A single heir may begin the process of selling an inherited property even without the agreement of other family members. The change is part of a proposal approved by the Council of Ministers that aims to solve an old problem in Portugal: the so-called undivided inheritances that remain blocked for years due to a lack of consensus between heirs. According to , the objective is to create a mechanism that allows thousands of houses and plots of land that remain frozen due to family disputes to be unlocked.
The measure provides for the creation of a special process for the sale of properties that are part of inheritances that have not yet been shared. As the same publication explains, this procedure may be triggered when, two years after accepting the inheritance, the heirs still do not reach an agreement on the division of the assets.
In practice, the change represents a relevant change in the current logic of the system. Until now, it was enough for an heir to disagree with the sharing for the entire process to be blocked. With the new rules, the initiative of a single heir may now be enough to proceed with the sale of an inheritance asset.
A new mechanism for resolving deadlocks
The diploma approved by the Government creates a specific procedure to deal with situations in which the inheritance remains undivided for long periods. According to Ekonomista, when an heir decides to move forward with the process, he or she will have to present an evaluation of the property in question. The remaining heirs will be able to respond with alternative valuations, thus creating a basis for comparison for the value of the asset.
The objective is to establish a clear starting point for the sale or division of assets, preventing the lack of agreement from continuing to block the process for years. According to the same source, the diploma also includes instruments designed to resolve conflicts between heirs without the need to always go to court.
Among these solutions is inheritance arbitration, an alternative to the traditional judicial process. This mechanism can allow for faster and, in some cases, less expensive decisions for the families involved.
Safeguards remain foreseen
Despite the planned changes, the Government emphasizes that the reform will not allow forcing the sale of properties under any circumstances. According to Ekonomista, there are still legal protections for situations considered more sensitive. Among them are cases in which minors are involved or when the property corresponds to the family’s permanent home.
These safeguards seek to ensure that the new rule does not create situations of injustice or undue pressure on certain heirs. At the same time, the proposal aims to solve a problem that has marked many Portuguese families for decades.
A house inherited by several siblings or relatives can easily turn into a protracted impasse. All it takes is for one of them not to agree to the sale or sharing for the entire process to come to a standstill.
What is an undivided inheritance
Undivided inheritance corresponds to the period that elapses between the death of a person and the formal division of the estate among the heirs.
During this period, all assets legally belong to the estate as a whole. No heir owns a specific asset, having only a share in the entire estate.
As Ekonomista explains, imagine three brothers who inherit a house. Until the sharing is formalized, none of them owns the house exclusively. Everyone only owns a fraction of the inheritance and any decision about the property requires everyone’s agreement.
If one of the heirs disagrees, the process may be blocked. As time passes, the situation can become even more complex. The original heirs eventually die and the shares pass to children and grandchildren, multiplying the number of holders. In some cases, a single property can end up divided among dozens or even hundreds of heirs.
The numbers cited by the Government show the scale of the phenomenon in Portugal. According to Ekonomista, it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of vacant houses associated with undivided inheritances.
In addition to this, there are around 3.4 million rustic buildings integrated into unresolved inheritances, which corresponds to approximately a third of all rustic land in the country. There are still around 250,000 homes in good condition that are not available for sale or rent.
In addition to this, there are around 130,000 homes that need restoration work. In total, there could be close to half a million properties that could be used but remain empty.
As Ekonomista explains, the reform aims precisely to release part of this heritage to the market, helping to increase the supply of housing. At the same time, the Government believes that facilitating the resolution of undivided inheritances can help improve the management of abandoned land and reduce risks associated with property abandonment.
The proposal must now be discussed with parties with parliamentary seats and could be definitively approved in the coming weeks.
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