Right of habitation (direito de habitação)
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The direito de habitação is a person’s right to live in a home that belongs to someone else, to the extent of their own and their family’s needs.
Article 1484 of the Civil Code defines the right of use as the power to make use of something belonging to another to the extent of one's own and one's family's needs. When that right concerns a dwelling, it is called the direito de habitação.
It resembles but is narrower. A usufructuary enjoys the property fully; the holder of a right of habitation may only live there, with their family, as far as needed.
It is created and ends in the same ways as usufruct (article 1485): for example, on the holder's death or at the end of the set term.
Example
Illustrative example: when an estate is divided, a house goes to the daughter, but the mother keeps a lifetime right of habitation, registered in 2015. In 2025 the house is seized for a debt of the daughter and goes to auction. The buyer becomes the owner, but the mother may go on living there for as long as the right exists.
In practice, at an auction
A right of habitation registered before any seizure or security does not lapse with an enforcement sale (Civil Code, article 824(2)). If it was registered after the oldest mortgage or seizure, it lapses.
Check on the whether one exists and when it was registered. An e-Leilões listing must mention that do not lapse with the sale, but reading the certificate is still necessary.
A property with a surviving right of habitation cannot be occupied by the buyer while that right lasts. This is reflected in the value and should be weighed before any bid. Confirm the situation with whoever is running the sale and, if necessary, with a lawyer or solicitador.