The land registry computer platform, which is required by law and was supposed to come into force in November but is not yet working, is delaying the business of buying and selling properties – in seven municipalities in the country: Loulé, Oliveira do Hospital, Paredes, Penafiel, São Brás de Alportel, Seia and Tavira.

Notaries warn that there are thousands of transactions at risk and the Government is attentive to the situation.

According to Jornal de Negócios, the fact that the platform is not yet functioning means that a set of legal requirements cannot be met, making registration impossible, an essential condition for a legal transaction to have legal validity.

Cited by the publication, the Order of Notaries (ON) says it has received “numerous complaints” and has already appealed to the Government to resolve the problem, namely by suspending the new rules until the technical issue is resolved, but has so far received no response.

An official source from the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion (MCT) assured, however, that “every effort is being made to overcome such constraints in the shortest possible time” and that it will do so with retroactive effects, “in order to avoid any damage to those affected.”

At issue, according to the newspaper, is the new legal regime for land registration, which established the National Cadastral Information System (SNIC) and the cadastral letter and which provides for the creation of a computer platform to support the SNIC. This platform is “under testing and not yet available”, with no deadline for it to become operational. What is happening is that notaries have continued to carry out deeds and other acts related to the transfer of properties, but registration at the registry offices – which must be carried out within 60 days – cannot be completed. And without registration, it's as if they didn't exist.