Buying Your First Home: The CPCV

How a Portuguese purchase actually works

Buying property in Portugal happens in two main stages: the CPCV (Contrato Promessa de Compra e Venda — promise contract) and the escritura (final deed). The CPCV locks the deal at an agreed price; the escritura, weeks or months later, is when ownership and money actually change hands. Skipping the CPCV is technically possible but rare — almost every transaction uses one.

What the CPCV does

It's a binding promise to buy and sell at an agreed price, by an agreed date, with agreed conditions. It's signed weeks or months before the escritura to give both sides time to finish mortgages, surveys and paperwork. Once signed, neither side can walk away without serious financial consequences.

The deposit (sinal)

Buyers typically pay 10–20% of the price as sinal at CPCV signing.

• If the buyer walks: the seller keeps the entire sinal
• If the seller walks: they owe double the sinal back to the buyer (this is statutory — não negociável)
• If both perform: the sinal counts toward the final price at the escritura

Conditions to insist on

These suspensive clauses (cláusulas suspensivas) protect you if something goes wrong between CPCV and escritura.

• Mortgage approval at the rate and amount you've budgeted for — if the bank refuses, you walk with sinal returned
• Clean caderneta predial (tax record) and certidão permanente (land registry)
• Property free of debts, mortgages, liens and tenants
• Acceptable structural survey if you're commissioning one
• Energy certificate (certificado energético) provided by the seller

Between CPCV and escritura

Use this window — typically 60–120 days — to finalise your mortgage, conduct a structural survey, confirm the property has no hidden charges, and budget for the closing costs.

The full cost stack

Plan for roughly 6–8% of the purchase price on top of the headline number:

• IMT (transfer tax): 0–7.5% on a sliding scale; first-home reduction available
• Stamp duty (IS): 0.8% of the price
• Notary and registration fees: €600–€1,200
• Legal fees: €1,000–€3,000 depending on complexity
• Mortgage setup costs: ~€1,500 (valuation, opening, stamp duty on the loan)

The escritura day

You meet at a notary or 'Casa Pronta' counter with the seller, the bank (if mortgaged), your lawyer, and your IDs. The notary reads the deed aloud, you sign, the bank disburses, the keys change hands, and you become the legal owner. Registration at the Conservatória is automatic at Casa Pronta.