Have you consulted the new online land registration platform? It is on this site that you can request and consult a series of documents relating to the registration of real estate. By dealing with these processes through the Internet, you save time and money in the face-to-face of the conservatories. You want to know how?

What is Building Online?

The site called "Building Online" is a platform, created by the Ministry of Justice, which is intended to facilitate the connection of land registration services with citizens and businesses. It is through this website that you can consult a series of tax documents on the registration of real estate and properties.

Granting a discount of up to 10% on the price charged for these services in person, this portal is very useful for citizens, on the one hand, by allowing the consultation of documents relating to the land register, and, on the other hand, for lawyers, notaries and solicitors or even chambers of commerce and industry, by facilitating the consultation of certain fundamental statements for their activities.

Attention:

To access many of the features of this site you will need a digital certificate of the citizen card. You should deal with this issue before performing some actions on the Site Building Online.

In order to better understand the potential of this portal, we will address each of the main services and processes that you can perform online, as well as the costs to these members.

What can you do on this platform?

There are several services related to land registration that are available in the menu of the Home Page of The Online Building.

1. Certificate Permamente

It is through The Online Building that you can request or consult a permanent certificate from the land registry. To apply for it, you will need to enter the data that identifies the property and then you can deal with payment issues.

An online land certificate application will cost 15 euros, which represents a discount of five euros on the price that would be charged if you performed this service in person. Therefore, it is advantageous for you to deal with this process through the Internet.

If you want to consult this document, after your request, you can also do so on this platform, only needing to enter the code of the certificate in question.

The Building Online also offers a guide in order to clarify, step by step, how you can perform these two actions.

2. Online Registrations

You can also consult documents that have been previously digitized so that you can carry out all the actions of the land registry through the Online Building.

To do so, you will need to present a digital certificate of the citizen card. You can install Autenticação.Gov application on your computer and make use of the Digital Mobile Key or, alternatively, authenticate through a card reader.

After this step, you can consult and request various documents that serve as the basis for the registration of real estate and properties. For example, if the property in question has certain acts to perform, such as a mortgage, this is where you can record this situation.

You will always need to identify the subjects responsible for the process, whether the seller or the buyer.

After completing all the necessary fields, you must confirm the ATM payment data for the payment of the records made. The cost of this process can vary between 225 and 500 euros, depending on the request made.

Be careful:

The deadline for payment of online registrations is two working days. If you do not pay within this period, the order will be automatically cancelled.

For more specific questions, we advise you to refer to the guide provided in this section.

3. Deposit of Documents

It is also possible to deposit documents in digital format if they are missing or have been omitted from the registration process.

The Online Building allows any individual who presents a digital certificate to deposit and even consult the documentation complementary to the online land registry.

The files must be placed on this platform on the same date corresponding to their authentication. They must hold certain acts which are subject to land registration, such as a mortgage, in particular relating to the cancellation of the mortgage with the creditor's consent.

 

There is a validity for the consultation of these statements, which corresponds to six months from the date of submission, and you can also renew access on this platform. Just enter the identification code and it will be renewed for another year.

The cost of these deposits is 20 euros, in the case of documentation relating to cancellation of mortgage, and 15 euros for other documents that you wish to associate with the online land registry. The renewal of access codes will cost 5 euros, which represents half the price that would be charged at a conservatory.

4. Simplified Building Information

The Site Building Online also provides simplified building information, which consists of access to existing documentation not certified and that has been extracted from a computerized form on a particular property.

You can make here a subscription request, with or without protocol, valid for a period of one year, , when entering your personal data, namely your full name, address and email address, without needing a digital certificate.
You will need to provide certain data about the property in question, which you can consult, for example, in a purchase and sale contract.
To consult this information, you must enter the respective access code that will be delivered to you in your request. However, pay attention to the validity of the same, and you will have to renew that subscription to remain with the same access data.

Take note:
Whenever required by law, it will be necessary to deliver the land registration certificate in order to obtain the access code to Simplified Building Information.
The cost of this order is six euros, which is also lower than the ten euros that you would have to pay at a conservatory. Payment can be made by ATM, credit card or e-Banking.


5. Digital certification of professional quality


Through Predial Online it is also possible to make a request to join the service that allows you to prove your professional quality from the digital certificate integrated in the Citizen Card
This is a feature aimed at professionals who are not covered by the professional order's authentication procedures and who are competent to authenticate private documents, request registrations or register powers of attorney.
It should be noted that this service is made available, simultaneously, for land registration requests electronically, the deposit of a certified authenticated document and the registration of powers of attorney.


6. Announcement for the exercise of the Preemptive Legal Right


This type of advertisement is intended to permit the sale of certain properties over which the preferential right falls in favor of the State or other public legal persons, such as a company or a municipality.
You will therefore have to advertise, via the internet, all the key elements for the property transaction. The Casa Pronta platform is used for this function, which you can also access through Predial Online.
After declaring the intention to sell the property, you will be able to consult your request, and, according to the general rule, you will have to wait ten days until the entities with preemptive rights manifest themselves in relation to your situation.
The cost of publishing the advertisement on this platform is 15 euros, so you are not required to go to a public entity that serves this purpose, namely the City Council.


7. Publications of Predial Online


In addition to requesting the documentation described above, Predial Online also provides a section to consult various publications launched on this platform. These statements are related to the situation of certain properties.
In order to consult them, you will have to indicate the data related to your search, namely regarding the location of the property whose publication you want to consult. This service is available to any citizen.

Access to contract drafts through Predial Online


In addition to the services provided in the menu on the right of the home page, in Predial Online it is also possible to find standard drafts for certain legal situations.
The following examples are available for download in word format:


• Purchase and sale contract;
• Donation contract;
• Exchange Agreement;
• Credit Assignment Agreement;
• Constitution of Horizontal Property;
• Compliance donation.

Take note:
The minutes presented are only of an auxiliary character, and it is recommended that you consult the appropriate legislation applicable in each situation. In case of doubt regarding more complex issues, you should seek specialized legal support for this purpose.

In conclusion…


Using Predial Online is a more convenient and economical process than going in person to a land registry office, allowing you to carry out all the actions described in this article without leaving your home.
Since we are in a pandemic situation, by avoiding unnecessary travel to request this document in person, it is also able to prevent potential risky contacts, while saving time and money.
It is advisable to consult the guides provided, as well as the section of frequently asked questions, which detail in greater depth the procedures to be followed in each of the sections of the website.

In Jornal Económico, 19 February 2021