In recent years, buying property in Europe to obtain a green card has become a new choice for investment immigration for many wealthy individuals. According to data, within a year and a half of Portugal launching its property purchase immigration policy, more than 500 Chinese people have immigrated to Portugal.
In the minds of Chinese people, the biggest advantage of buying a house in Europe is the ability to obtain immigration rights, but they are not very familiar with the relevant real estate laws and policies of that country. In fact, in addition to obtaining a green card, European countries' protection of private property and respect for private territory are also advantages of purchasing European real estate.
In Portuguese law, there are four main aspects involving real estate, including the protection of property and private territory, the interpretation of common areas of residential buildings, and the operations that can be performed on residential properties.
I. Private property is protected by law; compensation is required for expropriation
1. In Western countries, the awareness of respect for personal property has always been quite strong. For homebuyers, the purchased property absolutely belongs to the individual, and they can permanently own the property and land rights. If the government wishes to expropriate it, it must pay high compensation. Article 62, Section 1, Chapter III of the Constitution of Portugal: Private property rights shall be guaranteed to everyone in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as well as the right to transfer private property during their lifetime or after death.
2. For the needs of public interest, the expropriation or requisition of private property shall only be implemented in cases provided for by law, and reasonable compensation shall be given.
II. Personal residences are protected by law; entry is prohibited without consent
In Portugal, the security of personal residences is also strictly protected by law. As long as it is one's own residence, no one may enter without the owner's permission. Article 34, Section 1, Chapter II of the Constitution of Portugal: The home and correspondence are inviolable.
1. The privacy of anyone's home, correspondence, and other private means of communication is inviolable.
2. No one may enter a citizen's home against their will, except in cases provided for by law, in accordance with legal procedures, and with the approval of a competent judicial authority.
3. No one may enter another person's home at night without their permission. However, this does not apply to cases of flagrante delicto or judicial authorization for particularly serious violent or highly organized crimes (including terrorism, human trafficking, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking) in accordance with the law.
4. Public authorities are prohibited from interfering in any way with correspondence, telecommunications, or other means of communication, except in cases provided for by law in criminal proceedings.
III. Parts of an apartment building belong to common areas
Unlike purchasing a villa, an owner who purchases an apartment does not own the entire building. According to relevant Portuguese law, parts of the building, corridors, etc., in some apartments belong to common areas.
Article 1421 of the Civil Code of Portugal: Common parts of an apartment building
1. Land and foundations, columns, pillars, main walls, and all other parts that serve as the structure of the real estate;
2. Roofs or terraces, even if designated for the use of a specific user or users at the time of purchase, still belong to common areas;
3. Entrances, porches, stairs, and corridors used or accessed jointly by the owners of a multi-story building (different floors) with two or more floors;
4. Water, electricity, heating, air conditioning, gas, communication, and similar equipment.
IV. Villas can change their appearance; changing the appearance or use of an apartment requires a vote
If you purchase a villa in Portugal, both the villa and the land it sits on belong to the buyer. Therefore, if the buyer is willing and obtains the consent of nearby neighbors, they can rebuild their residence, including changing the appearance or tearing it down and rebuilding it. However, if you purchase an apartment, according to relevant laws, you cannot change its appearance or use without authorization. If you insist on changing it, it must be decided by a vote of the owners of the stratified apartment or their representatives. If the owners who vote in favor hold two-thirds or more of the total value of the apartment property, the appearance and use can be changed.
Article 1422: Restrictions on the exercise of rights in an apartment
1. In general, in their mutual relations, each owner of an apartment must comply with the restrictions stipulated for apartment owners and co-owners regarding the sections exclusively belonging to each person and regarding the common parts.
2. In particular, apartment owners may not commit the following acts:
A. Damage the safety, architectural lines, or aesthetic appearance of the apartment, regardless of whether it is due to any new items, new renovations, or other actions;
B. Use the section belonging to the individual, that is, the unit that belongs only to themselves, such as the apartment unit in an apartment building, for acts that violate good customs, that is, acts that cannot be tolerated by the moral bottom line of ordinary people or illegal acts;
C. Use their section for purposes that do not conform to its established purpose; (a section is what we call a space,)
D. Commit acts or activities prohibited by the establishment basis or by resolutions passed without objection by subsequent meetings of stratified owners. ("Establishment basis" refers to behaviors that were not allowed as stipulated by law before; a meeting of stratified owners is actually equivalent to our homeowners' committee, because foreign residential communities are very small, so it is called a meeting of stratified owners)
3. Works that change the architectural lines or aesthetic appearance of the building may only be carried out with prior permission obtained by a 2/3 majority vote of the meeting of stratified apartment owners representing the total value of the apartment. (Changing architectural lines, such as changing a square shape to a round one or other projects that affect the appearance, can only be done with the consent of owners representing more than two-thirds of the total value of other affected apartments. For example, if a dozen other apartments are bought by 3 people, but one of them is worth 10 million and the other dozen add up to 3 million, then only the person who owns the 10 million house needs to agree.)
4. Whenever the establishment basis does not specify the purpose of each independent section, the modification of that purpose requires permission obtained by a 2/3 majority vote of the meeting of stratified apartment owners representing the total value of the apartment. (The purpose determined at the time of construction and according to the rules specified by law, for example, if the contract did not say you could keep pets when you bought it, and you want to keep them later, you must also obtain the consent of owners representing more than two-thirds of the value as above.)
