Boundary wall ownership (parede meeira) in Portugal

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A wall between two buildings is presumed to belong to both owners (parede meeira), to its full height if the buildings are equal and up to the height of the lower one if not (Código Civil, art. 1371.º, n.º 1).

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Law

Código Civil (Decreto-Lei n.º 47344/66)

Article

1371.º

Rural plots and yards

A wall between rural plots, or between yards and gardens of urban plots, is also presumed shared unless there is a sign to the contrary (n.º 2)

Signs against sharing

A sloping top (espigão em ladeira) falling to one side only; stone corbels set in one side only across the whole width; a neighbouring plot not walled on its other sides (n.º 3)

Wall carrying a structure

A wall that supports a structure on one side only, across its whole width, is presumed to belong to that structure's owner (n.º 5)

Buying a share

The owner of an adjoining plot can acquire co-ownership of a neighbour's wall by paying half the value of the wall and half the value of the ground (art. 1370.º)

Official text

pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabel...

Sources

pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabel...
pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabel...

Checked

2026-11-05