“Do I need a licence to change my roof?” is the most common question before building work. The answer changed on 1 October 2026, when the revision of the Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação (RJUE, the legal regime for urban development and building) came into force through Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, of 29 May. This guide explains in simple words what the revision says about roofs, where you still have to ask the câmara municipal (town council), and what we could not confirm.
Updated on 2 November 2026. This guide is general information. It does not replace the câmara municipal or a qualified technician.
The short answer
| The work | Does it need a licence or prior notification? |
|---|---|
| Repairing or maintaining the roof as it is (broken tiles, battens, gutter, cleaning) | No. Maintenance works are exempt |
| Rebuilding the roof the same as its last valid precedent, after damage | No. Reconstruction is exempt, as long as it is really reconstruction |
| Changing the roof covering material for another with an identical exterior finish that improves energy efficiency | No, as a rule. It counts as work of minor urban planning relevance |
| Changing the look (colour, type of material) or the shape of the roof | It depends. Ask the câmara first |
| Increasing the height, area or volume | Yes. This is an extension |
| Listed building, building in the process of being listed, or part of a listed group | It has its own rules. It requires an opinion from the cultural heritage authority |
What changed on 1 October 2026
Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 revised the RJUE (Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99). The start date was postponed from 3 August to 1 October 2026. The regime applies to procedures that begin from that date, and also to older cases that are still at the screening and preliminary assessment stage. The revision brought mandatory application forms (Portaria n.º 320/2026/1) and created a separate article for urban planning offences (contraordenações).
For a homeowner, what matters most is article 6 (exempt works) and article 6-A (works of minor urban planning relevance).
Maintenance works: exempt
The RJUE defines maintenance works (obras de conservação) as works meant to keep a building in the condition it had when it was built, rebuilt, extended or altered, in particular restoration, repair or cleaning. They are exempt from a licence and from prior notification.
This covers the normal work on an old roof: replacing broken tiles, redoing the ridge mortar, changing rotten battens, cleaning and repairing gutters and flashings, redoing the eaves tiles. It does not require any procedure at the câmara.
Reconstruction: exempt, but only if it is really reconstruction
The reconstruction of buildings or units remains exempt. The RJUE defines a reconstruction work as work that follows the total or partial demolition of an existing building, in line with its last valid precedent, and that restores the formal composition of the façades and the roof. The materials of the structure may change, and corrections strictly necessary for safety and health are allowed.
If the work adds area, height or volume, it is no longer reconstruction: it is an extension, and it needs a procedure. A source from an architecture firm sums it up: the exemption only applies if the work follows the legal definition strictly.
The revision also widened the reconstruction exemption to buildings in protection zones of listed properties. If your building is listed, in the process of being listed, or part of a listed group, it is still outside this exemption.
Changing the roof covering material: minor relevance
Article 6-A now treats as work of minor urban planning relevance the replacement of exterior cladding or roof covering materials with others that, while giving an exterior finish identical to the original, promote energy efficiency. The technical guide of the Ordem dos Engenheiros da Região Norte (the Northern Region engineers’ association, August 2026) highlights this novelty. Article 6-A also covers the installation of photovoltaic solar panels and solar collectors attached to the main building, as long as they meet the technical requirements of point (g).
Two notes of caution:
- “Identical exterior finish” means the same look seen from outside. Changing a ceramic tile for a sandwich panel, or changing the colour, is not “identical”.
- Municipal regulations may classify other works as being of minor relevance. Each câmara may have its own rules.
What still needs a procedure
Under the RJUE definition, an alteration work is one that changes the physical or aesthetic features of the building, for example the load-bearing structure or the nature and colour of the exterior cladding materials, without increasing the area, height or volume. This definition does not, by itself, say which procedure is required. To find out whether you need a licence, a prior notification or nothing, ask the câmara before hiring anyone, especially if you are going to change:
- the material or colour of the roof covering;
- the pitch or shape of the roof;
- the roof structure (beams, trusses) in a way that affects stability.
Interior work that affects the stability of the building is exempt if it comes with a stability project and a statement of responsibility from a qualified technician.
What the exemption does not waive
- Complying with the applicable rules. Article 6, paragraph 8, says that the licence exemption does not waive compliance with legal and regulatory rules, including those on heritage protection, and that the câmara may inspect the work at any time.
- The site log (livro de obra). The site manager records the relevant facts in the site log, even for exempt works, and keeps it on site.
- Protection zone and municipal plans. Walls, colours and materials may be regulated in a municipal plan or in a câmara regulation.
- Offences (contraordenações). The revision put back into the list of offences the carrying out of urban planning operations that are not properly authorised. If the work needed a procedure and did not have one, there is a fine.
If your roof is fibre cement
Removing a fibre cement roof that may contain asbestos is not only a question of licensing: it needs an authorised company and notification to the ACT (Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho, the labour conditions authority). See the guide on the roof with asbestos.
If you live in a block of flats
The roof of a building under horizontal property (propriedade horizontal, flats with common parts) is, as a rule, a common part. The owners’ association decides and pays, not a single owner on their own. The legal commentaries we read point to article 1421 of the Código Civil (Civil Code) for the common nature of the roof and to article 1424 for maintenance costs, but we did not read the text of the law, so confirm with the building administrator or a lawyer.
After a storm
In the municipalities affected by storm Kristin, Decreto-Lei n.º 40-A/2026 created an exceptional regime that waives the licence for reconstruction and repair works on damaged buildings, with checks after the work. See the guide on storm Kristin support.
How to ask the câmara
- Photograph the roof and write the work in two lines: what changes, which material, which colour, whether the height or shape changes.
- Ask at the urban planning desk or by email: “does it need a licence, a prior notification, or is it exempt?”. Ask for the answer in writing.
- Keep the answer. If the work is exempt, the contractor must record it in the site log.
What we could not confirm
- The full text of Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 and the exact wording of articles 6 and 6-A. We read the technical guide of the Ordem dos Engenheiros da Região Norte and the analysis by MLGTS, which describe the law.
- Whether a work of minor relevance requires any notification to the câmara. Confirm with the municipality.
- What each municipal regulation adds.
- The source of Decreto-Lei n.º 155-B/2026, of 31 July, which a secondary source says amends DL 108/2026: we could not confirm its content.
Sources (read on 2 November 2026)
- Ordem dos Engenheiros da Região Norte, Reforma do RJUE: guia prático das alterações introduzidas pelo DL 108/2026, August 2026.
- MLGTS, Entrada em vigor da revisão do RJUE, 1 October 2026.
- Ordem dos Arquitectos, Principais alterações do RJUE, 29 May 2026.
- AC Arquitetos, Reconstruir sem pedir licença, September 2026 (article 6, paragraph 8; protection zones).
- Diário da República (the official gazette): Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, of 29 May, and Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99 (RJUE). Full text not read.