# Licence advice required please



## Gonzo393 (Jan 13, 2019)

We are close to signifying the promissory, probably next week.

Unfortunately we just found out that some outbuildings on the land were built a number of years ago without approval from the local council. 

As a result we are unable to conclude the sale without the habitation licence issued by the council.

The estate agent and lawyer both say this doesn't need to be an issue as long as we don't want to sell as the said licence would be required.

The options we have are (1) demolish illegal buildings at sellers cost in order to obtain the licence or (2) buy the property as seen and without the habitation licence in order to retain the outbuildings.

I'm happy enough with option 2 as the seller would reduce the price by the licence fee of 2,500 euros. We have no intention of selling it and plan to relocate there in 4 years time. It would then just pass through the family.

My one concern about this approach is that the council now know about the unapproved buildings. Can they or are they ever likely to enforce a demolition notice? If so, I see little point in going with option 2.

Would appreciate any advice or experiences from others. I hear this is a very common thing in Portugal.

Cheers

Iain


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

It is,as you say, a very common situation but most unlikely that the council will follow up. Demolition is almost unheard of especially if the outbuildings have been there a while the council would 'at worst' levy a fine.

If you are the kind of person that prefers things to be 100% straight on the deeds then you could apply for retrospective planning permission and offer to pay any fine - if the intention is to go this route and the vendors are happy to support the idea then they may allow the lawyers involved to retain a provisional sum to cover the fine but in reality I don't suspect it will be as much as the 2500 you have already been discounted from the purchase price.

Your own lawyer should be advising you better on the options and the possible costs of each


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## Gonzo393 (Jan 13, 2019)

Thanks MrBife! That gives me some comfort at least. 

Cheers


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