Homeowners living in houses with habitation licences issued after March 30 this year will be required to submit a detailed bilhete de identidade, listing their home’s characteristics and properties. It must also include information about the builders and architects involved in the construction of the house.
The new decree law 68/2004 also compels estate agents to supply buyers with a 10 page Ficha Técnica da Habitação – a document that will become obligatory for a purchaser’s escritura and contracts. Houses with habitation licences issued before this date are not affected by the new legislation and neither are homes built before 1951, the date when the General Urban Building Regulations came into force.
Although the new law appears to be useful to potential purchasers, it has drawn criticism from civil construction associations and from real estate associations. The Order of Engineers has said it believes that the law has technical flaws and is tabling an amendment to the government’s proposals. But consumer association DECO supported the initiative, describing it as “favourable to consumers”.
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