The Legal Framework: DL 10/2024 and the RJUE
The legal basis for Simplex Safe is Decree-Law 10/2024 of 8 January (the Simplex Urbanístico), in force since 4 March 2024. It reformed the Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Construction (RJUE), approved by Decree-Law 555/99 of 16 December.
The headline change for property transactions sits in the rules governing the transfer of urban buildings: it is no longer mandatory to present the occupancy permit or the Technical Housing File (Decree-Law 68/2004) at the notary deed.
In practice, control has shifted from ex ante (municipal review before the deed) to ex post. The council can still declare the procedure void up to 10 years after its conclusion.
The duties to comply with municipal plans, public-utility easements, technical construction rules, the electrical regulation RTIEBT (Portaria 949-A/2006), the gas regime (DL 97/2017) and the Energy Certification System (DL 101-D/2020) remain in full force; only the municipal filter that used to catch discrepancies before signing has disappeared.
Simplex Safe is the independent technical check that, for a prudent buyer, replaces that former municipal checkpoint.
Who Needs It: Buyers, Heirs, Landlords and Expats
Simplex Safe is relevant to anyone signing a promissory contract (CPCV) or a deed over an urban property in Portugal. It matters most for second-hand home buyers, heirs in estate settlements, and investors acquiring flats for rental.
The typical triggers are: (i) properties built, rebuilt or extended after 30 March 2004 (the effective date of DL 68/2004 on the Technical Housing File); (ii) properties with annexes, pools or visible extensions that may not be registered in the tax caderneta; (iii) rural plots with construction; (iv) flats financed by a mortgage, because banks continue to demand evidence of legality.
Lower-risk cases exist: post-2024 new-builds licensed under the new regime with signed terms of responsibility from the construction manager; or inherited properties already titled through notarial qualification and not being resold.
Even in those cases, the buyer's exposure is total: article 102 of the RJUE lets the council order the restoration of urban legality, including demolition, regardless of who the counterparty was at the time of the works.
Expats buying in Portugal are particularly exposed: they do not know the property's history, rarely read Portuguese municipal plans, and often rely solely on the estate agent.
What Happens if You Skip It
Buying without this check means taking on the full urban-planning liability of the seller. Fines under article 98 of the RJUE (DL 555/99) for unauthorised works or occupation range from €498.80 to €99,759.58 for individuals and up to €249,398.95 for legal entities.
The council may also order partial or full demolition, halt the use of the property, and in the most serious cases seal it. The textbook example: a buyer acquires a property licensed for 50 m² where 200 m² have in fact been built, and inherits the seller's entire liability.
Financially, the absence of an occupancy permit still blocks mortgage lending in practice: banks require evidence of legality before releasing funds, and if the loan is refused after the CPCV is signed, the buyer typically loses the deposit (10–20% of the purchase price).
Insurers can also refuse multi-risk claims if the property includes illegal areas or installations that do not comply with the RTIEBT or DL 97/2017 (gas).
Finally, resale value is damaged: the next buyer will demand Simplex Safe, and the seller will either cut the price or spend 6–24 months and thousands of euros regularising the works.
OE/OET-registered surveyors · documentary reconciliation included · bilingual report available
Book Simplex Safe: from €950, certified report in 3–5 daysWhat the Surveyor Actually Checks
The InspectOS surveyor starts with a documentary reconciliation: the urban tax register (caderneta predial), the land registry certificate, the approved plans and, where available, the municipal construction file. The goal is to establish the area, use and number of units that are actually licensed.
On site, the home is physically measured and compared with the plans. We look for extensions, converted basements, habitable attics, enclosed balconies, swimming pools and annexes that are not registered: the main sources of discrepancy in Portugal's stock of roughly 1 million buildings with unlicensed works.
We then cross-check the actual use against the licensed use (residential, services, commercial), the validity of the energy certificate (DL 101-D/2020), the date of the last gas inspection (DL 97/2017), and the existence of an electrical term of responsibility under the RTIEBT.
The final report scores each item on a 5-level scale (none / minor / medium / major / critical) and flags the corresponding administrative, civil and insurance risks. A pass means full match between physical reality, records and licences; a fail lists concrete items to regularise with indicative timeframes.
The report is signed by an engineer registered with the Portuguese Order of Engineers (OE) or the Order of Technical Engineers (OET) and can be attached to the CPCV or the deed as legal ground to renegotiate the price or terminate the contract.
How It Works: From Booking to Certified Report
The process starts online on the InspectOS portal: enter the address, property type and, if known, the flat number. After booking, the client receives surveyor assignment and a visit slot, typically 3 to 7 days out.
Before the visit, the client sends (or authorises us to retrieve) the caderneta predial, the land-registry certificate, and, if it exists, the Technical Housing File. On the day, the surveyor spends 1.5 to 3 hours on site, depending on floor area, and performs the metric survey, the visual inspection of technical installations, and geotagged photographic documentation.
The certified report is issued in 3 to 5 business days. It is delivered as a digitally signed PDF, stating the surveyor's professional registration number, with a numbered photo annex.
Where major or critical defects are found, InspectOS can also provide a preliminary feasibility assessment of a legalisation procedure with the council, if illegal works are identified.
The owner only needs to secure access to every room, the electrical panel, the gas meter and relevant common areas. No decluttering is required.
Compliance Checklist for Buyers
- Confirm that the private gross floor area in the tax register matches the on-site measurement within ±5%.
- Request and read the original occupancy permit issued by the council, even though it is no longer required at deed under DL 10/2024.
- Check that the licensed use (residential, commercial, services) matches the actual use.
- Demand the Technical Housing File (FTH) whenever the property was built or materially altered after 30 March 2004.
- Obtain the energy certificate (valid at deed date) issued on the ADENE portal.
- Get evidence of the last gas inspection under DL 97/2017.
- Request the electrical term of responsibility (RTIEBT) where works took place after 2006.
- Cross-check the land-registry certificate with the tax register: descriptions and areas must match.
- Inspect annexes, pools, basements and attics and confirm their registration.
- Include in the CPCV a termination clause linked to the Simplex Safe result, with full deposit refund in case of major or critical defects.
- Require a seller's written declaration that there are no pending urban-planning infringement proceedings.
- File the Simplex Safe report digitally: it will be used at the next resale.
Most Common Findings in Portuguese Properties
Field experience across the Portuguese building stock shows clear patterns. The most common finding is an unregistered extension: enclosed balconies, glazed marquises and converted attics that add 10–30% to the licensed floor area.
Changes of use are the second most common issue: flats licensed for residential use that operate as Short-Term Rentals (Alojamento Local) without the required prior notice, or basements labelled as storage but used as bedrooms.
In rural and peri-urban areas, pools and annexes built without a licence are recurrent. Typically erected decades ago, they rarely appear in the tax register. Regularisation depends on the applicable Municipal Master Plan and, on rural land, may be impossible.
On the technical side, we frequently find electrical installations without a post-2006 term of responsibility, overdue gas inspections under DL 97/2017, and expired energy certificates: valid for 10 years for housing and 6 years for services under DL 101-D/2020.
Finally, in older Lisbon and Porto buildings we still find guest uses in flats licensed as single-family housing, an issue that spikes in high-tourism areas.