The Key Property Documents to Check Before Buying
The four legal documents every Margem Sul buyer must verify before escritura — Licença de Utilização, Certificado Energético, Caderneta Predial Urbana, and Certidão Permanente — plus when the Ficha Técnica da Habitação is also required.
Updated April 2026Why These Documents Matter
A property purchase in Portugal is only as safe as the paperwork behind it. Title, taxation, licensing, and energy compliance live in separate registries — and the notary at the escritura will check that they line up. If they don’t, the deed can’t complete.
Lawyers sometimes call them the Big Four. Whatever you call them, these are the four legal documents that have to clear before a Portuguese property can change hands — plus a conditional fifth for newer builds.
Four documents are mandatory for every residential transaction. A fifth, the Ficha Técnica da Habitação, is mandatory only for buildings whose construction licence was issued after 30 March 2004. This guide walks through each document, explains what it proves, and lists what your lawyer should be checking before you sign anything binding.
South Bank Real Estate is a buyer’s agent — we coordinate, we recommend, and we work alongside your lawyer. The legal verification itself is your independent Portuguese property lawyer’s job, and it’s the most important hire you’ll make in the transaction.
The Four Documents Required for Every Sale
No escritura completes without these four. Verify all of them before signing the CPCV.
1. Licença de Utilização (LU) — Habitation Licence
Issued by the câmara municipal, the Licença de Utilização confirms a property is legally licensed for its declared use — for residential purchases this should read habitação. Buildings whose construction was completed before 7 August 1951 are exempt from holding an LU but require a substitute certificate of exemption from the câmara.
What to check: the licence number and issue date; the registered use is “habitação” and not commercial or mixed-use; the licence covers the entire property you are buying (not just part of it); for split-fraction buildings, that the specific fraction is named.
2. Certificado Energético (CE) — Energy Certificate
Mandatory for sale and rental transactions since Decreto-Lei 118/2013. Issued by an accredited energy assessor, the CE rates the property on a scale from A+ (most efficient) to F. It is valid for ten years from issue.
What to check: the rating itself (anything below C is worth understanding the cost implications of); the issue date and whether it is still inside the ten-year validity window; the listed improvement recommendations — advisory only, but a useful indicator of insulation quality, glazing, and heating-system condition.
3. Caderneta Predial Urbana (CPU) — Tax Authority Property Record
The fiscal record held by the Autoridade Tributária. The CPU contains the property’s description, its registered area, the current registered owner, and the Valor Patrimonial Tributário (VPT) — the tax value that drives IMI and IMT calculations.
What to check: the registered owner matches the seller exactly; the property identifier (artigo matricial and fração where applicable) aligns with the registo predial; the recorded area matches the LU and the actual property; the VPT is current and not based on a stale valuation that may be due for revision.
4. Certidão Permanente do Registo Predial (CRP) — Land Registry Certificate
The conservatória’s register of legal ownership. The CRP is the document that proves who owns the property and what charges, mortgages, or restrictions sit against it. It should be no more than six months old at the time of the CPCV.
What to check: the current registered owner matches the seller; any hipoteca (mortgage) is disclosed and a plan exists to discharge it before or at the escritura; no penhora (attachment), arresto (seizure), or execução fiscal (tax enforcement) is registered; servidões (easements) and direitos de preferência (rights of first refusal) are identified; the property description matches the CPU and LU.
The CPU and CRP must agree
The Caderneta is the tax authority’s view of the property; the Certidão is the registry’s view. They should describe the same property in compatible terms — same area, same fração, same owner. When they don’t, your lawyer needs to investigate before you proceed. Mismatches are usually fixable, but they take time and can hold up an escritura that’s already been scheduled.
Ficha Técnica da Habitação (FTH) — When It’s Required
The technical housing file. Mandatory for some properties, exempt for others.
What the FTH covers
The Ficha Técnica da Habitação is a structured technical record of the property’s construction details — materials used, structural specifications, plumbing and electrical systems, insulation, and any post-completion modifications. It exists to give buyers transparency about what is actually inside the walls.
When it’s required
The FTH is mandatory only for properties whose construction licence (alvará de licença de construção) was issued on or after 30 March 2004. Older buildings are exempt — including most of Almada’s historic centre, the older streets of Setúbal, and any property pre-dating that date that has not had a major reconstruction licensed afterwards.
What to check when it applies
That the FTH is current and signed by the project author or the construction company; that the technical specifications match the property as actually built; that any post-occupation modifications (kitchen rebuilds, structural works, pool installations) appear in an updated version where relevant. For new-build and recently-completed properties, the FTH is part of the document pack the developer must hand over at escritura.
Beyond the Five — Items Worth Verifying
Not legally required for the deed, but each one prevents a different kind of nasty surprise.
Approved floor plans (planta / projecto aprovado)
The licensed building plans held at the câmara. Compare them to the property as you find it — unauthorised extensions, converted basements, or added storeys are common in older Margem Sul stock and can be expensive to regularise.
Condomínio clearance (declaração de não-dívida)
For apartments and any property in a shared building, ask for a written confirmation that there are no outstanding service charges, plus the most recent assembleia minutes. Pending major works that haven’t yet been billed can land on you as the new owner.
Utility and IMI receipts
Recent receipts for IMI, water, electricity, and gas. Confirms the property is fiscally and operationally up to date and that there are no carrying balances that will complicate the transfer of utilities into your name.
Infrastructure and condomínio accounts
For new developments, the certidão de infraestruturas confirms public utility connections are properly licensed. For apartment buildings with active management, the building accounts indicate financial health and reserve-fund position.
How the Documents Get Gathered
A typical Margem Sul transaction, in roles.
The seller
Should provide the LU, CE, CPU, and (where applicable) FTH at the point of agreeing the CPCV. These are the seller’s responsibility to produce. If a document is missing or expired, that’s the seller’s problem to fix — but it can delay the timeline, so know about it early.
The buyer’s lawyer
Independently pulls a fresh CRP from the conservatória (don’t accept the seller’s copy alone). Verifies that the CPU, LU, and CRP agree. Flags any charges, mismatches, or licensing gaps. Drafts CPCV conditions for anything that still needs resolving before the deed.
The notary
At the escritura, the notary independently re-checks the document pack one final time. They will not proceed if anything is missing, expired, or inconsistent. This is the buyer’s last automatic safeguard — but by the time you reach this point, anything found here is a problem you should already know about.
Where we sit
South Bank coordinates the transaction end-to-end and recommends independent Portuguese property lawyers we’ve seen do this work well. We don’t replace the lawyer — we make sure the right one is on the case, that the document pack is requested early, and that issues surface before they become deal-breakers.
What Should Make You Pause
Patterns that indicate a deeper problem — rare, but worth recognising.
An LU that describes a different property
The licence references an area, layout, or fração that doesn’t match the property you’re viewing. Possible causes: unauthorised modifications, a clerical error in the original licensing, or a poorly executed split of a larger property.
A CRP showing an undischarged mortgage
Common — the seller paid off the loan years ago but never had it formally cancelled at the conservatória. The cancellation must happen before or at the escritura, and your lawyer should arrange the request to the bank in good time.
A CPU stuck on an old VPT
The taxable value hasn’t been revised in years and is well below the current market price. May be administratively normal, or may signal a pending revaluation that could spike IMI immediately after you buy. Worth understanding before you commit.
Pre-1951 exemption claimed on a clearly newer building
If the seller is relying on the pre-1951 LU exemption but the property is visibly post-war, the exemption is being mis-applied. This needs sorting before any deed is even contemplated.
A condomínio refusing to issue clearance
If the management company won’t confirm the property is up to date on charges, assume there’s a reason. Could be unpaid fees, a dispute, or a pending works billing. Either way, find out before you sign.