Due Diligence Checklist

Portuguese tax number. Required before any bank, contract, or deed activity. EU citizens can get one directly at any Serviço de Finanças. Non-EU buyers need a fiscal representative (Portuguese resident receiving AT correspondence).

Required for the transfer chain and post-completion IMI payments. Millennium BCP, BPI, and Novo Banco handle non-resident onboarding in English. CGD is cheaper but slower.

Use Confidencial Imobiliário parish data and the Yield Heatmap tool to narrow parishes. Get a Portuguese AMI-licensed mediador imobiliário on the buy side.

Proposta de compra. Non-binding in most cases; signals seriousness and locks parish-level due diligence.

Title register confirming ownership, liens (hipotecas, penhoras), and pending charges. Your lawyer pulls it.

Tax authority property record — confirms the VPT used for IMI and that no back taxes are pending. Needed before IMT filing.

Every habitable Portuguese fracção needs a habitation licence. Older buildings may need verification with Câmara Municipal. No licence = unlettable.

Declaração da administração do condomínio confirming no outstanding quotas and disclosing pending major works votes (obras).

Confirm parish is not in 'zona de contenção' for new AL. If existing AL, verify CAL number and that building cap has not been breached.

Promissory contract. Deposit of 10-20% (typical). Refundable if seller breaches; forfeit if you walk. IMT is calculated on CPCV price — do not under-declare.

Portuguese lender process: income docs, credit check, valuation (avaliação). Typical 4-8 weeks. LTV capped per Banco de Portugal: 90% primary resident, 80% secondary, 70% non-resident.

IMT and IS must be paid before escritura. Receipts are presented at deed signing. Use the IMT Calculator to project the liability.

Balance paid, deed signed, keys transferred. Deed automatically registered in the Conservatória do Registo Predial.

Building insurance mandatory; contents optional. Arrange on escritura day to avoid gap.

IMI is automatically assigned based on the deed, but verify in the Portal das Finanças. First payment typically the following April / November.

Provide deed copy to the administration. Update monthly quota direct debit.

Categoria F (rental) or Categoria B (AL / self-employed). Different IRS regimes apply. Default 28% autonomous taxation on net rental.