Illegal building demolition: do you need a permit in Portugal?
Demolishing a building that is illegal is exempt from licence and prior communication. Plan, heritage and technical rules still apply and the council can inspect.
- Answer
- Exempt from licence and prior communication
- Condition
- The building is illegal
- Still applies
- Municipal plans, easements, technical construction rules and heritage protection (art 6(8))
- Before you start
- Tell the council at least 5 days before work begins, even for exempt work (art 80-A).
- Council rules
- Your council can add detail in its own building regulation where the law lets it, so ask before you start.
- Legal basis
- RJUE art 6(1)(i) and 6(8), RJUE (Decreto-Lei 555/99) as republished in the Annex of Decreto-Lei 108/2026
- Sources
- data.dre.pt/eli/dec-lei/108/2026/05/29/p/dre/pt/pdf
- Checked
- 2026-11-05
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