Occupied property: what to do after buying at auction in Portugal

Updated on 12 November 2026

Short answer

Once you hold the transfer title (título de transmissão), you can request handover within the same case: through the enforcement agent in a court sale, or the tax office in a tax sale. The former owner must leave. A tenant with a valid lease, or a holder of an earlier-registered usufruct, may be entitled to stay.

Legal review pending. This guide is general information, not yet reviewed by a lawyer, and does not replace legal advice.

First question: who is occupying the property?

What you can do depends on who is there and on what legal basis. There are four typical situations.

Who occupies	What the law provides, in short
The former owner (the debtor, )	Must hand the property over. If not, the buyer asks for handover in the case.
A tenant with a lease ()	The lease may continue and the buyer becomes the landlord. It depends on dates and on the type of proceedings.
Someone with a usufruct () or a right of habitation ()	If the right was registered before the earliest seizure or mortgage, it survives the sale.
An occupant with no legal title	The handover request can also be made against that person.

This guide explains the law in general terms. Every case is different. For a specific situation, check with the enforcement agent, the tax office, or a Portuguese lawyer (advogado) or solicitor (solicitador).

How to find out before bidding

The best time to deal with occupation is before you bid.

Read the listing and the sale notice (). An e-Leilões listing must identify the custodian (), the person responsible for keeping the seized property, and must mention charges that will not lapse with the sale (article 6 of the platform rules).
Check who the custodian is. When the property is the debtor's actual home, the debtor is the custodian. When it is let, the tenant is the custodian (CPC article 756). This is a useful clue.
Visit. The custodian must show the property. See How to visit a seized property.
Ask in writing. The enforcement agent or the tax office can tell you what the case file says about occupation.

If the notice says nothing about occupation, that does not mean the property is vacant (). It only means the notice does not mention it.

If the occupant is the former owner

The starting point: the transfer title

The buyer only becomes the owner with the transfer title (), the document that proves the purchase. It is issued after the price is paid and the tax obligations are met (CPC article 827; CPPT article 256(5)). This is the document you use to request handover.

In a court sale (e-Leilões, sealed bid, private negotiation)

CPC article 828 says the buyer may, on the basis of the transfer title, request handover "against the holder" within the same enforcement case. No new lawsuit is needed.

What happens next is set out in CPC article 861:

the enforcement agent () puts the buyer in possession and hands over documents and keys, if any;
the debtor, tenants and any other holders are notified to respect the new owner's right;
if there is resistance, the enforcement agent may ask for police assistance. When the place is someone's home, this needs a judge's order, and the act can only take place between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (CPC article 757).

The e-Leilões platform puts it simply: the debtor is first notified to hand over voluntarily; if that fails, the buyer must apply for forced handover, "which will have a cost" (FAQ, question 19).

In a tax authority sale

The rule is similar. The buyer may ask the tax enforcement body (the local tax office handling the case) to hand over the property, "against the holder and in the same case". The office may ask for police assistance (CPPT article 256(2) and (3)).

When it is the debtor's main home

The law protects the people living there, even after the sale:

if handover would put at risk the life of a person with an acute illness, and a medical certificate proves it, the enforcement agent suspends the handover for the period stated in the certificate (CPC article 863(3), applied through article 861(6));
the person in the property has 10 days to ask the judge to confirm the suspension, and the judge decides within 5 days (article 863(4) and (5));
if rehousing the debtor is seriously difficult, the enforcement agent warns the town council and welfare bodies in advance (article 861(6)).

Behind a seized home there is almost always a family in a hard situation. A calm, written contact through the enforcement agent may avoid a forced act.

Forced handover is carried out by the enforcement agent or the tax enforcement body, under the rules and limits above. The buyer does not carry it out personally.

If the property is let

The general rule: the buyer becomes the landlord

Article 1057 of the Civil Code says that whoever acquires the property takes over the landlord's rights and duties. In practice the lease continues, the rent is paid to the new owner, and the rules on duration and termination are those of tenancy law.

Does the lease end with the sale?

For years Portuguese courts disagreed on whether a lease signed after a mortgage ended with a court sale, under article 824(2) of the Civil Code.

For sales in insolvency () proceedings, the Supreme Court of Justice settled the matter in Ruling 2/2021: the sale of a mortgaged property with a lease signed after the mortgage does not end the tenant's rights. The court relied on article 109(3) of the Insolvency Code and article 1057 of the Civil Code.

One situation is different: a lease signed after the seizure. Article 819 of the Civil Code says that letting a seized asset cannot be relied on against the enforcement.

So, for a let property, the questions to ask are:

Is there a written contract? What is its date?
Is that date before or after the seizure and the mortgage?
What is the rent and the term?
Is this an enforcement case, a tax sale or an insolvency?

The tenant may end up buying instead of you

A tenant whose lease is more than two years old has a pre-emption right () when the let property is sold (Civil Code article 1091). That means the tenant can buy at the price of the best bid. In a court sale, holders of pre-emption rights are notified so they can exercise them (CPC articles 819 and 823).

If there is a usufruct or a right of habitation

A usufruct is the right to use a property owned by someone else. A right of habitation is the right to live in someone else's house.

Under article 824(2) of the Civil Code, these rights survive the sale when they were registered before any attachment, seizure or security. In that case the buyer acquires ownership but cannot use the property while the right lasts. If the registration is later, the right lapses with the sale.

The date of each entry appears on the land registry certificate (). The guide Liens and charges in a judicial sale explains how to read it.

Step by step after the purchase

Confirm what the case file says. Ask the enforcement agent or the tax office who the custodian is and whether any leases or rights are known.
Wait for the transfer title. Without it you are not yet the owner and cannot request handover.
Ask for voluntary handover. The custodian is notified to hand over the property and the keys.
If nothing happens, file the request in the case. In enforcement, under CPC article 828; in a tax sale, under CPPT article 256(2).
If there is a tenant with a valid lease, act as the landlord. Tell the tenant in writing about the change of owner and where to pay the rent.
Keep everything in writing. Notices, requests and replies are your proof of what was done and when.

How long and how much

The law sets no single deadline for handover. Timing depends on the occupant's response, the court, the enforcement agent's availability and any suspension.

Forced handover has costs, as e-Leilões points out. The amount depends on the acts needed. Ask the enforcement agent for an estimate before going ahead.

This time and cost belong in the budget of anyone bidding on an occupied property. The auction cost calculator adds up taxes and registration; forced handover has to be estimated case by case.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel the purchase because the property is occupied?

The law allows a request for annulment when a charge that was not taken into account comes to light, or when there is an error about the property because it does not match what was advertised (CPC article 838; CPPT article 257, with short deadlines). Whether occupation fits these cases depends on what was advertised and should be reviewed with a lawyer.

Can the tax authority even sell someone's home?

As a rule, the tax authority does not sell a property used exclusively as the debtor's own permanent home (CPPT article 244(2)). The same article sets exceptions. This protection does not exist in the same terms in civil enforcement.

Where can I see listings with occupation information?

Each Leiloeiro listing shows what the sale notice says about occupation, with a link to the official listing. See all auctions.