Navigating Planning Applications in Portugal
As many professionals in the real estate and construction industry would say 'due diligence' is the most important first step. Yet in Portugal not only is it the most important but to navigate the bureaucracy of planning is by far the most difficult of tasks to get right, and takes the most avid experience and skill of a local architect.
Although there is a national decree-law to funnel the process into a nationwide and user-friendly experience, the fact is that many local authorities still place and add minor changes to the procedure that makes it all very complicated and challenging. These changes and quirks could be simple things like the format of a document, or even the the way you name the digital document for hand-in. Add to this that these procedures can and will often change from time to time.
Planning applications are not as simple as the UK example where all of these are done at the "Planning Portal" and all of it is standardised and really quite user-friendly and self-explanatory. The Portuguese planning procedures require extensive lists of document checklists and the digital signature of each and every document. The documents themselves have to be the latest updated version. Documents in Portugal usually have a 6 to 12 month validity (professional indemnity insurance, powers of attorney, property registration certificate, etc).
It is evident that you should do your own due diligence but you will need a qualified architect that will run you through each and every item that needs to be handed-in to the local authorities. This should be explained and made simple with possibly a checklist that you can refer to when necessary. This checklist should be in English with the equivalent Portuguese item so that you know which is what.
Although it isn't a simple procedure it is nevertheless a process that most architects have been through and with experience know how to navigate with considerable ease and success. It is important especially when working with foreign clients that they understand the intricacy of the process, because this can if not properly explained be a point of some problems and confusion in the client-architect relationship.
Contact me for a free checklist of Planning in Portugal to assist you.