The government stopped protecting you. So we started.
In January 2024, Portugal eliminated mandatory property verification. Buyers now inherit every hidden problem — illegal construction, structural defects, expired certificates. InspectOS exists because someone has to check.
Our Values
Technical Authority
Every inspection follows LNEC standards. No shortcuts, no ambiguity.
Radical Transparency
Full regulatory citations in every report. You see exactly what we see.
Accessible Compliance
Complex regulations translated into clear, actionable guidance.
83%
With undisclosed defects
47%
With illegal construction
€12,400
Average hidden cost
The context
Understanding Simplex Urbanístico: Why the rules changed
For decades, buying property in Portugal worked like this: before any sale could complete, the local municipality (Câmara Municipal) verified that the property was legal, safe, and matched its official documents. This verification was called the Licença de Utilização — the habitation license. No license, no sale.
The Câmara Municipal checked:
- Did the built property match the approved plans?
- Were there illegal extensions, enclosed balconies, or converted garages?
- Were all safety certificates (gas, electrical) current?
- Was the property legally permitted for residential use?
If problems existed, the sale couldn't proceed until they were fixed. The system was slow — sometimes adding months to transactions — but it protected buyers.
Then came Decreto-Lei 10/2024.
In January 2024, the Portuguese government introduced "Simplex Urbanístico" — a package of reforms designed to reduce bureaucracy and speed up property transactions. The headline change: the mandatory habitation license was eliminated.
The government's reasoning was simple: reduce delays, cut red tape, make it easier to buy and sell property. For the real estate industry, this was welcome news. Transactions could close faster.
But buried in the efficiency gains was a massive transfer of risk.
What Simplex actually did: liability transferred to you
Under the old system, the Câmara Municipal was the gatekeeper. If a property had illegal construction, the municipality would flag it. If safety certificates were expired, the sale would stall until they were renewed. The seller had to fix problems before they became your problems.
Under Simplex Urbanístico, that gatekeeper is gone.
Now, when you buy a property in Portugal:
- No one checks if the 120sqm apartment is actually 120sqm
- No one verifies if that enclosed balcony was ever permitted
- No one confirms if the gas installation was inspected this decade
- No one warns you if the building has structural defects
The property transfers exactly as it is — legal or illegal, safe or unsafe, documented or undocumented. And the moment you sign the deed (escritura), every problem becomes your legal and financial responsibility.
This isn't speculation. It's the law.
Decreto-Lei 10/2024, Article 3, explicitly states that the requirement for prior municipal verification is revoked. The explanatory memorandum acknowledges that "verification responsibility transfers to the interested parties" — meaning you, the buyer.
The numbers
What this costs buyers: real numbers
The liability shift isn't theoretical. We see the consequences in every inspection we perform.
Illegal Construction
47% of properties we inspect have construction that doesn't match official documents. The most common: enclosed balconies (marquises), converted garages, unpermitted annexes, and floor area discrepancies.
The cost to legalise these ranges from €3,000 for simple administrative regularisation to €25,000+ for structures requiring architectural modification or partial demolition. In some cases — particularly in protected zones or when construction violates urban planning rules — legalisation is impossible. You either demolish or live with an illegal property you can't fully insure or mortgage.
Expired Safety Certificates
Portuguese law requires periodic inspection of gas installations (every 5 years), electrical installations (every 6 years), and energy performance (every 10 years). Sellers routinely ignore these requirements because, until Simplex, the municipality would catch it.
Now, no one catches it. You discover the expired certificates when:
- Your insurance company denies a claim ("installation not certified at time of incident")
- You try to sell and can't produce valid certificates
- An inspector from the utility company issues fines up to €3,740
Structural Defects
Pre-1980 Portuguese buildings were constructed before modern seismic codes. Many have inadequate foundations, degraded concrete, or structural cracks hidden behind fresh paint. The seller's renovation made the apartment look modern. The bones are 60 years old.
Average cost to address structural issues found in our inspections: €12,400. Severe cases — foundation problems, seismic retrofitting — can exceed €50,000.
Lost Financial Benefits
Portugal offers significant financial incentives for energy-efficient properties: Green Mortgages with rates 0.3–0.5% lower, and EU renovation grants covering up to 85% of upgrade costs. But accessing these requires documentation most buyers don't have — specifically, a Renovation Passport showing the property's current state and planned improvement path.
Without proper inspection and documentation at purchase, you lose access to financing that could save €20,000–40,000 over the life of your mortgage.
If you're buying from abroad, the risk multiplies
Portuguese buyers, despite Simplex, have advantages foreign buyers don't:
- They can visit the Câmara Municipal and request the property's full licensing history
- They understand which neighbourhoods have known issues (coastal erosion zones, flood plains, protected areas)
- They can read the Caderneta Predial and Certidão Permanente in their native language and spot discrepancies
- They have networks — a cousin who's an architect, a friend who works in construction — who can do informal checks
Foreign buyers have none of this. You're buying remotely or during brief visits. You're relying on the seller's agent — who is paid by the seller — to tell you the truth. You're trusting that the beautiful renovation photos reflect a property that's legal, safe, and correctly documented.
In 83% of properties we inspect, they don't.
This isn't because sellers are malicious. Most genuinely don't know their enclosed balcony was never permitted. They inherited the problem from the previous owner, who inherited it from the one before. The chain of ignorance is long. But under Simplex, the chain of liability ends with you.
Our story
We built what Portugal should have kept
Simplex Urbanístico took effect in 2024.
We watched the law change and understood immediately what it meant: thousands of buyers — Portuguese and foreign — would purchase properties with hidden problems that no one was checking anymore. The government had decided that speed mattered more than protection. We disagreed.
Our founding team includes structural engineers, energy assessors, and real estate professionals who spent years working within the old system. We know what the Câmara Municipal used to check because we worked alongside them. We know what buyers need to know because we've seen what happens when they don't.
InspectOS provides the independent verification that Portuguese law no longer requires but that every buyer still needs. We are not the seller's agent. We are not the bank's appraiser. We work exclusively for buyers, with a single mandate: find what's hidden before you sign.
Our inspections cover:
- Document verification (does the property match its official records?)
- Legal compliance (are there illegal constructions or unpermitted modifications?)
- Structural assessment (is the building sound?)
- Safety certification (are gas, electrical, and energy certificates current?)
- Financial documentation (Renovation Passport for green financing eligibility)
We report what we find — good and bad. If the property is clean, you buy with confidence. If there are problems, you know exactly what they are, what they'll cost to fix, and whether you should renegotiate or walk away.
How we work
From booking to decision: the InspectOS process
Step 1: You book an inspection
Choose your protection level — document verification only (Simplex Safe), structural assessment (Structural & Seismic), or complete financial documentation (Renovation Passport). We can usually schedule within 5 business days.
Step 2: We gather documents
Before the physical inspection, we obtain and analyse the property's official records: Caderneta Predial (tax registry), Certidão Permanente (land registry), and available licensing history from the Câmara Municipal.
Step 3: We inspect the property
Our LNEC-certified engineers conduct a systematic inspection — comparing built reality against documented plans, identifying structural issues, detecting moisture with thermal imaging, checking safety installations. Duration: 3–10 hours depending on inspection type.
Step 4: You receive your report
Within 48 hours, you receive a comprehensive PDF report: findings, photographs, risk assessment (Simplex Risk Score 0–100), cost estimates for any issues found, and a clear go/no-go recommendation.
Step 5: You decide with full information
Use the report to negotiate a lower price, request the seller fix issues before closing, or walk away entirely. If you proceed, you do so knowing exactly what you're buying.
Who inspects
Who inspects your property
Every InspectOS inspection is conducted by engineers certified under LNEC (Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil) standards — the same certification required for official Portuguese construction supervision.
Our inspectors are not generalists. Each holds specific credentials:
- Structural assessment: Civil engineers with Eurocode certification
- Energy performance: ADENE-certified Peritos Qualificados
- Gas safety: WIB-certified technicians
- Seismic screening: Engineers trained in Eurocode 8 assessment
Bringing back the protection Portugal removed
Simplex Urbanístico was designed to make property transactions faster. It succeeded. It also made them riskier for buyers and transferred millions of euros in potential liability from sellers to purchasers.
The Portuguese government decided this tradeoff was acceptable. We don't think it should be your problem.
InspectOS exists to give every buyer — Portuguese or foreign, first-time or investor — the verification that used to be mandatory. Not because the law requires it. Because you deserve to know what you're buying.
83% of properties have undisclosed defects. 47% have illegal construction. The average hidden cost is €12,400.
You shouldn't discover these numbers after you sign. You should discover them before.
Don't sign without verification
Whether you're buying your first apartment or your tenth investment property, InspectOS finds what's hidden. Book an inspection or check your target property's risk for free.