Interesting Facts About Estate Agents in Portugal

Estate Agents in Portugal must be licensed and registered with the governing body INCI (Instituto da Construção e do Imobiliário), which was formerly known as IMOPPI. INCI not only governs real estate agents in Portugal but builders as well.

Estate agency companies cannot be based from a residential location and are not able to 'share' office space with any other kind of company.

All prospective estate agents must sit an exam covering all aspects of property law before they can apply to form a real estate company. This exam is held at several locations throughout Portugal regular intervals throughout the year.

There are two tiers to personnel in estate agencies in Portugal - mediacão imobiliaria and angaricãos imobiliária.  Every estate agency in Portugal must have a mediacão, whom will have knowledge of all the types of title deeds and laws governing property in Portugal. An agency can have an unlimited number of 'angaricãos' contracted to their company.

An angaricão imobiliaria is licensed in just the same manner as a mediacão, however they cannot open or head an agency. They can only contract to one agency and must also be registered with INCI.

An estate agency license is current for three years, however to retain it's validity, the licensed 'mediator' must complete further training courses to ensure they are up to date with all the most recent laws governing property in Portugal. Failure to comply can result in a license being suspended or withdrawn.

An agent can be suspended and can even have their license withdrawn should they be reported for any wrong-doing. Estate agents must have a 'complaints' book (livro de reclamacões) within their offices. If you are unhappy about any aspect of service from them, then you are entitled to register your complaint within this book, which will be forwarded to the governing body.

To ensure impartiality estate agents in Portugal are, by law, unable to buy and sell property. They can advertise for sale a property which is deemed as their home however.

Estate agents can only charge fees to one party, which is usually the seller. They must provide a contract of 'mediation' for the seller to sign outlining the cost of services. This can be either a percentage of the sale price or a fixed fee.

Licensed estate agencies can only charge fees for either selling a property or renting a property and cannot take receipt of any other monies.