Selling a home in Lisbon in 2026: costs, timings and documents
Selling a home in Lisbon in 2026 takes more than finding a buyer. There are documents to gather before the first listing goes live, costs that fall on the seller and a capital gains tax bill worth estimating early. This guide sets out the rules in force and flags where the answer depends on the individual case.
Documents needed to sell a home
The Certidão Permanente do Registo Predial (land registry certificate) identifies the property, the owner and any registered charges, such as a mortgage or an attachment order. It can be requested online and is the first document buyer, bank and notary will check.
The Caderneta Predial Urbana (property tax record) is available from the Portal das Finanças and shows the tax registration and the property's taxable value. It should match the land registry; where it does not (floor areas, rooms, outbuildings), it is best corrected before going to market.
An Energy Performance Certificate is mandatory for a sale and is issued by an assessor accredited under the scheme run by ADENE, the national energy agency. For homes it is valid for ten years, and it should be in place from the moment the property is put up for sale.
For flats in buildings under horizontal property ownership, the deed must be accompanied by a statement from the building administrator listing the service charges in force and any debts on the unit, unless the buyer expressly waives it.
If there is a mortgage, the bank must provide the redemption figure for the planned completion date and the release statement (distrate) that allows the charge to be removed from the land registry.
- Land registry certificate (Certidão Permanente)
- Property tax record (Caderneta Predial Urbana)
- Valid Energy Performance Certificate
- Planning title (habitation licence or permit), if there is one
- Condominium statement of charges and debts
- Bank release statement, if there is a mortgage
- ID and tax numbers of all owners
- Deed of heirs, if the property was inherited
Habitation licence: what has changed
Under the planning Simplex (Decree-Law 10/2024), the habitation licence (licença de utilização) and the housing technical file no longer had to be shown at the deed. Selling a property without that document became possible, with the risk shifting to the buyer.
The rules have changed again. Since 1 October 2026, when Decree-Law 108/2026 came into force (its start date was postponed by Decree-Law 155-B/2026), the deed or sale document must state the position on the planning title: that it has been presented, that the seller declares holding it without producing it, or that the seller declares not holding one. If that statement is missing, the sale may be annulled. The law does not prohibit selling without a title, but it does require this to be stated plainly. In practice, a missing title tends to prompt questions from both buyer and lender, so it is worth obtaining it from the city council before the home goes on the market.
The costs of selling a home
The main cost is the agency fee. It is usually a percentage of the sale price plus VAT, and it is set out in the brokerage agreement, which the law requires to be in writing. As a rule, the fee only becomes due once the sale is completed, although the agreement may bring part of the payment forward to the signing of the promissory contract.
Smaller but certain costs follow: the Energy Performance Certificate (the price varies with floor area and assessor), the certificates and, where there is a mortgage, the cost of cancelling it — the bank's fee for the release statement, registering the cancellation and any early repayment charge provided for in the loan agreement. It is sensible to ask the bank for these figures in writing at the outset.
Capital gains: how much tax is due
Where a sale produces a gain, it is taxed under personal income tax (IRS) and declared in the following year's return. For residents, the general rule in the IRS Code is that only 50% of the gain is taxable; it is added to the seller's other income and taxed at progressive rates. Since 2023, non-residents have, as a rule, also been taxed on 50% of the gain, with particular features that should be checked.
The gain is not simply the difference between the sale price and the purchase price. If more than 24 months have passed since the purchase, the acquisition value is uplifted by the currency devaluation coefficients published each year by ministerial order. Added to this are the costs needed to buy and sell (IMT, stamp duty, deed and registration costs on purchase; agency fee and energy certificate on sale) and spending on improvement works in the last 12 years, provided it is documented.
In some situations the gain is excluded from tax. The best known is reinvestment: if the home sold was the seller's permanent residence for the 12 months before the sale, and the proceeds, less any loan repaid, are reinvested in another permanent residence in Portugal or in another EU or EEA state between 24 months before and 36 months after the sale, the gain is not taxed. Partial reinvestment gives a proportional exclusion. The intention to reinvest must be declared in the tax return for the year of sale.
In 2026 a temporary alternative was introduced (Decree-Law 97/2026): for sales between 2026 and 2029, the gain may also be excluded if the proceeds are reinvested in a property in Portugal let as housing at a rent within legal limits, subject to demanding conditions over five years. Properties acquired before 1 January 1989, on the other hand, are generally outside the scope of capital gains tax, although the sale must still be declared.
Every case has its own particulars (inheritances, joint ownership, works without invoices, properties that received public grants), so the figures should be modelled with an accountant before the asking price is set.
What the buyer pays
IMT (property transfer tax) and stamp duty on the purchase are paid by the buyer. Unless otherwise agreed, the costs of the sale contract also fall on the buyer. The seller does not pay these taxes, but they weigh on the price the buyer is prepared to offer.
“A well-prepared sale does not start with the listing. It starts with the certificate, the price and the tax estimate.”
How long does it take to sell a home in Lisbon?
There is no fixed timescale; what can be done is to shorten the stages that depend on the seller.
Preparation — valuation, documents, energy certificate, photography and a marketing plan — usually takes a few weeks, longer if the land registry or tax record needs correcting or the planning title has to be obtained.
Marketing is the most variable stage: it depends on the price relative to comparable properties, the area and the condition of the home. A price in line with the market and complete paperwork tend to bring serious offers sooner; an asking price above the market usually drags the sale out and ends in a reduction.
Once an offer is accepted, the parties normally sign a promissory contract (CPCV) and the buyer pays a deposit. The CPCV sets the price, the deadline for the deed and the terms of the deal, and the deposit has legal consequences in the event of default: a buyer who walks away forfeits it; a seller who does so may have to return double.
The period between the CPCV and the deed is agreed between the parties and depends mainly on the buyer's mortgage: bank valuation, final approval and booking the deed.
Where to start
The safest sequence is to obtain a valuation based on comparable transactions, gather the documents, model the capital gains with an accountant and only then go to market.
This article is for information only and does not replace tax or legal advice.
