What does licença de utilização mean in Portugal?
The licença de utilização, the old permit to use a finished building, no longer exists under that name. References to it now mean a comunicação prévia after permitted works, or a comunicação prévia com prazo when no such works came before.
- Rests on
- RJUE, art. 62.º-A and art. 62.º-B; Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, art. 9.º n.º 2
- 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
- After works under a licence or notification, use depends on a comunicação prévia with a termo de responsabilidade that the works match the approved project, signed by the diretor de obra or the fiscalização (art. 62.º-A n.º 1).
- The building may be used straight after that filing and its documents are submitted (art. 62.º-A n.º 2).
- If no such works came before, the comunicação prévia com prazo applies instead (art. 62.º-B n.º 1).
- In blocks under horizontal property, the filing can cover the whole building or each unit (art. 66.º n.º 1).
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