Usufruct and habitation rights: buying a home someone can still use

A home with usufruct, a right of use, a habitation right or a Portuguese durable housing right can be sold. But that does not mean the buyer receives a home they can enter, live in, rent out or renovate on completion day.

The main question is not only who owns the home

When you see a home for sale, the usual first question is: who owns it? If there is usufruct or a habitation right, the practical question is different: who has the legal right to use or live in the home after the sale?

The seller may be the owner, while another person keeps the right to enjoy the home, live in it or use it as their permanent residence. In that situation, the buyer may receive ownership without immediate vacant possession. That is the difference between buying a home to live in now and buying bare ownership.

Usufruct, use, habitation and DHD are not the same

Usufruct is the temporary right to fully enjoy someone else's thing or right without altering its form or substance. It may last until the usufructuary dies, until a fixed term ends, or end for other reasons, such as renunciation or merger of usufruct and ownership in the same person.

A right of use is narrower: it allows the holder to use the thing and receive fruits according to the needs of the holder and their family. When it concerns a dwelling, it is called a habitation right. These rights are personal: the user or habitation holder cannot transfer, lease or burden the right.

Portugal also has the direito real de habitacao duradoura, or DHD. It is a life-long right to live in someone else's dwelling as a permanent residence, against a deposit and periodic payments. The owner can transfer the property burdened by the DHD, but the right continues until it is extinguished and the registry is updated.

Read the certificate and confirm who occupies the home

The land registry certificate is the first filter. The Portuguese land registry publicises the legal status of properties, and the certificate shows ownership, mortgages, seizures, other burdens and pending registry applications. Creation, acquisition or modification of rights such as ownership, usufruct, use and habitation is subject to registration.

Do not rely only on an old certificate sent with the listing. The online permanent certificate is valid for six months, but it should be reviewed near the CPCV and again before completion. A pending application, seizure or promised cancellation not yet registered can change the risk.

You should also confirm actual occupation. Who has the keys? Are relatives, tenants, an ex-spouse, a surviving partner or someone else living there? The viewing should help you inspect the property and test whether the promise of vacant handover matches the documents.

Bank, taxes and price

If you are buying with a mortgage, tell the bank early. A property with usufruct, a habitation right, DHD or another restriction may raise questions about security, valuation and possession. Do not assume approval proceeds as if the home were free.

For IMI property tax, where there is usufruct or a surface right, tax is due by the usufructuary or superficiary. This does not solve the purchase, but it helps you understand who appears as relevant in tax documents and whether arrears need to be clarified.

The price should also reflect reality. Buying bare ownership may make sense as a long-term investment, but it is different from buying a home for immediate residence. If you need to move in, do not pay as though the risk does not exist.

How to protect yourself in the CPCV

The CPCV should state clearly whether the buyer accepts the existing right or whether completion depends on its extinction and cancellation in the registry.

Avoid vague wording such as "the home will be delivered free". If there is a usufructuary, resident or DHD holder, discuss with a lawyer, solicitor or notary who must sign, which declaration is needed, which registry step must happen and by when.

Before completion

Before completion, ask for an updated land registry certificate and confirm that the bank, the professional handling the deed and the seller are all looking at the same situation. If the purchase depends on cancellation, a promise is not enough: the document and registry step must be ready.

On the day, check names, tax numbers, the capacity in which each person acts, price, payment method, property identification and statements about vacant handover. If the home is not vacant when it should be, if the right holder is missing, or if the certificate shows something new, stop and ask for clarification.

Next step

Before discussing the deposit, ask for three written answers: which rights are registered, who occupies the home and how vacant handover will be proved. If one of those answers is unclear, the file is not ready for the CPCV.