Ordinance creates property lien in investment contracts for residential leasing

Ordinance No. 500/2026/1, published in the Diário da República No. 221, 1st series, of November 13, 2026, regulates the land registry of the encumbrance of subjectiveness to authorization for the transfer of real estate allocated to leasing within the scope of a leasing investment contract (CIA). The regulation is signed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Patrícia Gonçalves Costa de Machado Santos, and the Secretary of State for Justice, Ana Luísa da Silva Gonçalves Machado, and enters into force on the day following its publication, namely, November 14, 2026.

The ordinance implements Article 9 of Annex I to Decree-Law No. 97/2026, of May 20, which created the regime for residential leasing investment contracts within the framework of measures to incentivize the housing supply. This regime ensures fiscal and legislative stability for investment in the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of properties intended for residential leasing or subleasing for a period of up to 25 years, and guarantees the investor protection in the event of future legislative changes impacting the economic and financial balance of the investment.

In exchange for these benefits, Article 8 of the same Annex I imposes investment stability requirements, including the obligation to maintain the allocation of the properties to residential leasing or subleasing and the encumbrance that the properties may only be alienated together, in the event of the transfer of the contractual position to the acquirer, through an order from the member of the Government responsible for the area of housing. The manner in which this encumbrance is to be recorded in the land registry remained to be regulated — which the new ordinance now does.

Registration promoted by the IHRU, without fees

The encumbrance is registered on all rural, urban, or mixed properties and autonomous units covered by the CIA, including properties resulting from them by effect of subdivision, reparceling, detachment, or establishment of horizontal property. The initial registration is promoted by the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation, I. P. (IHRU, I. P.), and is exempt from fees.

For this purpose, the IHRU, I. P., presents a declaration certifying three elements:

• The reference number assigned to the CIA;
• The identification of the properties and units covered, under the terms of the Land Registry Code;
• The term of validity of the CIA and its start date.

The registration extract must contain, as special mentions, the CIA reference number, the term of validity of the contract, and the start date.

Reduction, cancellation, and expiration of the registration

The law only requires that at least 70% of the construction area of the buildings covered by the CIA be allocated to residential leasing or subleasing, while the remainder may have complementary uses or uses compatible with housing. Therefore, the promoting owner may, following the prior communications of use regarding the properties to be allocated to leasing and upon a declaration from the IHRU, I. P. attesting to it, reduce the registration to that set of properties and release the remaining ones.

Cancellation is promoted by the owner through the presentation of a declaration from the IHRU, I. P., which expressly authorizes the cancellation and certifies that the building or unit is not allocated to leasing or subleasing under the terms of the CIA. In the event of a change in the contract’s term of validity, the registration is amended accordingly.

The registration expires automatically upon the end of the CIA’s term of validity mentioned in the registration itself, which closes the life cycle of the encumbrance without the need for further intervention from the owners.

Legal certainty for investors and buyers

The ordinance was issued under powers delegated by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, through Order no. 11063/2025, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 181, of September 19, 2025, and by the Minister of Justice, under the terms of Order no. 9883/2025, published in the 2nd series, no. 159, of August 20, 2025. The signature of the head of Housing occurred on November 10, 2026, and that of the head of Justice on November 6, 2026.

With the encumbrance inscribed in the registry, any potential buyer or mortgage creditor becomes aware, through the property certificate, that the property is integrated into a CIA and that its isolated transfer depends on government authorization and the transfer of the contractual position.

Source: Diário da República, no. 221, 1st series, of November 13, 2026, Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Justice (official reference: Ordinance no. 500/2026/1).