When the roof starts letting water in, haste leads many people to accept the first person who turns up. Portuguese law gives you simple tools to choose better: checking the company’s licence on the IMPIC website, insisting on a written contract above a certain value and, in some cases, cancelling a contract signed at home. This guide does not recommend companies. It gives you the list of things to check, with the article of the law for each point.
Updated on 2 November 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The essentials
- Anyone who carries out building works needs a licence from IMPIC (Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção, the construction regulator): an alvará (contractor’s licence) or a certificado (contractor’s certificate) (Lei n.º 41/2015).
- A certificado only covers works up to 40,000 euros (20% of the class 1 limit, which is 200,000 euros).
- Above 20,000 euros, the contract must be in writing.
- For works exempt from a permit, it is the owner who checks the licence on the IMPIC website.
- Workers’ accident insurance is a condition of the licence.
- Paying 3,000 euros or more in cash is forbidden.
- Contract signed at your home: as a rule, 30 days to cancel, with exceptions.
Alvará or certificado
Lei n.º 41/2015 applies to anyone who carries out building works in Portugal (article 2). «Works» include repair, maintenance, reconstruction and demolition (article 3).
| Licence | What it allows on private works | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Alvará for private works | Works up to the limit of its class (article 24) | Commercial good standing, economic and financial capacity, workers’ accident insurance |
| Certificado for private works | Works up to 20% of the class 1 limit (article 25) | Commercial good standing, workers’ accident insurance |
Alvarás and certificados for public works also cover private works, within the same limits (articles 6 and 7). The class values are set by Portaria n.º 212/2022 (a ministerial order): class 1 up to 200,000 euros, class 2 up to 400,000, class 3 up to 800,000, up to class 9.
«Título de registo» is the name used under the old regime. Lei n.º 41/2015 turned valid títulos into certificados (article 53(4)).
A job may not be split up to fit a lower class (article 29(3)). If the roof costs more than 40,000 euros, a company with only a certificado is not enough.
How to check on the IMPIC website
For works exempt from a permit or prior notification, as most roof repairs are (see the roof works permit guide), the owner must make sure the company is licensed, check on the IMPIC website and keep proof (article 29).
- Ask for the NIF (tax number) and the alvará or certificado number. The company must show them on contracts, invoices and advertising (article 17(3)).
- On the IMPIC website, open the right list (alvarás or certificados, for private or public works) and search by number or NIF.
- Check the name and, for an alvará, the class.
- Also look at the list of licences cancelled in the last year.
- Save a screenshot with the date.
During the works, the company must put up a sign at the site entrance with its name and licence number (article 17(4)). It may only subcontract to licensed companies (article 20).
Site manager and insurance
- Diretor de obra (site manager). Lei n.º 31/2009 defines this as the technician who ensures the works follow the project and, where applicable, the permit or prior notification (article 3). The site manager signs a statement of responsibility for the correct execution of the works (article 21). If your job needs a procedure at the câmara (town hall), ask who the site manager is and which professional body they belong to.
- Workers’ accident insurance. Without it there is no alvará or certificado. On a roof, the risk of falls is real. Ask for the insurer and the policy number.
- Civil liability insurance. It is compulsory for the site manager, and the company may be the policyholder (article 24 of Lei n.º 31/2009). Lei n.º 41/2015 does not require it from Portuguese companies. Ask for it anyway: it covers damage to third parties, such as a tile falling onto the neighbour’s car.
The quote: what it must include
| Item | What to ask for |
|---|---|
| Identification | Name, NIF, address, alvará or certificado number |
| Scope | What will be done, over what area, what is left out |
| Materials | Brand, model and colour of the tiles, membranes and battens |
| Old tiles and waste | Who removes them, where they go, who pays |
| Scaffolding | Whether it is included |
| Price | Labour and materials shown separately, with VAT |
| Payments | Amount and date of each payment, tied to stages of the works |
| Dates | Start and finish |
| Warranty | What the company guarantees, in writing |
For construction products covered by a harmonised standard, the manufacturer draws up a declaration of performance and affixes the CE marking, and is responsible for the declared performance (Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, articles 4 and 8). Ask for these documents for the main materials.
Written contract above 20,000 euros
When the value exceeds 10% of the class 1 limit, the contract must be in writing, stating the parties, the alvará or certificado, the subject, the price and the deadline (article 26). Without written form the contract is void, but the company cannot rely on that nullity against you.
Invoice, VAT and asbestos
Ask for an invoice with labour and materials shown separately. The 6% VAT rules are in the roof works VAT guide. If the roof is fibre cement, removal needs an authorisation from the ACT (the labour inspectorate) on top of the alvará: see the asbestos guide.
Warning signs
On 2 February 2026, after storm Kristin, the GNR and PSP (Portugal’s two police forces) and Leiria town council warned about scams during the rebuilding. According to the newspaper Observador, the GNR advised people not to let in strangers who say they are technicians without having been called, and not to pay «urgent fees» in cash. The PSP warned about fake construction workers.
Be suspicious when:
- someone knocks on the door saying they saw loose tiles and want to fix them straight away;
- there is no NIF and no alvará or certificado number, or they do not appear on the IMPIC website;
- they ask for almost everything up front, especially in cash;
- the price is «today only», the quote is verbal or they will not issue an invoice.
Article 63-E of the Lei Geral Tributária (General Tax Law) forbids paying or receiving 3,000 euros or more in cash, adding up all payments for the same service. Pay by bank transfer.
Contract signed at home: the right to cancel
Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2014 protects contracts concluded away from business premises, such as those signed at your home (article 3):
- The contract is in writing, in Portuguese, and you receive a copy (article 9).
- You may cancel without giving a reason within 30 days if the contract was made at your home or on a trip organised by the company; in other cases, 14 days. For services, the period runs from the day of the contract (article 10).
- For the works to start earlier, the company needs your request on a durable medium. If you then cancel, you pay for the part already done (article 15).
- Exception: there is no right to cancel repairs at your home done at your request, except for extra services and goods other than essential spare parts (article 17).
These rules do not apply to contracts for construction or «substantial conversion» of buildings (article 2).
If things go wrong
- Livro de Reclamações (official complaints book). Decreto-Lei n.º 156/2005 covers building companies, on paper and electronically. For an electronic complaint, the company must reply within 15 working days. In this sector, IMPIC is the enforcing body (article 11).
- IMPIC. The owner must report to IMPIC any conduct by the company that undermines the proper execution of the works (article 30 of Lei n.º 41/2015).
- Consumer arbitration. The list kept by the Direção-Geral do Consumidor (the consumer directorate) includes CNIACC, which covers the whole country, and regional centres.
For defects and deadlines, see the roof works warranty guide.
What we could not confirm
- Changes to Lei n.º 41/2015 after 2018. We read the text consolidated with Lei n.º 25/2018, not the Diário da República version.
- A class values order later than 2022. We found none. «Portaria n.º 119/2018» does not appear in the sources; the earlier one was 119/2012, now revoked.
- Whether a tiny job (replacing two tiles) counts as «works» for licensing purposes.
- Whether replacing a whole roof is «substantial conversion», outside the right to cancel.
- Tile manufacturers’ warranties. We found no public, dated warranty certificates.
- Prices. We do not publish figures.
Sources (read on 2 November 2026)
- Lei n.º 41/2015, consolidated with Lei n.º 25/2018, version of 14 June 2018 (articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 17, 20, 24 to 30 and 53).
- Portaria n.º 212/2022, de 23 de agosto, Diário da República, 1.ª série.
- IMPIC, searches for certificados for private works, alvarás for private works and cancelled licences.
- Lei n.º 31/2009, consolidated text, version of 14 June 2018 (articles 3, 21 and 24).
- Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2014, consolidated version, Diário da República (articles 2, 3, 9, 10, 15 and 17).
- Decreto-Lei n.º 156/2005, republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 74/2017, 21 June 2017 (articles 2, 5-B, 11 and annex).
- Autoridade Tributária, Lei Geral Tributária, article 63-E.
- Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (articles 4 and 8).
- Direção-Geral do Consumidor, list of consumer alternative dispute resolution bodies.
- Observador, GNR, PSP e Município de Leiria alertam para burlas, 2 February 2026.