What does dever de conservação mean in Portugal?
The dever de conservação is the owner's legal duty to maintain a building: conservation works at least once every eight years, plus whatever is needed to keep it safe, healthy and in good appearance.
- Rests on
- RJUE, art. 89.º n.º 1 to n.º 5, art. 89.º-A
- Law
- Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99 (RJUE), as republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026
- Version
- In force since 1 October 2026 (Decreto-Lei n.º 155-B/2026)
- Official text
- data.dre.pt/eli/dec-lei/108/2026/05/29/p/dre/pt/pdf
- Sources
- data.dre.pt/eli/dec-lei/108/2026/05/29/p/dre/pt/pdf
data.dre.pt/eli/dec-lei/155-b/2026/07/31/p/dre/pt/pdf
data.dre.pt/eli/declretif/29-a/2026/07/27/p/dre/pt/pdf - Checked
- 2026-11-05
What it means for the owner
- The council can order works at any time to fix poor safety or health conditions or to improve appearance (art. 89.º n.º 2).
- It can order demolition of buildings that threaten to collapse or endanger health or safety, after an inspection by three technicians (art. 89.º n.º 3, art. 90.º n.º 1).
- The order is registered in the land registry (art. 89.º n.º 5).
- Deliberately causing or worsening deterioration of a building is prohibited (art. 89.º-A n.º 1).
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