hipoteca
Published 8 November 2026, 22:51
hipoteca — charge on property
The bank's legal claim on your flat until the loan is paid off. It is entered in the property register when the purchase goes through and removed after the last payment. The flat is still yours: you live in it and can let it or sell it, but selling it usually means paying off the loan at the same time.
Where you come across it. A housing loan, an extract from the register (certidão permanente), selling a flat with an outstanding loan.
If you stop paying, it ends with the flat being sold at auction — and the proceeds may not cover the whole debt, in which case you still owe the rest.
Official website: clientebancario.bportugal.pt/pt-pt/garantias