Contracts and registration
From the promissory contract to the deed and the land registry: the documents that make a purchase, and the rights that may be registered against a property.
CPCV (promissory contract of sale)
The contract that fixes the deal before the deed: price, deadline, and what happens if either side walks away.
It should identify the property, the price, the deposit, the deadline for the deed and the consequences of default. Signatures must be witnessed where possession passes.
This is where a buyer protects themselves: a clause making the deal conditional on mortgage approval avoids losing the deposit if the bank says no.
Deposit (sinal)
The sum paid on the promissory contract. If the buyer walks, they lose it; if the seller walks, they repay double.
Usually 10% to 20% of the price, credited against the price at completion.
The double-repayment rule is a default that an express clause can displace, which sellers' contracts frequently do. Worth reading.
Arras
The classical name for the deposit, still used in contracts. In Portuguese law, arras and sinal are the same thing.
The distinction between confirmatory and penitential arras comes from Roman law and survives in contractual language, but the Civil Code regulates the figure as sinal.
Where a contract says arras, the sinal regime of article 442 of the Civil Code applies unless otherwise agreed.
Public deed
The act that transfers ownership, before a notary, registrar or lawyer empowered to authenticate.
It requires proof of payment of transfer tax and stamp duty, the tax record, the land registry extract, the use licence and the energy certificate.
It can be done through Casa Pronta, which combines deed, registration and mortgage in one act at a fixed price.
DPA (authenticated private document)
An alternative to a notarial deed, authenticated by a lawyer, solicitador or chamber of commerce. Same effect.
Used mostly where there is a mortgage, because the bank usually has a lawyer who authenticates and registers in the same act.
It has to be deposited electronically, and it is that deposit which enables the land registration.
Land registration
Recording the purchase at the registry. Without it, the acquisition is not enforceable against third parties.
Done within two months of the deed, or immediately through Casa Pronta. It is the registration, not the deed, that protects a buyer against a second sale of the same property.
It is also where the bank's charge is entered, and from where it is removed when the loan is repaid.
Certidão permanente (land registry extract)
The legal record: who owns the property, mortgages, liens and other charges.
Issued by the Land Registry and accessible online with a code. Shows the description and every registration in force.
A registered charge can restrict the sale. If you find one, consult a lawyer or solicitador.
Ónus (registered charge)
A charge on the property (mortgage, lien, usufruct) that follows it when ownership changes.
Listed on the certidão permanente. A seller's mortgage is normally discharged at the deed with the sale proceeds; a lien needs resolving first.
This tool identifies and flags, it does not advise: analysing a specific case is legal counsel, reserved to lawyers and solicitadores in Portugal.
Use licence
The council document stating what the property may be used for. Required for buildings later than 1951.
Without it, or with a licence that does not match the use, the deed may not proceed and the bank will refuse to lend.
A shop converted into a flat without changing the licence remains, legally, a shop, and cannot be let as housing.
Technical housing file
The property's technical description, required for buildings licensed after March 2004.
It lists materials, equipment, the parties involved in construction and the guarantees. It is handed to the buyer at the deed.
Its absence, where required, is grounds to refuse the deed, and in practice forces the seller to obtain it from the council first.
Energy certificate
Mandatory to sell or let, rated A+ to F. Valid for 10 years on a home.
Issued by a qualified assessor registered with ADENE. Required in the listing, at the deed and in a lease; its absence is an offence.
The cost is deductible against a capital gain and against rental income. The rating affects market value and, under the affordable rental regime, the rent ceiling.
Usufruct
The right to use a property and take its fruits, while ownership belongs to somebody else.
It splits the property into usufruct and bare ownership. Common in gifts to children with the parents reserving the usufruct, and in inheritance settlements.
Buying the bare ownership means buying something you cannot use while the usufruct lasts. The price reflects that, and so must any yield calculation.
Right of first refusal
A third party's right to buy on the same terms. Tenants and municipalities can hold it.
A tenant of more than two years has first refusal on the sale of the let property. Municipalities hold it in urban regeneration areas and over listed buildings.
Notice is given through the Casa Pronta portal, and a sale made without offering it can be set aside at the request of whoever was passed over.
The other groups
General information based on current legislation. Not tax or legal advice.