In France, a seller must hand you a dossier of mandatory technical diagnostics before the sale. In Spain, older buildings must pass a periodic structural inspection, the ITE. In the Netherlands, an energy label is compulsory and a condition survey is standard practice. In Portugal, there is no equivalent technical diagnostic of the building's condition, only an energy certificate and a gas check. The one technical examination of the property you are buying is the one you commission yourself. A pre-purchase inspection by an OE-licensed engineer is the diagnostic Portugal does not require but every mature market does, and it is a fraction of the €12,400 average cost to fix hidden defects found after purchase (InspectOS data).
Table of Contents
- What does France require that Portugal does not?
- What is Spain's ITE, and which buildings must pass it?
- How do the Netherlands and other source markets compare?
- What does Portugal actually mandate before a sale?
- If the law does not require it, what should you do?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What does France require that Portugal does not?
France obliges the seller to compile a technical diagnostic file, the DDT, and annex it to the sale agreement, covering energy, asbestos, lead, gas, electrics, and risk exposure.
A property sale in France runs through the dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT), a file of mandatory technical diagnostics the seller must prepare and attach to the sale agreement. Depending on the property's age and location, it gathers the energy diagnostic (DPE), an asbestos report for buildings permitted before July 1997, a lead report (CREP) for homes built before 1949, gas and electrical assessments for installations more than 15 years old, a natural and technological risk statement (ERP), a termite report in designated zones, and a septic system report where the property is not on mains drainage.
The legal weight sits with the seller, who organises the diagnostics, and the buyer reads them before committing. If a required diagnostic is missing or out of date, the buyer can withdraw, renegotiate the price, or pursue the seller. Nothing in the French file replaces a full structural survey, but it forces a baseline technical disclosure that Portugal does not require at all.
What is Spain's ITE, and which buildings must pass it?
Spain's ITE requires buildings over roughly 45 to 50 years old, in larger municipalities, to pass a periodic technical inspection by a licensed architect, renewed every decade.
Spain runs the Inspección Técnica de Edificios (ITE), a periodic technical inspection of older buildings. National rules set the trigger at around 50 years of age, and municipalities can lower it: Catalonia applies it from 45 years, and several Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca municipalities require it earlier still, from 25 to 40 years. It applies in towns above 25,000 inhabitants, must be carried out by a licensed architect or technical architect, and is renewed at least every 10 years.
The inspection examines structural stability, habitability and safety, hygiene, and accessibility. A failed or absent ITE can block works, trigger municipal orders, and weigh on a sale. The contrast with Portugal is direct: an older apartment block in Barcelona faces a recurring state-mandated structural check, while the same building in Lisbon faces none. A buyer who wants that assurance in Portugal arranges a pre-purchase inspection privately.
How do the Netherlands and other source markets compare?
Most markets that send buyers to Portugal treat an independent technical check as routine, whether through a mandatory label or a standard pre-purchase survey.
The Netherlands requires an energy label (energielabel) at the point of sale, and a structural survey (bouwkundige keuring) is so routine that Dutch buyers expect one as a normal step before signing, even though it is not legally compulsory. The United Kingdom, where buyers commission RICS surveys, and Germany, where a Gutachter assessment is common, follow the same cultural baseline: an independent technical opinion on the building before money changes hands.
This matters because of who buys in Portugal. Foreign buyers accounted for around 28% of 2025 purchases (Banco de Portugal), and they come overwhelmingly from countries where a diagnostic file, a periodic inspection, or a standard survey is simply part of buying a home. Many arrive in Portugal assuming the same protection exists here, and find that it does not. The foreign buyer guide sets out the wider gap, and the inspection is the part of it a buyer can close.
What does Portugal actually mandate before a sale?
Portugal mandates an energy certificate and a gas inspection, but no technical diagnostic of the building's structural or physical condition before a sale.
Portugal does require two technical documents. The energy certificate (certificado energético) is mandatory for every sale under Decreto-Lei n.º 101-D/2020, de 7 de dezembro, issued through ADENE, with fines of €250 to €3,740 for individuals where it is absent (DL 101-D/2020, Art. 35). A gas inspection is mandatory under Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2017, de 10 de agosto for qualifying installations. Both are useful, and neither examines whether the structure is sound, the roof leaks, or a wall was removed.
There is no Portuguese equivalent of the DDT or the ITE, no mandatory pre-purchase diagnostic of the building's condition. The gap widened further when Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro removed the municipal verification that once sat before a sale, and the mechanics of that change are in our Simplex guide. The result is a market where 35.8% of buildings need repair (INE, Census 2021), yet no law requires anyone to check the specific building you are buying.
If the law does not require it, what should you do?
Commission the inspection the law leaves out: a pre-purchase examination by an OE-licensed engineer, the technical diagnostic Portugal does not mandate but every mature market expects.
The answer is to supply the check the Portuguese system omits. A pre-purchase inspection by an engineer registered with the Ordem dos Engenheiros (OE) examines the structure, the roof and building envelope, moisture, the electrical and gas installations, and compares the property with its approved drawings. It is the closest equivalent to the French DDT and the Spanish ITE combined, arranged by the buyer rather than mandated by the state, and timed before the CPCV so the findings can still shape the deal before the deed (escritura).
The case for it is the same one France and Spain already made into law. An independent technical opinion protects the buyer from defects the paperwork does not show, and the cost is a fraction of the €12,400 average repair bill for hidden defects discovered after purchase (InspectOS data). Portugal will not hand you the diagnostic. You commission it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a property inspection mandatory in Portugal?
No. Portugal mandates an energy certificate (certificado energético) under DL 101-D/2020 and a gas inspection under DL 97/2017, but it does not require a technical diagnostic of the building's structural or physical condition before a sale. Unlike France's DDT or Spain's ITE, a pre-purchase inspection in Portugal is the buyer's choice, not a legal obligation.
What is the French DDT?
The dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT) is a file of mandatory technical diagnostics that a French seller must compile and annex to the sale agreement. It covers energy, asbestos, lead, gas, electrics, natural and technological risks, termites in designated zones, and septic systems, depending on the property. A missing diagnostic lets the buyer withdraw or renegotiate.
Does Spain require a building inspection to sell?
Spain's ITE (Inspección Técnica de Edificios) requires buildings over roughly 45 to 50 years old, in municipalities above 25,000 inhabitants, to pass a periodic technical inspection by a licensed architect, renewed every 10 years. The exact age trigger varies by region. It is a recurring obligation on the building, distinct from a one-off survey at sale.
Why does this matter for foreign buyers in Portugal?
Foreign buyers come overwhelmingly from countries where a diagnostic file, a periodic inspection, or a standard survey is part of buying a home. Many assume the same protection exists in Portugal and discover it does not. Commissioning a pre-purchase inspection restores the technical check their home market would have provided automatically.
Conclusion
France writes the technical check into the DDT, Spain writes it into the ITE, and the Netherlands and other source markets treat it as routine. Portugal mandates an energy certificate and a gas inspection and stops there, leaving the building's condition unexamined by law. The one technical diagnostic of the property you are buying is the one you arrange. A pre-purchase inspection by an OE-licensed engineer is that diagnostic, for a fraction of the €12,400 average cost of fixing hidden defects after purchase (InspectOS data). Commission it before you sign.
→ Book a Pre-Purchase Inspection · get a quote at inspectos.pt/en/home-inspections
Updated July 2026 | Reviewed by the InspectOS Engineering Team, Ordem dos Engenheiros licensed | InspectOS Portugal
Sources
- Decreto-Lei n.º 101-D/2020, de 7 de dezembro
- Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2017, de 10 de agosto
- Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro
- France dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT, Service-Public / Notaires de France)
- Spain Inspección Técnica de Edificios (ITE)
- Netherlands energielabel
- INE (Census 2021)
- Banco de Portugal (2025 foreign-buyer share)
- InspectOS inspection data