Urban property (prédio urbano)
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A prédio urbano is a building fixed to the ground with the land serving as its grounds and, for tax purposes, any property that is not rural, including building plots.
Prédio does not mean 'tall building': in Portuguese law it is any piece of real estate. Article 204 of the Civil Code defines a prédio urbano as any building fixed to the ground, with the land serving as its grounds.
For tax, the definition is wider. All properties that are not to be classified as are urban (IMI Code, article 4). Article 6 divides them into four kinds: residential; commercial, industrial or for services; building plots; and others. A building plot is therefore an urban property even with nothing built on it.
An is treated as an urban property in its own right.
Example
Illustrative example: three properties at auction, all 'urban': a three-bedroom flat (residential), a shop (commercial) and a plot with subdivision approval (building plot). The purchase tax and the possible uses differ for each.
In practice, at an auction
The kind of property is shown on the , in the use field. It matters for three reasons.
First, the : in Tax Authority sales, the value of urban property is its (CPPT article 250).
Second, : the bracket tables apply only to urban property intended exclusively for housing; other urban property pays a flat rate.
Third, use: buying a shop or warehouse to live in requires a change of use, which depends on the town council and, in a building under horizontal property, on the constituting deed. Check with the council before bidding.