How a Condominium (Condomínio) Works in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• You own a flat, shop, or garage space in a Portuguese building, or you are about to buy one.
• You live in Portugal or abroad. The rules are the same for resident and non-resident owners.
• You want to know what you pay, how decisions are made, and what to do if you disagree.

Not for you if: you rent your flat. Your landlord deals with the building. Read Renting a Home in Portugal instead.

If you own a flat in Portugal, you are automatically part of the building's condominium (condomínio). Your flat is yours; the roof, stairs, lift, and façade are shared. The owners decide how to run and pay for them at a yearly meeting, held in the first half of January. An elected manager carries out those decisions.

You pay your share of the costs, plus at least 10% extra into a reserve fund. Your share, and your vote, depend on your flat's value in the building. Unpaid fees can go straight to enforcement.

What you own and what you share

A building split into separately owned units is under a system called horizontal property (propriedade horizontal). Each unit is an autonomous fraction (fração autónoma): a flat, a shop, a garage space, or a storeroom. You own your fraction outright and you co-own the shared parts. You cannot sell one without the other.

By law, these parts are always shared:

• the ground, foundations, columns, pillars, load-bearing walls, and the rest of the structure;
• the roof and roof terraces, even if only one flat can use them;
• entrances, halls, stairs, and corridors used by two or more owners;
• the building's water, electricity, heating, air conditioning, gas, and communications installations.

These are presumed shared unless the building's deed says otherwise:

• courtyards and gardens;
• lifts;
• the caretaker's rooms;
• garages and parking spaces;
• anything not reserved for one owner.

The deed can give one owner exclusive use of part of a shared area, such as a roof terrace.

You cannot opt out. You cannot give up your share of the shared parts to avoid paying for them. You also have no right of first refusal when a neighbour sells, and you cannot demand that shared parts be divided.

The documents that run your building

The founding deed (título constitutivo). This describes each fraction and fixes its value as a share of the whole building, in thousandths (permilagem) or as a percentage. It may also say what each fraction is for, and include the building rules. Changing it needs the agreement of every owner, by public deed or authenticated document.

The building rules (regulamento do condomínio). If the building has more than four owners, it must have rules on how the shared parts are used and looked after. The owners' meeting writes them. If it does not, the manager must. Rules often cover noise, pets, balconies, parking, and holiday lets.

The minutes (atas). Every meeting must produce written minutes. They record who attended, what was discussed, and the result of each vote. The chair signs, and every owner present signs too. Signatures can be by hand, by qualified electronic signature, or by email confirmation. Decisions take effect once the minutes are approved. They then bind every owner, and anyone who later rents or buys a fraction.

Before you buy, ask the seller or the manager for the deed, the building rules, the minutes of the last few meetings, and this year's budget. Together they tell you what you are buying into. See Buying Property in Portugal as a Foreigner.

Your share: what it decides

Your fraction's share of the building's value does two jobs.

It sets your costs. Unless the deed or rules say otherwise, you pay for shared parts and common services in proportion to your share. There are exceptions:

• If the lift cannot serve your fraction (a ground floor shop, for example), you do not pay for it.
• Parts that serve only some owners are paid for by those owners.
• The building rules can split the cost of common services equally, or by use. That needs a majority of owners holding a majority of the building's value, with nobody voting against.

It sets your vote. You get one vote for each whole unit in your share. A flat with a share of 45 per thousand has 45 votes. A large flat outvotes a studio.

The yearly owners' meeting

The owners' meeting (assembleia de condóminos) is where decisions are made.

When it happens. The manager must call an ordinary meeting in the first half of January. It approves last year's accounts and this year's budget. If the building rules allow it, or a majority votes for it, the meeting can be held any time in the first three months of the year instead.

Who can call a meeting. The manager can call an extra meeting at any time. So can owners holding at least 25% of the building's value.

How you are told. You must get at least 10 days' notice. The manager sends it by registered letter, or delivers it against your signed receipt. If you asked at an earlier meeting to be contacted by email, and that is in the minutes, notice comes by email. You then confirm receipt by email. The notice gives the date, time, place, and agenda. It flags any item that needs every owner's approval.

If you live abroad, you must tell the manager in writing where to send notices. You can give the address of a representative instead.

Online meetings. The meeting is held online, preferably by video call, if the manager decides so or most owners ask for it. If you cannot join online for a good reason and say so in advance, the manager must give you the means. Otherwise the meeting cannot be held online.

If you cannot attend. You can send someone to vote for you with a letter of authority (procuração).

How votes are counted

Most decisions need a majority of the votes of the whole building, not just of those in the room.

If too few owners attend to reach that majority, a second meeting takes place. Unless the notice set another date, it is one week later, at the same time and place. It can decide by a majority of the owners present, as long as they hold at least a quarter of the building's value. If a quarter is sure to be present, the notice can set the second meeting for 30 minutes after the first.

Some decisions need more:

• Works that change the façade or the look of the building: two-thirds of the building's value.
• Improvements and new works (inovações): a majority of owners, holding two-thirds of the building's value.
• Installing a lift or piped gas, in a building with at least eight fractions: a majority of owners holding a majority of the building's value.
• Solar panels or other renewable energy for the building's own use: a simple majority of owners.
• Changing a fraction's use, where the deed does not say what each is for: two-thirds of the building's value. You need nobody's permission to change a fraction's use to housing.
• Banning holiday lets in the building rules: two-thirds of the building's value. The ban applies only to applications made after the vote.
• Changing the deed: every owner.
• Splitting a fraction into new fractions: permission in the deed, or a meeting vote with no owner against.

Decisions that need every owner can be taken by all those present, if they hold at least two-thirds of the building's value. The decision must then be sent to absent owners within 30 days. Each has 90 days to reply in writing. Silence counts as a yes.

Access for reduced mobility. If someone in your household has reduced mobility, you can install a ramp or, where there is no suitable lift, a stair lift, without a vote. You must tell the manager 15 days before. You pay for it.

The building manager

The manager (administrador) runs the building day to day. The owners' meeting elects and removes the manager. The job can go to one of the owners or to an outside person or company, and it can be paid. The term is one year, renewable, unless the owners decide otherwise. The manager stays in place until a successor is chosen.

If nobody is elected, any owner can ask a court to appoint one. Until then, the owner with the largest share must act as manager, unless another owner volunteers and tells everyone.

The manager's name must be posted at the building entrance or in a shared area. By law, the manager must:

• call the meetings and draw up each year's budget;
• collect fees and pay the building's bills;
• check that fire insurance and the reserve fund exist;
• chase owners who do not pay, with legal interest and any agreed penalties;
• carry out the meeting's decisions within 15 working days, unless the meeting sets another deadline;
• present at least three quotes before the meeting votes on major repairs or new works, unless the rules say otherwise;
• keep the accounts and all building documents;
• tell owners when the building is sued or fined, and update them at least every six months;
• issue a statement of what you owe within 10 days of your request;
• act in emergencies, and call an extra meeting straight away to approve what was done.

A manager who fails in these duties is liable for the damage. If you object to something the manager did, you can take it to the owners' meeting. You can call that meeting yourself.

Paying your condominium fees

Your fee (quota) is your share of the yearly budget. The meeting sets it and when it is due. Paying is a legal duty, not an optional service charge.

Your contact details. You must give the manager your NIF, address, phone number, and email, and update them when they change.

What happens if you do not pay. The minutes of the meeting that set the fees are an enforcement title (título executivo). They must state each owner's yearly amount and due dates. With them, the building can go straight to enforcement. It does not need to win a court case first. The claim covers:

• the unpaid fees;
• late-payment interest at the legal rate;
• any penalties the meeting approved or the rules set. A year's penalties cannot exceed a quarter of the fraction's yearly taxable income value.

When the manager must act. If you owe at least one social support index (IAS), the manager must start court action within 90 days of your first missed payment. The IAS is €537.13 in 2026. The meeting can decide otherwise.

The reserve fund

Every building must have a common reserve fund (fundo comum de reserva) to pay for its upkeep. You pay into it at least 10% of your share of the building's other costs, on top of your normal fee.

The fund must be kept in a bank. The owners' meeting manages it. If the meeting votes to spend it on anything other than upkeep, owners must top it back up within 12 months. Unpaid top-ups can be enforced in the same way as fees.

A healthy fund means the building can fix the roof or the lift without asking owners for a large one-off payment.

Insurance you must have

Who this applies to: every owner of a fraction.

• Fire insurance on the building is compulsory. It covers each fraction and the shared parts.
• The owners take it out. If they have not done so by the deadline, and for the amount the meeting set, the manager must. The manager then recovers the premium from the owners.
• The cover must be updated every year. The meeting sets the new amount. If it does not, the manager applies the index the insurance regulator publishes each quarter.

Fire cover does not protect your furniture, fittings, or personal liability inside your flat. For that you need your own home policy. See Getting Home Insurance in Portugal.

Buying or selling a flat

If you are selling, ask the manager for a written statement of all charges and debts on your fraction. The manager must issue it within 10 days. It must list:

• the current charges, what they are for, the amounts, and the due dates;
• any debts, with the amounts and the dates they arose and fell due.

This statement is a required document for the sale deed. Ask for it well before the signing date.

Who pays old debts. Each debt belongs to whoever owned the fraction when it fell due. So the seller stays liable for debts from before the sale. The exception is when the buyer declares, in the deed, that they do not need the statement. The buyer then takes on any debt the seller owed the building. Charges falling due after the sale belong to the new owner.

If you are buying, do not waive the statement. It protects you from inheriting the seller's unpaid fees.

After the sale, the seller must tell the manager by registered post within 15 days, giving the buyer's full name and NIF. If the seller does not, the seller pays the cost of tracing the new owner and any late-payment costs that result.

Holiday lets in your building

An owner does not need the other owners' consent to register a flat as a holiday let. The exceptions are hostels, and buildings whose deed or rules ban holiday lets. The owners can ban them for the future by a two-thirds vote. They can also charge each holiday let an extra contribution of up to 30% of its yearly fee, for the extra use of shared parts.

If guests repeatedly disturb the building, owners holding more than half of its value can vote a reasoned request to the mayor to cancel the registration. The meeting can also require each holiday let to give a permanent emergency phone number. See Registering a Holiday Let (Alojamento Local) in Portugal.

If you disagree with a decision

Who this applies to: any owner who did not vote for a decision.

If you think a decision breaks the law or the building rules, you can challenge it. The deadlines are short. They run from the meeting if you were there, or from when you were told of the decision if you were not.

1. Within 10 days, you can ask the manager to call an extra meeting to reverse it. That meeting must take place within 20 days.
2. Within 30 days, you can take the decision to an arbitration centre.
3. To go to court, you have 20 days from the extra meeting. If you did not ask for one, you have 60 days from the original decision.

You can also ask a court to suspend the decision while the case runs.

Smaller disputes. Disputes over shared costs, building works, and similar matters can go to a peace court (julgado de paz), where one covers your area. They handle claims up to €15,000. The fee is €70, paid by the losing side, or €50 split between you if you settle in mediation. You do not need a lawyer at first. See Resolving a Dispute through the Peace Courts (Julgados de Paz).

Urgent repairs. If something shared needs urgent repair and the manager is absent or unable to act, any owner can arrange the work. This covers problems that could quickly damage the building or put people at risk.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, consolidated Civil Code: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabela=leis (articles 1418.º and 1419.º deed and changes; 1420.º own and shared parts inseparable; 1421.º shared parts; 1422.º to 1422.º-B façade works, use changes, splitting; 1423.º no first refusal; 1424.º costs and lifts; 1424.º-A sale statement and debts; 1425.º and 1426.º improvements, lifts and gas, renewable energy, ramps and stair lifts, 15 days' notice; 1427.º urgent repairs; 1429.º fire insurance; 1429.º-A building rules; 1430.º votes; 1431.º and 1432.º meetings, notice, quorum, unanimity by those present, 30 and 90 days, non-resident owners; 1433.º challenges; 1434.º penalties cap; 1435.º and 1435.º-A manager and provisional manager; 1436.º manager's duties, 15 working days, three quotes, 10-day statement; 1438.º appeal to the meeting), checked 1 October 2026
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, consolidated Decreto-Lei n.º 268/94 as amended by Lei n.º 8/2022: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=725&tabela=leis (article 1.º minutes and signatures; 1.º-A online meetings; 3.º manager posted, contact details, sale notice within 15 days; 4.º reserve fund 10%, bank, 12 months; 5.º yearly insurance update; 6.º minutes as enforcement title and 90-day rule at one IAS), checked 1 October 2026
• Diário da República, Lei n.º 8/2022, of 10 January: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/8-2022-177350573 (reform of the condominium rules, in force 10 April 2022), checked 1 October 2026
• Diário da República, Portaria n.º 480-A/2025/1 (IAS for 2026): https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/portaria/480-a-2025-993056222 (IAS of €537.13), carried from verified guide W2A-20
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, consolidated Decreto-Lei n.º 128/2014 as amended by Decreto-Lei n.º 76/2024: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=3085&tabela=leis (article 4.º hostels need owners' authorisation; 6.º-B no consent needed, two-thirds ban for the future; 9.º disturbance request by more than half, emergency number; 20.º-A contribution up to 30%), checked 1 October 2026
• Justiça.gov.pt, DGPJ, how the peace courts work: https://dgpj.justica.gov.pt/Resolucao-de-Litigios/Julgados-de-Paz/Como-funcionam-os-Julgados-de-Paz (claims up to €15,000, condominium disputes, €70 fee, €50 in mediation, lawyer not required at first), checked 1 October 2026

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.