"What does it take to build a house from scratch?" (with Alexandre Roque)

"Companies with turnkey products can also take care of all the bureaucracy. If you don't choose these companies, you should work with a lawyer or legal expert. But even if you opt for turnkey solutions, you should be well informed about all the steps and about the company you're hiring, in particular whether it has sufficient resources in terms of architects and engineers, so as not to have any unpleasant surprises, warns Alexandre Roque, Lawyer and Partner at SRS Legal.
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Bureaucracy
Before you start work, you have to apply to the relevant town hall, and here two different procedures may apply: application for a license or prior notice. In a nutshell, "prior communication is applicable, for example, in cases where the land is located in an area covered by a subdivision or detailed plan, among others. Apart from these cases, the rule is to apply for a license, but there are exceptions," explains Alexandre Roque. An architect or lawyer will be able to tell you which of the two is appropriate for the land in question.
In the case of prior communication, if it is duly instructed and you are not notified to perfect the request within 15 working days, you can start construction once the respective fees have been paid, says the lawyer. In the case of licensing, one of the new features of Simplex is "tacit approval". The municipality has a deadline to comment on the application and after this deadline, if the municipality says nothing, the application is tacitly granted. In theory, the work can go ahead, but Alexandre Roque doesn't advise doing so without first consulting a lawyer.
In both cases, "all the applicable legal and regulatory rules must be respected, particularly in terms of land-use plans", warns the lawyer, stressing that "tacit approval can be annulled or declared null and void". "After licensing, you still have to pay the fees [which vary depending on the municipality] to be able to build," and he also recommends asking the municipality for a document proving the license, since "the old permit" no longer exists.

From construction to housing
With the legal part secured, the project can go ahead. But don't forget that the building will need to have a water and electricity supply. During the construction process there will be a construction manager, who is responsible, and other entities to supervise the work, namely an engineer appointed by the bank where the client applied for the credit (if applicable), to see how the work progresses, explains Nelson Vaz. The local authority can also send a technician to the site.
Another new feature of Simplex is that it is no longer necessary to obtain a license once the work has been completed, in cases where it was preceded by prior notice or a building permit. In these cases, explains the partner at SRS Legal, once the construction is finished and before starting to use the building, "you must present the terms of responsibility of the construction manager or the director of supervision and the final canvases when there are changes made to the project". Although you don't have to wait for this license, Alexandre Roque recommends asking the town hall for a document provided for by law in these cases, "which, in practice, certifies that all the documentation has been submitted and the use for which the building or autonomous fraction is intended, a document equivalent to the previous license," as it may be required by the bank in the case of bank financing, for example. What is certain is that "you no longer have to wait for the license" to move into the house, says Alexandre Roque. And Nelson Vaz praises the law for this: "It's simpler, faster."
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How do you know if the land is suitable for building a house or not?

As lawyer Alexandre Roque explained to Expresso, to find out if the land is suitable for building a house, you should ask the local authority for the Municipal Master Plan (and the Detailed or Urbanization Plans, if they exist for the area), where you can check the plans of the territory and the respective constraints, and you should always consult a specialist.
You should also check whether the area is covered by a subdivision plan, as this will define what can be built.
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What are the deadlines for tacit approval in licensing?
Up to 300 square meters (m2) of gross construction area, 120 working days are allowed from the time the application is submitted to the city council. For areas between 300 m2 and 2200 m2, and properties classified or in the process of being classified, the deadline is 150 working days, rising to 200 days for areas over 2200 m2. The deadline is counted from the moment the application is submitted to the municipality. Once the deadline has passed, there is tacit approval. But Alexandre Roque notes that the project must comply with all the applicable legal and regulatory rules, particularly in terms of land-use plans, and warns that tacit approval can be annulled or declared null and void if this is not the case."