Technical Specification of construction of property (Ficha Técnica da Habitação ou B.I. da Propriedade) its a document issued by the Engineer, indicating all materials used on the construction of properties with Utility licence dated after March 25th of 2004 as per the law no. 68/2004. This document is also request to all properties which have undertaken any alteration/extension and a new utility licence dated after March 25th 2004 has been issued replacing the old utility licence ..This document will become mandatory not only for properties, as now happens, but also for non-residential buildings, such as; shops or offices, among others.

Portugal has been recognised as the best place in the world to retire to in 2023 according to the Annual Global Retirement Index from International Living.

Portugal was the country of choice for US, French and Italian nationals looking to buy a retirement or second home in Europe in 2018. According to a study produced by ListGlobally, the largest online property platform in the world for house seekers, Portugal was the number one property investment destination for the French (34%), Americans (5.68%) and Italians (6.04%). In 2018 the intention to buy from overseas citizens was centred mainly around Faro (22%), Lisbon (11%) and Setúbal (8%). Théo Plantier, who focuses on the Portuguese market for ListGlobally states that “Portugal is a very attractive country because despite an across-the-board rise in house prices per square metre, it is still one of the cheapest countries in Europe to buy a house, representing 20% of all of house sales.

Exemption will remain for those who already have it but new applicants will have a minimum tax. The government is now looking to make slight changes to these benefits. The idea is to keep the benefits for those that already have it and there will be reductions on new applications.

For the first time, the Algarve has picked up the award for the Best Beach Destination in the World from the 2020 World Travel Awards. Following being given the distinction at a European level, the Algarve has beaten off competition from around the world to be crowned the best beach destination, coming ahead of 18 other nominees which included destinations in the Maldives, Thailand, Jamaica, Mexico and the USA.