Portugal
Lisbon's heritage rules protect your land's scarcity value. A permuta for finished units — or a surface right that keeps the freehold in the family — are the two structures to compare first.
Índice de utilização + cércea define the envelope; UNESCO overlays bite in the core. Simplex tacit-approval deadlines are real but budget conservatively.
- Title system
- Registo Predial + notarial/Casa Pronta deeds; caderneta predial (tax record) must reconcile with registry.
- Foreign ownership
- No restrictions; golden-visa property route abolished Oct 2023 (funds route survives).
- Authorities
- Conservatória do Registo Predial + Câmara Municipal de Lisboa under PDM; national RJUE licensing framework.
- Zoning metric
- Índice de utilização per PDM (~1–3 central Lisbon) + cércea (height) and alignment rules; heritage/UNESCO overlays.
- Height control
- Cércea by street/zone; protected hills and skyline; towers rare; typical 6–8 floors.
- Building code
- RJUE licensing (Simplex Urbanístico 2024: deadlines + tacit approval) + RGEU technical rules; Eurocodes NP EN.
- Approvals & timeline
- Licenciamento ~8–18 mo in Lisbon (Simplex tacit deadlines improving); utilização licence at completion. (~8–20 months)
- Transfer taxes & fees
- IMT progressive to 7.5% residential + 0.8% stamp; AIMI annual charge; VAT 23% on construction services.
- Foreign capital
- Golden visa alive via €500k funds route; IFICI flat-tax regime; EU capital freedom.
Common JV structures
Land-as-Equity SPV
20–50%Owner conveys land into a new project company at an agreed value; that value becomes the owner's equity stake. Developer and investors contribute cash and expertise; profits distribute through a waterfall (capital back → preferred return → promote).
Ground Lease JV
4–6%Owner keeps the freehold and grants a 49–99 year lease. Developer builds and owns the improvements for the term, paying ground rent (often ~4–6% of land value, with resets). Land and buildings revert to the owner at expiry.
Permuta / Dation-style Unit Swap
25–35%Owner transfers the plot and is paid in finished units of the future building (typically 25–35% of buildable area), transferred at completion. Spain and Portugal's classic owner-friendly structure; taxed on both legs — structure with advice.
Forward Funding / Forward Sale
5–15%An institution buys the land day one and funds construction in draws (forward funding), or contracts to buy the completed building at a fixed price (forward sale). The developer earns a development margin; the owner usually exits cleanly at the land sale.
- ⚠ Licensing backlogs despite Simplex
- ⚠ Political churn on housing rules
- ⚠ Small-market liquidity
Simplex Urbanístico is shortening approval tails.