Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free.

Subscribe

The Portugal Brief
Subscribe
Guides

Checking a Property's Habitation Licence (Licença de Utilização)

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

What the use licence is, why buyers and banks still ask for it, the new rule at the deed, the pre 1951 exemption, and how to get a copy from the council.

The Portugal Brief 7 min read

Checking a Property's Habitation Licence (Licença de Utilização)

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are buying, selling, or renting out a home in Portugal and someone has asked for the use licence.
  • You own an older home and are not sure it ever had one.
  • You want to open a holiday let and need to show the property's use title.

Not for you if: you want to know which home improvements need council permission. Read Building Work You Can Do without a Licence in Portugal instead.

Updated October 2026. Since August 2026, every deed that sells a building must say whether it has a planning title, such as a use licence.

The use licence (licença de utilização, later called autorização de utilização) shows that the town hall (câmara municipal) accepts a building, or a flat in it, for a set use, such as housing.

You do not need it to sign a deed, but the deed must now say whether one exists. Banks and buyers usually ask for it, and you need it to register a holiday let. Buildings from before 7 August 1951 may not need one; the town hall can certify that. A copy comes from the town hall. Each council sets its own fee.

What the use licence is

The use licence is the council's record that a building, or a unit in it, may be used for a given purpose. The main uses are housing (habitação), shops and restaurants (comércio), offices (serviços), and industry. A licence for housing does not let you run a shop there. Changing the use is a formal step of its own.

The name has changed over the years. Older papers say "licença de utilização" or "licença de habitação". Since 2024, the law has replaced the council's licence with a notice system, and it now talks about a "use title" (título de utilização). Under the law, old references to a use licence or authorisation now mean the newer notices. In everyday speech, people still say "licença de utilização". This guide does too.

The use title stays with the property. When a home is sold, it passes to the buyer automatically.

How a new use title is obtained now

The planning rules changed in 2024 and again in August 2026. For most new or renovated buildings, the council no longer inspects and then issues a licence. Instead, the owner files a notice.

After licensed or notified building work. The owner files a prior communication (comunicação prévia) with the council. It includes a responsibility statement (termo de responsabilidade) from the works director or works supervisor. It confirms the work matches the approved project. You can use the building as soon as you file it.

For a use or change of use with no such works. This covers, for example, turning a shop into a home, or using a building after work that needed no permission. The owner files a prior communication with a deadline (comunicação prévia com prazo). It includes statements from an architect and from the works director that the use is allowed and the building is fit for it.

You can use the building 10 days after filing. Within those 10 days, the council can reject the notice, or order an inspection (vistoria) if it has serious doubts. The inspection must take place within 15 days.

Both notices are filed on the council's online planning platform. For a flat, the notice can cover the whole building or each unit.

The new rule at the deed

Since 2024, the use licence no longer has to be shown to sign a deed. Since August 2026, the person who prepares the deed must record one of three things:

  • the planning title (título urbanístico, such as the use licence) was shown;
  • the seller says there is one, although it was not shown; or
  • the seller says there is none.

This applies to any deed or authenticated contract that transfers a building, a flat, or land for building. If the deed leaves this out, the sale can be annulled. The aim is that buyers know what they are buying. See Selling Your House in Portugal.

When you will be asked for it

  • Buying. Ask for it before you sign the promissory contract. If the seller declares there is none, you are buying without one. Ask your lawyer and your bank before you go ahead. See Buying Property in Portugal as a Foreigner.
  • Signing the promissory contract. For a building, the law asks the professional who recognises the signatures to certify that the use or building licence exists. See Signing a Promissory Contract (CPCV) to Buy a Home.
  • Selling. Expect buyers and their banks to ask for it. Advertising a home for sale without mentioning its licence or notice is an offence under the planning law.
  • Holiday lets. The notice to register a holiday let (alojamento local) must include a valid use authorisation or use title. The use must be one your council accepts for holiday lets. For the rooms type, it must be housing. See Registering a Holiday Let (Alojamento Local) in Portugal.
  • Changing the use. Turning a shop into a home, even with no building work, needs a prior communication. See the building work guide linked above.

Buildings from before 1951

General building rules (the Regulamento Geral das Edificações Urbanas) came into force on 7 August 1951. Buildings built before that date were not licensed when they were built, so many have no use licence.

Councils issue a certificate confirming a building dates from before 1951. Porto, for example, lists an exemption from the use licence for buildings from before 1951 or built by a State body.

Here is how it works in Maia, as an example:

  1. Fill in the council's request form.
  2. Attach the documents: - a location plan from the council's online map, marking the property; - proof that you may apply, such as proof of ownership; - the land registry certificate (certidão permanente); - the tax record (caderneta predial); - for a company, its commercial registry certificate.
  3. Pay the fee. In Maia it is €56.81.
  4. Receive the certificate. Maia aims to issue it within 10 working days, depending on demand.

Other councils have their own forms, fees, and timings. Later works that needed permission may mean the building now needs a use title after all. Ask the council.

Getting a copy, or fixing a missing licence

A copy. Ask the town hall where the property is. Give the licence number if you know it, or the address and the property's tax and registry details. Pay the council's fee. Each council sets its fees in its own fee table (tabela de taxas), so check locally. No national price exists.

No licence at all. If a home was built or changed without the permission it needed, the owner has to legalise it (legalização) with the council. You usually need an architect or engineer. Before you start, you can ask the council how the legalisation should go, and it must answer within 15 days. See the section on unlicensed work in Building Work You Can Do without a Licence in Portugal.

Fines. Using a building without the required notice, or for a different use, can bring a fine of €500 to €100,000 for an individual. For a company, it is €1,500 to €250,000. The council can also stop the use of the building.

How it differs from other property documents

DocumentWho issues itWhat it tells you
Use licence or use titleTown hallThat the home may be used as a home
Land registry certificateLand registryWho owns it, and any mortgage or charge
Caderneta predialTax office (Finanças)The tax record and tax value (VPT)
Energy certificateA qualified assessorHow energy efficient it is
Ficha técnica da habitaçãoDeveloper, with a copy at the town hallHow a home built since 2004 was built

Checklist

  • Buying: ask for the use title, or the pre-1951 certificate, before the promissory contract.
  • Selling an older home: if it predates 7 August 1951, ask the council for the certificate.
  • Holiday let: confirm the licensed use allows it before you register.
  • Changing use: file a prior communication and allow at least 10 days.
  • Missing paperwork: legalise before you sell, rent, or borrow.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Planning rules and fees vary by council; check with your câmara municipal before you act.

Sources

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

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

Read next