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Buying before construction is complete changes the buyer's risk profile.
You are not only buying a property. You are relying on a developer to finish a project, deliver the promised unit and complete the legal steps needed for transfer.
That makes the CPCV and project due diligence especially important.
Check the developer and project
Before paying a substantial deposit or staged payment, understand who owns the land, who is the contractual seller, the developer's signing authority, registered mortgages or charges, planning status, construction status and how the final unit will be registered.
A glossy brochure is not due diligence.
The CPCV needs to describe what will be delivered
Depending on the project, the contract should address unit identification, area and layout, parking and storage, finishes, common areas, equipment, permitted design changes, completion milestone and final transfer conditions.
Marketing materials should not be the only place where important specifications appear.
Staged payments
The buyer should understand the amount and timing of each payment, what milestone triggers it, whether money is refundable in defined circumstances and what happens if construction stops or the project changes.
The more money paid before title transfers, the more important the contractual protections become.
Delay
Construction dates move.
The CPCV should distinguish between an estimated target and a binding contractual deadline.
A buyer should understand permitted extensions, force-majeure wording, notice requirements, any long-stop date, termination rights and consequences for staged payments.
Changes to area, layout or finishes
Some project changes are inevitable. Others materially alter what the buyer agreed to buy.
The CPCV should explain what changes the developer can make and what happens if the final unit differs materially from the agreed specification.
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Review my off-plan purchasePlanning and use formalities
Portugal's urban-planning Simplex changed several formalities, including use-authorisation procedures and what must be exhibited at property transfer.
Those reforms do not remove the need to understand whether the project followed the applicable urban-planning route.
For a new-build purchase, legal review should follow the project through to completion rather than stop at the initial CPCV.
Developer insolvency risk
An off-plan buyer is exposed to the developer's ability to finish the project.
Before paying large staged amounts, understand the developer structure, project financing and contractual protections available if the project stalls.
No contract can remove all commercial risk, but weak drafting can leave the buyer unnecessarily exposed.
Consumer conformity rights after delivery
Where a professional sells immovable property to a consumer, Decree-Law 84/2021 can provide statutory conformity protection after delivery.
The current periods are 10 years for structural construction elements and 5 years for other lack of conformity.
These post-delivery rights do not replace careful pre-purchase contract and project review.
How THE-Ö can help
We can review the developer, project documents and CPCV before the buyer becomes heavily exposed through staged payments.
Buying a new-build or off-plan property in Portugal?
Send us the reservation agreement, draft CPCV, payment schedule and project documents you have received.