Renovating a House or Apartment in Portugal: Costs, Rules and Practical Tips

Many of our clients don’t buy a new house. They buy an older apartment in Porto or Lisbon, or a habitable house in the countryside, and modernise it to their taste. That’s often the smartest choice: you get more location and character for your money, and a renovation is far simpler and cheaper than a rebuild or a new build.

This guide covers exactly these projects: kitchen, bathroom, floors, wiring, plumbing, windows, insulation and damp. I’ll explain what needs a permit, what it costs and how to avoid the usual mistakes. The tips come from many of our clients’ renovation projects since 2010.

Is this the right guide for your project?

Do I need a permit to renovate in Portugal?

For most interior work, no. Since the “Simplex Urbanístico” reform (Decree-Law 10/2024), interior works that don’t affect the structure, as well as maintenance works, are generally exempt from prior approval. Exempt doesn’t mean rule-free: building regulations, fire safety and municipal bylaws still apply, and many councils ask you to notify them before work starts.

Important exception: in listed buildings and protected zones, such as many historic town centres, most exemptions don’t apply. There, even windows, doors or paint colours often need to be agreed with the council or the heritage authority.

Materials can be prescribed too: many councils set out in their building bylaws which materials are allowed on a building. In Porto, for example, sandwich panels are not allowed as roofing, even if they imitate traditional clay tiles very convincingly. Check with the council or your architect before re-roofing or changing windows.

My tip: before you buy, check whether earlier alterations were approved. Since 2024, the habitation licence no longer has to be shown at the deed. If you buy a house with an unapproved extension, the problem becomes yours, and legalising it later can be expensive.

How much does a renovation cost in Portugal?

Many buyers shy away from a property that needs work because they have British or American builders’ prices in mind. In Portugal, labour-intensive work such as painting, floor sanding or a new bathroom is often much cheaper. For materials and material-heavy jobs, the gap is smaller.

Costs depend heavily on condition, region, the quality of materials and how well the work is planned. As a rough guide:

Individual jobs: Portugal compared with the UK and US

Sources: Portugal: Zaask and Habitissimo, 2026. UK: What’s the Damage (April 2026), Book a Builder UK (floor sanding, 2026), Elliren Tiles (tiling, 2026), Best Builders (bathrooms, August 2026), Fantastic Services (consumer units, 2026), Checkatrade (electrician rates, May 2026). US: Homewyse (May 2026), Thumbtack (painting), USA Cabinet Store (bathrooms, 2026), Fixr (January 2026), CNC Electric (electrical panel and electrician rates, November 2025) and RemoteBuilder (full home renovation, June 2025). All figures are guide prices from comparison sites; always get several quotes.

How to read the table: for painting, floor sanding and bathrooms, you often pay half or less in Portugal. A full interior renovation costs roughly €800 to €1,500 per m², against £1,200 to £2,800 in the UK and about $1,075 to $4,300 in the US, and an electrician charges £45 to £60 an hour in the UK and $75 to $150 in the US, against €10 to €40 in Portugal. A complete bathroom costs our clients around €500 per m², roughly a third of a budget refit in the UK. Tiles are also a Portuguese strength, with a wide choice and good quality at fair prices. For the consumer unit and the water heater, you’re comparing different jobs: most Portuguese houses and apartments have a simple tankless gas water heater for hot water and no central heating. If you’re renovating anyway, consider a heat-pump water heater instead of a new gas appliance; more on that in our article on solar panels.

6 % instead of 23 % VAT on renovation work

In Portugal, building work to renovate, repair or modernise residential property qualifies for a reduced VAT rate of 6 %. The reduced rate applies to labour. Materials are taxed at 23 %, unless they make up less than 20 % of the total value, in which case 6 % applies to everything. Swimming pools and gardens, among other things, are excluded. For comparison: in the UK, most renovation work on an occupied home carries the full 20 % VAT.

My tip: ask your builder to show labour and materials separately on the quote and the invoice. Only then can you check that the reduced rate has been applied. Materials you buy yourself at a DIY store always carry the full 23 %.

Where you save and where you don’t

Labour is much cheaper in Portugal than in the UK or US, while materials and tools often cost the same or more. Tiles are a Portuguese strength, with a wide choice and good quality at fair prices. Branded power tools, on the other hand, are often more expensive than you may be used to.

Typical problems in older Portuguese houses

Damp and mould

The most common problem, especially in the north and near the coast. The usual causes are rising damp from old foundations, leaking roofs, missing insulation and poor ventilation. Painting over it won’t help. Find the cause before you re-plaster.

The climate is underestimated

Many buyers don’t expect how chilly Portuguese houses can get, even though there’s never a real winter outside. In the north, temperatures drop noticeably at night in winter and humidity is high. Uninsulated houses without heating cool down, and moisture condenses on cold walls.

This also affects the renovation itself: in high humidity and low temperatures, paint, plaster and filler don’t cure properly. The result is stains, blisters or flaking paint after a few months.

My tip: in the north, schedule painting and plastering for the drier months from spring to autumn. If work has to be done in winter, have the rooms heated and kept dry with a dehumidifier while things dry.

Insulation and windows

Many older houses have neither wall nor roof insulation and single-glazed windows. In winter, the rooms are cold and damp; in summer, they heat up. New double-glazed windows and roof insulation often give the best value for money. More on this, and on grants, on our energy renovations page.

Heating and cooling

Central heating is rare in older houses. The most common solution in a renovation is air conditioning with a heat pump function that heats and cools. If you’re renovating anyway, also consider a heat-pump water heater and solar panels.

Wiring and plumbing

In houses that haven’t been renovated for a long time, wiring and plumbing are often outdated: too few circuits, no residual current protection, old metal pipes. If walls are being opened anyway, it pays to replace everything at once and run network cables at the same time.

My tip: insist that cable channels are cut with a wall chaser, not a hammer drill. It’s cleaner, damages the masonry less and saves work when re-plastering.

Renovating an apartment: what you need to know

• Noise rules: renovation work in residential buildings is only allowed on weekdays between 8 am and 8 pm. You must post a notice in a visible place in the building with the expected duration of the works, ideally also with the times when it will be especially noisy. Urgent repairs, such as a burst pipe, are exempt.
• Condominium: work inside your apartment is your decision. Changes that affect the building’s appearance, such as enclosing a balcony or windows in a different colour, need the approval of the condominium by a qualified majority.
• Shared pipes: water and drainage risers usually belong to the condominium. Agree any work on them with the building manager first.
• Logistics: plan early how materials get upstairs and where rubble can be stored. Skips or scaffolding on public land need a council permit.

Finding builders and managing the work

Most building firms in Portugal are small, local family businesses. That has advantages: people know each other, distances are short, and problems are solved by talking. At the same time, processes are often less formal than you may be used to at home. The best way to deal with problems is to prevent them with good preparation.

• Ask in the neighbourhood: for simpler jobs, ask neighbours, at the local café or at the builders’ merchant. Most builders and handymen (trolhas) have no website and live from word of mouth. If someone has a good reputation in the village, they usually work carefully.
• Written, detailed quote: have items, quantities, materials and brands listed individually. A lump sum without detail almost always leads to extras.
• Deadlines in the contract: this is one of the most common mistakes expats make. Many builders take on several jobs, start on your site and then jump between projects. Your renovation drags on for months. Agree in writing on a start date, interim dates for each stage and a completion date, ideally with a price reduction for delays.
• Payment schedule tied to progress: pay for completed stages, not in advance. Link the instalments to the agreed deadlines.
• Be there: if possible, live nearby during the renovation and drop by regularly. If you can’t, hire an architect or site manager to supervise.
• Handover: at the end, walk through every room with the builder and record defects in writing before you pay the last instalment.

Materials, tools and shopping

• Bring your tools: if you’re moving to Portugal, bring as many of your own tools as you can. Branded tools are often more expensive here, and DIY culture is less widespread.
• Rent rather than buy: you can hire larger equipment at DIY stores such as Leroy Merlin. They can often also book tradespeople for smaller jobs.
• Find specialist shops: specialist suppliers are often small and hard to find online. Ask neighbours and tradespeople where they shop.
• Local materials: tiles and wooden floors are common in Portugal and available in a wide choice. Wallpaper, on the other hand, is unusual and hard to find.

Step by step to your renovation

1. Before you buy: check the condition and costs

View a property that needs work together with an architect or engineer so you can estimate costs realistically. We also recommend a house inspection that checks damp, roof, wiring and plumbing. Also check whether earlier alterations were approved; more in our article on the habitation permit.

2. Set goals and a budget

What’s essential, what’s nice to have? Set priorities and plan a contingency of 10 to 20 %.

3. Clarify the permit question

Use the table above to check whether your works are exempt. For load-bearing walls, façade changes, listed buildings or extensions, bring in an architect.

4. Get and compare quotes

Get at least two or three detailed quotes, with labour and materials shown separately.

5. Contract and schedule

Put the scope, prices, payment schedule, timetable and warranty in writing. In apartments: post the notice and inform the building manager.

6. Follow the works

Hold regular site meetings, record decisions in writing and have any changes confirmed with a price straight away.

7. Handover and paperwork

Record defects in writing and keep invoices and warranties. An up-to-date energy certificate shows the improvement and is required anyway when you later sell or let the property.

Common renovation mistakes

• Buying without an inspection. Damp and old wiring often only show up after the purchase.
• Painting instead of fixing the cause. Damp walls come back after one winter.
• Accepting lump-sum quotes. Without itemised positions, extras are inevitable.
• Paying in advance. Pay according to progress.
• Not agreeing deadlines. Without written dates, your builder moves between several sites and your renovation is left half-finished.
• Painting and plastering in winter. In cold, humid weather, paint and plaster cure badly, especially in the north.
• Forgetting insulation and windows. A beautiful new kitchen won’t help much if the house stays cold and damp in winter.
• Underestimating permit questions. What’s exempt inside may need approval on the façade or in a protected zone.

How we can help

At Pearls of Portugal, we’ve helped clients buy and renovate property across Portugal since 2010. If you’re looking for a property, we can view renovation projects together with an architect, so you know what the renovation will cost before you buy. For the work itself, we put you in touch with experienced architects, surveyors and builders from our network.

Find out more on our pages about property to renovate, our buyer’s agent service and construction costs in Portugal. Book a free initial call.