From 1 October 2026, under Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio (DL 108/2026), a property sale contract must declare the urban-planning title (título urbanístico). That declaration tells you the construction was authorised on paper. It tells you nothing about whether the concrete is cracking or the wiring is dangerous. Since municipal checking now happens after the build rather than before, verifying the physical condition of the property is your job, not the Câmara's. A Simplex Safe inspection confirms what was actually built against what was authorised, for a fraction of the legalisation liability a tacit approval can hide.
Table of Contents
- What does the título declaration actually confirm?
- Why does municipal silence not mean a sound building?
- Who pays when an unauthorised work surfaces later?
- Why does independent verification matter more now, not less?
- How does an inspection close the título gap?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What does the título declaration actually confirm?
The título declaration confirms that the construction was authorised on paper, and nothing about the physical condition, safety, or build quality of the property you are buying.
DL 108/2026 makes the urban-planning title a mandatory declaration in the sale contract. That is the law in one sentence, and the document due-diligence side of it belongs to the legal layer, not to an inspector. The brand line for InspectOS is simpler and more useful: approved on paper does not mean defect free.
A title speaks to authorisation. It does not record whether the roof leaks, whether the reinforcement in a 1980s concrete frame is corroding, whether a previous owner removed a load-bearing wall, or whether an extension was built to the approved drawings. A property can hold a clean title and still hide every one of these. The declaration answers a legal question. The building's condition is a physical question, and the two do not overlap.
This is why the pre-purchase inspection process sits one step beyond the paperwork. The title tells you the construction was permitted. An inspection tells you what that construction actually is today.
Why does municipal silence not mean a sound building?
Under DL 108/2026, prior notification and tacit approval are the default, so municipal silence can stand in for approval without anyone inspecting the work.
DL 108/2026 continues the shift that Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro (DL 10/2024) started, moving the system from control before construction to supervision after it. Most works now run on prior notification (comunicação prévia), and where a municipality does not respond within the legal deadline, the project is approved by silence (deferimento tácito). The full mechanics of that change sit in our Simplex guide and are not repeated here.
The consequence for a buyer is direct. A tacit approval means a project was not blocked. It does not mean an engineer checked the structure, the drainage, or the wiring. The municipality keeps the power of administrative supervision (fiscalização), which it can exercise at any time and which does not expire, so a non-conforming work can be embargoed or ordered for correction years after you buy. Silence cleared the paperwork. It inspected nothing.
Who pays when an unauthorised work surfaces later?
Under the republished Article 100-A of the RJUE, owners, promoters, designers and work directors are jointly liable, with corporate fines reaching €450,000.
DL 108/2026 republished Article 100-A of the RJUE (Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99), which makes the dono da obra (owner), the promoter, the project designers, and the work directors jointly and severally liable for construction infractions. Corporate fines reach €450,000. Unauthorised construction also carries legalisation costs in the €5,000 to €250,000 range under the RJUE, and the obligation does not disappear with a change of owner.
The reason this lands on the buyer is structural. Portuguese construction carries a high rate of company insolvencies and so-called phoenix companies, which accumulate debt, dissolve, and re-form under a new number to shed liability. When the builder has vanished, the municipality enforces against the most solvent party still standing, which is almost always the current owner. Buying a property with a quietly non-conforming work means buying the liability for it, and an inspection before the CPCV is the point where you can still find it and price it.
Why does independent verification matter more now, not less?
The old building standards are being phased out and nothing has yet replaced them, so an independent technical check carries more weight, not less.
A common misreading of the reform is that the General Regulation for Urban Buildings (RGEU) is gone. It is not. DL 108/2026 set the RGEU's revocation to take effect only once a future technical-regulation diploma enters into force, and that diploma has not been published. The RGEU therefore remains the applicable technical standard in the interim, minus the articles already revoked.
The accurate picture is more useful to a buyer than the myth. The old standards are being phased out while their replacement is still being drafted, and the municipal checkpoint that used to sit before construction has moved to an occasional supervision after it. When the public guarantee thins out, the private check matters more. Across Portugal, 35.8% of buildings need repair (INE, Census 2021), and the one technical examination that looks at the specific property you are buying is the one you commission. A structural and seismic inspection is the clearest example, because nothing in the title speaks to a corroding frame.
For the document and legal side of the título, the picture sits with the digital layer. HomeOS gives you the legal and valuation reading of the title before a physical inspector visits. → realos.pt
How does an inspection close the título gap?
A Simplex Safe inspection checks what was actually built against what was authorised, surfacing the defects and unauthorised works a title cannot show.
The gap between the title and the property is exactly the space an inspection covers. A certified engineer from the Ordem dos Engenheiros (OE) examines the structure, the building envelope, the electrical and gas installations, moisture and the roof, and compares the physical footprint with the approved drawings, flagging any work that does not match. Where the title says the construction was authorised, the inspection says what that construction is now, and where the as-built reality diverges from the paper.
The cost of skipping it is concrete. The average cost to fix hidden defects discovered after purchase is €12,400 (InspectOS data), and that is before any legalisation exposure on an unauthorised work. A Simplex Safe inspection turns the título gap from a blind spot into a priced, evidenced fact before you sign, while you can still renegotiate or walk away. The declaration is the seller's statement about paperwork. The inspection is your statement about the building.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the título urbanístico declaration mean the property was inspected?
No. The declaration confirms that the construction held an urban-planning title, which is an authorisation on paper. It does not certify the physical condition, safety, or build quality of the property, and no engineer is required to examine the building for the declaration to be made. The condition of the property is a separate, physical question.
Is the RGEU still in force under DL 108/2026?
Yes, in the interim. DL 108/2026 scheduled the General Regulation for Urban Buildings (RGEU) to be revoked only when a future technical-regulation diploma enters into force, and that diploma has not yet been published. The RGEU remains the applicable technical standard for now, minus the articles already revoked by earlier legislation.
Who is liable if an unauthorised work is found after I buy?
Under the republished Article 100-A of the RJUE, the owner, promoter, project designers, and work directors are jointly and severally liable, with corporate fines up to €450,000. Because builders often dissolve and re-form, enforcement tends to reach the current owner. A pre-purchase inspection identifies the work before you take on that liability.
Should I inspect before or after signing the CPCV?
Before. The promissory contract (CPCV) is the point where you can still act on what an inspection finds, by renegotiating the price, requiring the seller to regularise a work, or withdrawing. Once the deed is signed, the building's defects and any unauthorised works are yours.
Conclusion
The título declaration that arrives with DL 108/2026 answers a legal question and leaves the physical one open. It confirms the construction was authorised; it says nothing about whether the building is sound or whether every work on the plot was built to the approved drawings. With the municipal check moved to an occasional supervision after the build, that verification is now the buyer's to commission. A Simplex Safe inspection checks what was built against what was authorised, for a fraction of the legalisation liability a tacit approval can hide. Book it before you sign.
→ Book a Simplex Safe 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 108/2026, de 29 de maio
- Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro
- RJUE (Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99), Art. 98 and Art. 100-A
- RGEU
- INE (Census 2021)
- InspectOS inspection data