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Unlike the United
Kingdom, estate agents and builders in Portugal are licensed and
have to follow strict laws. The
Instituto da Construção e do Imobiliário, the governing body which
regulates both industries was formerly known as IMOPPI, but on 1 May
2007 following restructuring the office is now referred to as InCI.
The government takes this registration
very seriously and there are stiff penalties in place for estate agents
and builders not
conforming to the law. All agents
must display their
AMI licence number and you can check out the InCI
website to see if agents are registered.
Don't be
fooled by cleverly worded business names incorporating
'estate agent' and 'real estate' without the AMI licence
these are just advertisers who by law are not able to
show a property, negotiate or mediate.
Similarly you can consult
the directory of registered builders within a specific region or
town to ensure they are registered and have an up to date Alvara. |
