"Bought a store and want to turn it into your next home? Find out what you need to do" (with Alexandre Roque)

"[...] First of all - and even before you buy the property - you should analyze the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), because if the area in which the property is located  the property is exclusively intended for commerce and services, you can't
 change its use in the future. According to Alexandre Roque, Partner at Sociedade Rebelo de Sousa & Advogados Associados (SRS Legal) and a specialist in urban planning, even with the new Simplex laws, "you still have to comply with the PDM". However, you can more relaxed, because in the lawyer's view, "it's not often" that stores are in areas exclusively intended for commerce, "it's usually a mixed use zone [commerce and housing]", he says.
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Alexandre Roque clarifies that if interior work is carried out that doesn't affect the structure, no license is needed. However, "in older buildings, for example if you knock down a wall, as a rule, it's considered to affect the structure". Now, with Simplex, even if it does affect the structure you may not need a permit "if it doesn't negatively affect or even improve [the structure]". But there must be a statement of responsibility from the architect, engineer or other responsible person guaranteeing this. You don't have to hand it in at the town hall, but you do have to have it with you at all times. However, if the work is going to affect the façade, and, for example, change store window to turn it into a window, "you already need a permit," explains the lawyer.  In addition to the exterior façade you can't touch the common areas without the authorization of the owners.  "If the shop doesn't have a toilet and you do work to connect it to the sewage system, it can be understood that you're tampering with common parts," says the lawyer. If it's just interior work, you don't have to worry about anything - not even the condominium, because the Simplex indicates that, except for the cases mentioned, this approval is no longer necessary.
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But these rules are inscribed in the RGEU, which, according to the Simplex that came into force in March of this year, ends in 2026. What happens to these laws? According to the SRS Legal partner, "the forecast is that by then [2026] a building code with these rules will be published". And if political political instability doesn't allow it, "you can always change this this rule, extending the date or even eliminating it," so that the RGEU remains in force, he notes.
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Alexandre Roque clarifies that a "prior communication to the [municipal] council, at the end of the work, saying that you have the the terms of responsibility and saying that the building and the fraction is suitable for use" as a dwelling (i.e. that it complies with the above rules). The municipality has 20 working days to carry out an inspection and see if everything complies with the rules. After these 20 days, and if the council doesn't say anything to the contrary, "you can live there", says the lawyer."