When the person responsible for the land is not known, the State will file a provisional process for its possession. If the owner does not respond within 15 years, the property passes permanently to the State.
Thousands of rustic plots of land in Portugal will now be provisionally registered in the name of the State. If their owners are not identified or do not claim ownership properties for a period of 15 years, the land will permanently pass into the hands of the State.
The measure integrates the mechanism of “buildings without known owner”created in 2019 after the Pedrógão Grande fires, but which was never applied and which has now been relaunched through a new legal diploma published in April.
The Government’s objective is to ensure complete identification of rustic and mixed land existing in the country, both in terms of geographic location and ownership, allowing for more effective management of the territory and reinforcing the prevention of forest fires. Despite the registration efforts carried out in recent years through the Balcão Único do Prédio (BUPi), there are still numerous abandoned properties or without updated registration.
According to an official source from the Mission Structure for the Expansion of the Simplified Cadastral Information System (eBUPi) heard by , “so far, No recognition procedure has been initiated of a building with no known owner”, but the new diploma now creates the legal conditions so that the mechanism can finally move forward.
The process will begin with the communication, by the Federal Revenue Service, of information existing in real estate matrices to the Institute of Records and Notaries (IRN), through BUPi. The holder identified for tax purposes will be notified to regularize the situationincluding obtaining the Georeferenced Graphic Representation (RGG), a mandatory technical document for the registration of rural properties.
However, in many cases, the names on the headquarters no longer correspond to the current owners, or the contact details are out of date. When it is not possible to locate the person responsible for the property, the recovery procedure will be initiated. recognition of building without known owner.
After validation by the competent authorities and public disclosure for 180 days, the land may be provisionally registered in favor of the State for a period of 15 years. During this time, management will be handed over to a public entity, such as Florestastgal, responsible for the exploration and maintenance of the land.
The legitimate owners may, at any time, reclaim the properties, as long as they prove ownership.
