Extending a house, building on a plot and regularising a balcony enclosed without the required municipal procedure are different situations. Planning permission and prior notice concern proposed development; legalisation addresses work already carried out unlawfully. Establishing the correct route helps owners avoid starting without the necessary legal basis or buying a property with unresolved planning issues.
Planning permission: a municipal decision first
Portugal’s Legal Regime for Urban Development and Building (RJUE), established by Decree-Law no. 555/99, sets out the development control procedures. In Madeira, regional adaptations, spatial plans, municipal regulations and applicable restrictions must also be checked.
Licenciamento requires a municipal decision on the proposal. Whether it applies depends on the statutory category, location and planning context. A house extension may require this route, but its floor area alone does not determine the answer: an existing subdivision approval or heritage designation may affect the procedure.
Prior notice: no approval does not mean no control
Comunicação prévia is available only in legally defined circumstances, including certain settings where development parameters have already been established. Owners cannot simply choose it because it appears quicker.
A properly submitted notice, with the statutory requirements fulfilled and applicable fees paid, allows work to proceed without a municipal approval decision. This is not an informal notification: the required technical documents and professional responsibility declarations remain essential. Municipal inspections and enforcement powers still apply.
Legalisation: establishing what can remain
Legalisation is not an amnesty or merely a fee or fine. It requires a survey of the existing building, examination of municipal records and assessment against the applicable rules, including relevant provisions governing which requirements apply over time.
An enclosed balcony might be capable of regularisation, need alterations or have to be reinstated. An entry in the tax records or land registry does not, by itself, prove planning compliance. Regularisation does not automatically remove liability for an administrative offence either.
Timelines: distinguish processing from construction
There is no single deadline covering every case. Statutory time limits vary by procedure and stage; requests for information, external consultations and revisions can affect the programme. Municipal silence should not be treated as permission without checking whether the legal conditions for deemed approval are satisfied.
The assessment period is separate from the time allowed to complete construction. For legalisation, the initial investigation and any corrective work must also be included in the overall programme.
Checks before designing, buying or building
Some works are exempt from prior municipal control, but must still comply with the applicable rules. Before proceeding, obtain the approved drawings, existing planning and building authorisations, and an up-to-date survey. Compare them with the property and ask a suitably qualified professional to confirm the correct procedure, likely charges and any alterations needed.