Co-owner Refuses to Sell Property in Portugal: Your Options

You own a Portuguese property with someone else and want to leave the arrangement, but the other owner will not agree to a sale. For ordinary co-ownership, known as compropriedade, that refusal does not normally require you to remain a co-owner forever. A negotiated buyout, a sale of your share or a court action to end co-ownership may be available.

The first step is to establish what you own. A registered share in a particular property is different from a share in an undivided inheritance or an interest in a married couple's community property. Choosing the wrong procedure can delay the exit before anyone addresses the price.

Confirm the ownership structure first

Review the land registry certificate, acquisition document and any agreement between the owners. Identify everyone who owns the property, the extent of their rights and any mortgage, usufruct or other registered burden. Do not assume equal shares merely because two people appear in the paperwork.

This guide concerns ordinary co-owners of a specific property. If you are an heir to an estate that has not been divided, your inheritance share does not by itself make you the owner of the same fraction of each estate asset. Start with selling inherited property in Portugal.

There can also be mixed situations: an undivided estate may itself own a defined share alongside another co-owner. The possibility of an ordinary division action then depends on establishing the owners and their rights and involving the estate through the appropriate parties. The Lisbon Court of Appeal decision of 9 May 2024, process 752/22.7T8SCR.L1-6 discusses that distinction; it does not allow an heir simply to assign themselves a percentage of an unpartitioned asset.

If the dispute arises from a marriage or divorce, establish the property regime and the effect of any partition before using the ordinary co-ownership route. See property, the home and the mortgage after divorce. A division action is not a substitute for resolving the applicable matrimonial regime.

Can the other owner prevent every exit?

Under Article 1412 of the Civil Code, an ordinary co-owner generally has a right to seek the end of indivision. There is an exception for an agreement to remain undivided: the agreed period cannot exceed five years, although it may be renewed by a new agreement. Registration matters for enforceability against third parties in relation to immovable property.

That right is not a right to make the other person buy your share at your chosen price. Nor does it let you sell their share in a private transaction without their agreement. It provides a route to end the shared ownership where the legal conditions are met. See Civil Code Articles 1405 to 1413.

Compare three negotiated routes

An agreed sale of the whole property lets the owners arrange a buyer, price and completion terms together. It requires the relevant owners' participation or valid authority on their behalf. The preparation steps are covered in selling property in Portugal.

A buyout transfers one owner's interest to another. Discuss the valuation method, the amount actually payable, financing, transaction costs, existing occupation and the timing of the transfer. A headline price is not a complete settlement if nobody has addressed the mortgage or who will leave the property.

A sale of your own undivided share is another possibility under Article 1408. The purchaser acquires a share in the property as a whole. You cannot unilaterally turn that share into ownership of a particular bedroom, floor or physical section. The remaining co-owner's statutory preference rights must also be considered.

Put a proposal in writing with the relevant documents and a workable timetable. An independent valuation can provide a basis for discussion, but it does not force the other owner to accept a private buyout.

Selling a share involves preference rights

Article 1409 gives co-owners a statutory preference right when a share is sold, or transferred in payment, to an outsider. The proposed transaction and its essential terms need to be handled under the applicable notice rules. A casual message saying that you might sell is not a reliable substitute for that process.

Where a qualifying transfer goes ahead without the required notice, Article 1410 provides a court route for the entitled co-owner to claim the share, subject to strict time and price-deposit requirements. Get the notice or completed transaction reviewed promptly if you are on either side of that situation.

Other rights may also affect the transaction, depending on the property and its occupation. Resolve the applicable checks before signing a binding sale agreement.

What happens if agreement is impossible?

The judicial procedure is an ação de divisão de coisa comum. Under Article 925 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the claim is brought against the other co-owners and addresses their shares and whether the property can be divided in substance or must instead be allocated or sold with its value shared.

Physical division requires more than drawing a line on a plan. The property's characteristics and the legal and administrative conditions matter. If the property is indivisible, Article 929 provides for an attempt to agree its allocation to one or more owners, with the others receiving money. If there is no agreement on that allocation, the property is sold; co-owners can participate in the sale.

Proceedings can therefore end with a sale of the whole property, rather than the private buyout you initially preferred. Neither the eventual price nor the duration is guaranteed. These stages are set out in Code of Civil Procedure Articles 925 to 929.

A mortgage needs its own solution

Ownership of the property and liability to the bank are separate questions. An agreement between co-owners that one person will take over the repayments does not itself release the other borrower from their obligations to the lender.

Under Civil Code Article 595, release of the former debtor on a transfer of debt requires the creditor's express declaration. Obtain the lender's position on any proposed borrower release and the documentation needed for the intended transaction.

Before agreeing a buyout amount, establish the outstanding debt and how it will be repaid, refinanced or otherwise dealt with. Do not assume that transferring your share automatically removes your name from the loan or cancels a mortgage registration.

Occupation and expenses do not automatically change the shares

One person may live in the property while the other pays part of the loan or bills. Keep those questions separate from the ownership recorded in the title. Sole use does not by itself turn a co-owner into the exclusive owner of the property.

Article 1406 addresses use of the common property without depriving the other owners of the use to which they are entitled. Do not attempt to resolve the dispute by changing locks or excluding another owner without first establishing the legal basis for doing so.

Preserve evidence of mortgage payments, necessary repairs, agreed expenses, rent received and any arrangements about occupation. Whether there is a reimbursement or compensation claim depends on its basis and the facts. A payment total does not automatically rewrite the ownership percentages or become a deduction from the other person's share.

Prepare a workable exit proposal

Before instructing an agent or starting a claim, assemble:

• The current land registry certificate and acquisition document.
• The owners' identities and any powers of attorney.
• Any agreement to remain undivided or govern use of the property.
• Mortgage documents and a current debt statement.
• Available valuations and genuine purchase or buyout proposals.
• Correspondence showing each owner's position.
• Occupation, tenancy and expense records.
• Any inheritance, marriage or partition documents affecting the title.

Decide what you want to compare: an agreed market sale, a funded buyout, a share transfer or a judicial exit. Identify the issues that prevent agreement, such as valuation, loan release or the date of leaving the property. This gives a legal assessment a concrete starting point.

Need a clear route out of shared ownership?

A written legal assessment can help establish the ownership regime, the available exit routes and the documents needed before you make a binding proposal or consider proceedings. Send the title documents, any co-ownership agreement and the other owner's stated position.