Real estate properties will now have a unique identification number, the NIP - Número de Identificação do Prédio (Real Estate Identification Number). This novelty will start in the second semester of 2022 as a pilot project.

This new feature is the result of a work group made up of member of the Mission Structure for the Expansion of the Simplified Cadastral Information System (eBUPi), the Institute of Registration and Notary Affairs (IRN), the Tax Authority (AT) and the Directorate-General of the Territory (DGT) and will reconcile information from the Tax Office and the Registry Office.

Through the integration of the processes distributed by the main tax and registration entities, the goal is to establish BUPi as a single point of contact in this domain for citizens.

It is a project that will focus primarily on rustic properties, and only later on urban properties.

“Today, each owner has their land registry, but they also have a matrix, which is in the Tax Authority, a registration number, another number if they have any leased property, another number in the General Directorate of Territory, in case they want to carry out the geo-referencing of their property, and each municipality has its own numbers associated to each property and their geographic information systems. Being able to do, in the context of property, what was done with the citizen card in the context of civil identity will, perhaps, be the most important part of the work of identifying the owner and the location of each property”

Secretary of State for Justice, Anabela Pedroso - 01/03/2022

It is expected that the NIP will mark a crucial step towards property reform in Portugal, as it will enable the geographical identification of land that does not have correctly identified documentation and ownership.

For more information:

• Justiça Gov
• Sapo 24