euros for one registration act, 700 euros for more than one, plus 50 euros per extra property.
The checklist
Seller, title and ownership
Current land register certificateCertidão permanente do registo predial
Identity documents and tax numbers of every sellerCartão de Cidadão ou passaporte, NIF
Seller's marital status and property regimeEstado civil e regime de bens
Selling a family home needs both spouses' consent, whatever the property regime. A spouse who is not on the register may still need to sign.
For inherited property, the heirs' deed and the registration in their namesHabilitação de herdeiros e registo a favor dos herdeiros
Until the heirs are registered as owners, they cannot sign the deed in their own names. All heirs must agree to the sale.
For a company seller, its commercial register certificateCertidão permanente do registo comercial
It shows that the company exists and who may sign for it.
Your own Portuguese tax numberNúmero de Identificação Fiscal (NIF)
You need a NIF to pay IMT and stamp duty and to sign the deed.
Tax register and property taxes
Tax register extractCaderneta predial urbana
Proof that municipal property tax is paidDeclaração de liquidação do IMI
It shows the IMI assessed on the property. Ask the seller for proof of payment of the current year.
Match between the land register, the tax register and the propertyConformidade entre a descrição predial, a matriz e o imóvel
Different areas, rooms or uses point to unregistered works. Ask the seller to correct the records before the deed.
Planning, licences and condition
Licence of use, or proof that the building is from before 7 August 1951Licença ou autorização de utilização
It shows the building may be used as a home. The deed no longer needs it. Lenders usually ask for it, and a home without it cannot be let.
Technical housing file, for buildings built, rebuilt, extended or altered after 30 March 2004Ficha técnica da habitação
It describes the construction, materials and equipment of the home.
Planning information from the municipalityPlano Diretor Municipal, informação prévia, processo de obras
Check that the building matches the approved plans, that no demolition or legalisation order is pending, and what the zoning allows nearby.
Energy certificateCertificado energético (SCE)
Independent building surveyVistoria técnica
No law requires it. A survey finds damp, structural cracks, roof leaks and old wiring before you commit to the price.
For rural land, the cadastral or georeferenced identificationBalcão Único do Prédio (BUPi), cadastro
Rural boundaries are often uncertain. The BUPi identifies and maps the land.
Condominium (flats and units in a shared building)
Condominium charges and debts statementDeclaração de encargos e dívidas ao condomínio (art. 1424.º-A do Código Civil)
Deed constituting the horizontal property and the condominium rulesTítulo constitutivo da propriedade horizontal e regulamento do condomínio
They set the use of each unit, the share in common costs and any limits on short-term letting or works.
Minutes of the last owners' meetingsAtas das assembleias de condóminos
They show approved works and extra charges that the next owner will pay.
Occupation and pre-emption rights
Any lease in force, and the date the tenant moved inContrato de arrendamento
Declarations on other pre-emption rights, if anyDeclarações de exercício do direito de preferência
Taxes and closing costs
IMT calculation and payment before the deedImposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis (IMT)
Stamp duty on the purchase and on the mortgageImposto do Selo
IMT Jovem exemption, if you are 35 or underIsenção de IMT e Imposto do Selo (IMT Jovem)
Ask for it before the deed. If two people buy and only one qualifies, the exemption is 50%.
IMT rate if you are not tax resident in PortugalTaxa de IMT de 7,5% para adquirentes não residentes
IMT refund if you become tax resident
The tax authority refunds the difference on request if you become tax resident within 2 years.
IMT refund if you let the home
Deadline to ask for the IMT refund
Ask within 6 months of becoming tax resident or of signing the lease.
Choice of the person or office that makes the deed and registers itNotário, advogado, solicitador ou Balcão Casa Pronta
Formalities
A due diligence list is a checklist by nature. The notary, lawyer, solicitador or Casa Pronta desk checks the documents at the deed, but the buyer pays the sinal earlier, at the CPCV.
- You need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) to buy.
- The land register certificate (certidão permanente do registo predial) and the tax register extract (caderneta predial) are available online.
- The sale is made by public deed, by authenticated private document or at a Casa Pronta desk.
- Before the deed, the buyer pays IMT and stamp duty of 0.8% on the higher of the price and the tax value.
- Since 1 January 2024 the deed no longer needs proof of the licence of use or the technical housing file (ficha técnica de habitação). The buyer must check them.
- Since 3 August 2026 the deed must state whether the urban title was shown, or whether the seller declares having it or not having it.
- The deed records the seller's statement. It does not prove that the building is legal.
- After the deed, the acquisition must be registered. The notary, lawyer or Casa Pronta desk usually does this.
Common mistakes
- Relying on the agent's summary instead of the certidão permanente. Only the land register shows the registered owner, mortgages and attachments.
- Assuming the deed checks the planning status. It records only what the seller shows or declares, so an illegal extension or change of use can pass to you.
- Comparing nothing. Check that the areas and the description match between the land register, the caderneta predial and the property you visited.
- Ignoring condominium works approved but not yet charged. Read the recent minutes of the owners' meetings.
- Buying a let property without reading the lease. The lease continues after the sale, and a long-standing tenant can claim the right to buy first.
- Taking the keys under the CPCV. IMT becomes due early unless the home is your own permanent residence.
Legal basis
- Código Civil, art. 875 (form of the sale of real estate)
- Código Civil, art. 1091 (tenant's pre-emption right)
- Lei n.º 8/2022, de 10 de janeiro (horizontal property reform, adding art. 1424-A to the Código Civil)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro (Simplex urbanístico)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 101-D/2020, de 7 de dezembro (energy performance of buildings)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 48-A/2024, de 25 de julho (IMT and stamp duty exemption for buyers up to 35)
- Código do IMT, art. 17(10) to (12) (flat 7.5% IMT for non-resident buyers of homes, and the exceptions)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, de 20 de maio (housing tax measures under Lei n.º 9-A/2026)
- Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo, verbas 1.1 (0.8% on a purchase) and 17.1 (credit: 0.5% for 1 to 5 years, 0.6% for 5 years or more)
- Código do IMT, art. 2 (IMT on a promise with possession or an assignment clause)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio (Simplex urbanístico 2.0), amending the RJUE (Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99), art. 4.º-A(14)