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12/06/2026

New reform of undivided inheritances in Portugal

The Government approved, at the Council of Ministers meetings of 12 and 27 March 2026, a comprehensive reform of the undivided inheritance regime, integrated into the "Construir Portugal" package. The bill (69/XVII/1) was submitted to Parliament in April and was approved in general terms on 3 June 2026, with votes in favour from PSD, CDS, PS and IL, abstentions from Chega, JPP and PAN, and votes against from PCP, Bloco and Livre. The bill has been referred to committee stage, still awaiting a final vote and the respective promulgation by the President of the Republic and publication in the Official Gazette.

More than 3.4 million rural properties and approximately 500,000 urban dwellings are locked in succession deadlocks. Of these, 250,000 are in good condition but remain closed, and 130,000 are in urgent need of rehabilitation. Until now, a single heir was enough to block the entire partition process, keeping the inheritance undivided indefinitely.

The major change is the creation of a Special Procedure for the Sale of Undivided Immovable Property.

In practice:

Whenever there is no agreement regarding the undivided state of an estate, any heir will be able to initiate court proceedings for the sale of a property forming part of the inheritance, without requiring the consent of the remaining heirs. The procedure may be initiated without any time restriction if probate proceedings have already been requested, or, alternatively, after two years have elapsed from the date of opening of the succession.

  • Formalised indivision agreement — it is now possible to agree, by authenticated private document, that the hereditary estate remains undivided for a maximum period of five years, renewable.
  • Head-of-estate obligation — five years after the opening of the succession, or two years after the lapse of the indivision agreement, the head of the estate must pursue partition by agreement or apply for probate proceedings.
  • New legal figures — the concepts of “executor with partition powers” and “succession arbitration” are introduced, with the aim of reducing litigation in the courts.
  • Electronic auction — electronic auction is the default rule for sales, to ensure greater transparency and competition.
  • Market value — the sale price is set on the basis of expert valuations, through a mechanism designed to promote sale at market value.
  • Special protections — cases where the property serves as the family home, or where heirs are minors or suffer from some form of incapacity, are afforded specific protection.

Following parliamentary approval, promulgation by the President of the Republic and publication in the Official Gazette will be required. Estimates suggest that the first cases will enter the system by the end of 2026, with practical effects on the housing market from early 2027 onwards.o mercado habitacional a partir do início de 2027.