What does cércea mean in Portugal?
Cércea is the height of a building, measured from the threshold level to its highest point, including the roof and rooftop volumes but not chimneys or decoration. It is the term for the building height (altura da edificação), not for the façade height.
- Defined in
- Decreto Regulamentar n.º 5/2019, Annex I, ficha I-5
- Law
- Decreto Regulamentar n.º 5/2019, technical concepts for spatial planning and urbanism
- Official text
- data.dre.pt/eli/decregul/5/2019/09/27/p/dre/pt/pdf
- Sources
- data.dre.pt/eli/decregul/5/2019/09/27/p/dre/pt/pdf
data.dre.pt/eli/dec-lei/108/2026/05/29/p/dre/pt/pdf - Checked
- 2026-11-05
What it means for the owner
- The decree says cércea, also called bitola or gabarito, should not be used for the height of the façade (ficha I-5).
- You can ask the council about the permitted cércea in a prior-information request (RJUE art. 14.º n.º 1 and n.º 2 a)).
- On steep sites a plan may measure the height at the midpoint of the line where the façade meets the pavement or ground.
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