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Legal alert no. 85

Decree-Law No. 15/2019 establishing the procedure for identifying and recognizing rustic or mixed buildings without known owner as well as the respective registry procedure, and which foresees the management regime of the building registered as a building without known owner

 

On January 21st, 2019, was published the Decree-Law No. 15/2019, which implements article 1345 of the Portuguese Civil Code, approved by Decree-Law No. 47344/66 of 25 of November, establishing the procedure for identifying and recognizing rustic or mixed buildings without known owner as well as the respective registry procedure, and which foresees the management regime of the building registered as a building without known owner, was published in the Portuguese Official Gazette.


The procedure foreseen in said Decree-Law aims the promotion of the use of the productive capacity of rural or mixed buildings with an agricultural, forestry or pastoral agriculture capacity. On that assumption, the State will be allowed to manage buildings that have been identified and registered as buildings without known owner, even before the completion of the 15-year period established for the definitive registry of acquisition in favor of the State.


Pursuant to Decree-Law No. 15/2019, it shall be assumed as building without known owner the rustic or mixed building that, by omission of description in the Land Registry Office or inscription before the Tax Authority Office, is not integrated in the public or private property of the State, of the Autonomous Regions and Local Authorities, of natural persons or of private, public, associative, cooperative or community legal persons, not existing possession under a in rem or personal right of enjoyment, and which it is registered as a building without known owner in accordance with the terms of the referred Decree-Law.


The identification of a building without known owner is carried out under the procedure of identification, recognition and registration, which is the responsibility of the Registries and Notaries Institute (“Instituto dos Registos e Notariado, I.P.”).
The identification of a building without known owner is published through a notice with free access on IRN, I.P and in BUPi's website for a period of 180 days, which should be subject of a broad dissemination, as foreseen in the referred Decree-Law.


Under the procedure above mentioned, any interested party, within 180 days from the date of publication of the referred notice, may comment on the identification of a building without known owner.


In the light of the above, it is also foreseen that the company “Florestgal — Empresa de Gestão e Desenvolvimento Florestal, S. A.” (Florestgal) will be the management entity of the buildings without known owner registered in favor of the State, being responsible, as business manager, for the management of the buildings without known owner, for agricultural, forestry or pastoral agriculture purposes.

To access the full text of Decree-Law No. 15/2019, please click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

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