Road easement (servidão non aedificandi): can you build on it in Portugal?
Not without the road authority's authorisation: on the national road network a no-building easement (servidão non aedificandi) runs 50 m each side of the axis on motorways and IP roads, 35 m on IC roads and 20 m on other roads.
- Answer
- Building in the strip needs the road authority's authorisation; the strip is measured from the road axis.
- Before the plot plan is approved
- The strip is 200 m each side of the axis and a circle of 650 m radius around junctions.
- Limits
- Motorways and fast roads: 50 m. IP: 50 m. IC: 35 m. National roads and others: 20 m, each side of the axis.
- Junctions
- A circle of 150 m radius around the junction.
- Minimum
- Never less than 20 m (motorways, IP), 15 m (IC) or 5 m (other roads) from the road zone.
- Who decides
- The road authority.
- Council rules
- Municipal roads have their own rules in the PDM or municipal regulations.
- Legal basis
- Lei 34/2015 (Estatuto das Estradas da Rede Rodoviária Nacional), article 32
- Sources
- files.diariodarepublica.pt/1s/2015/04/08100/0208002098.pdf
- Checked
- 2026-11-05
Free check
Send us your question about a plot or a land classification. We will answer it by email, based on the national rules and the sources shown on the page. It is free.