If you're selling your house, you'll need to gather certain documents to pass on to the new owner. Find out which ones and how to get them.

Selling your home can be a time-consuming and bureaucratic process. This is because, in order to make the sale of your property official, you need to gather certain documents, which you must then provide to the new owner in the deed.

These documents represent the identification of the property, with all its characteristics, construction, tax, energy, among others.

Find out in this article what documents are needed for the sale of the house, what they represent and how you can obtain each one.


PERMANENT PROPERTY CERTIFICATE

The permanent property certificate shows the history of the property, land, construction, inheritance or liens. It shows all the records made about the property and, once requested, it is valid for 6 months and is always up to date and available to consult online.

You can request this document in person at the Land Registry Office, at a cost of 20 euros, or via the internet on the online Land Registry platform, at a cost of 15 euros. 

To request the certificate, you need the registry number of the registry office, district, municipality, parish and letter corresponding to the fraction. When the request is approved, a code is assigned so that you can access the certificate online for the 6 months it is valid.


CADERNETA PREDIAL URBANA 

The Caderneta Predial Urbana includes all the information from a tax point of view, such as the property's characteristics, location, owner and Tax Asset Value (VPT).

It is through this document that the value of the Municipal Property Tax (IMI) is calculated, as well as the Property Transfer Tax (IMT), so it is essential that the information is up to date.

It's a document issued by the tax office and is valid for 12 months, and on the booklet you'll find the date on which it was obtained. Therefore, if the caderneta is out of date at the time of sale, you will have to request the document either physically or online.

If you ask for this document at the tax office, there will be a charge, which you won't have to pay if you get it online from the tax portal. To do this, log on to the portal with your access data, go to “tax services”, “citizens”, ‘consult’, “real estate” and “property”.


HOUSING LICENSE

The housing license, another of the documents needed to sell your house, is issued by the local council in the area where the property is located. 

In addition to defining the type of use permitted for a building or fraction (residential or non-residential), it aims to prove that the property has been inspected.

The document must indicate whether the property is in conformity with the work and projects approved by the competent authorities, the legal and complementary regulations in force and the suitability of the building or autonomous fraction for the intended purpose.

If the building in which the property is located was built before August 7, 1951 (decree law no. 38.382), or in a non-habitable space (commerce, industry or services), a housing license is not required.


FICHA TÉCNICA DA HABITAÇÃO

The ficha técnica da habitação describes the technical and functional characteristics of an urban building for residential purposes, which were indicated when the construction/reconstruction or extension work was completed.

You only need this form if the building in which the property is located was built or underwent reconstruction/extension work after March 30, 2004.

You can request the technical sheet from the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs and the National Civil Engineering Laboratory.


ENERGY CERTIFICATE 

The energy certificate is a document that determines the energy efficiency of the property, ranging from A+ (very efficient) to F (not very efficient). It also contains information on the construction characteristics of the property and the different energy consumptions, as well as improvement measures to reduce consumption.

It must be requested and paid for by the owner of the property, and is issued by technicians authorized by the Energy Agency (ADENE). So if you're selling your house and the energy certificate is out of date, you can check the ADENE website to see which experts are qualified in your area.


DISTRATE (IN THE CASEOF A HOUSING CREDIT)

The distrate is a document required in a public deed of transfer of real estate, as it proves the extinction of the mortgage associated with the property.

The document is issued by the bank, which waives the mortgage constituted in its favor, confirming the end of a housing loan debt.

Some banks do not charge a fee for issuing the distrate, but some banks may charge a fee of between 100 and 200 euros.


DECLARATION OF NO DEBT TO THE CONDOMINIUM

With the addition of article 1424-A to the Civil Code, since April 2022 another document has been required in the deed when selling a house: a declaration of no debt to the condominium. The seller is now obliged to submit a written declaration indicating the amount of all charges in force relating to the apartment.

The declaration must also state the nature of the debts, the amounts, the payment deadlines and, if applicable, the dates on which they were incurred and when they fell due. In other words, any condominium charges that can be paid after the sale automatically become the responsibility of the new owner.

As it is one of the mandatory documents in the deed to sell your house, once you request the declaration, the condominium must issue it within a maximum of 10 days.






Source: DoutorFinanças
Legislação e Finanças