CPCV Portugal — the Preliminary Contract Explained
The CPCV is Portugal's binding preliminary property contract — unlike a non-committal reservation, it already legally obliges both parties to buy and sell respectively, well before the notarial Escritura is signed.
What is CPCV — Portugal Preliminary Contract?
The CPCV is Portugal's binding preliminary property contract — unlike a non-committal reservation, it already legally obliges both parties to buy and sell respectively, well before the notarial Escritura is signed. A non-binding reservation agreement typically secures only a short window without a genuine purchase obligation — the CPCV, by contrast, is a fully binding contract: buyer and seller both commit to the agreed terms (price, payment schedule, handover date). Withdrawing afterwards is only possible under conditions set out in the contract itself, usually with financial consequences for the party pulling out. Signing the CPCV usually triggers a deposit (sinal). If the buyer later withdraws without a contractually recognised reason, this deposit is generally forfeited in full to the seller. If the seller withdraws instead, they typically have to repay double the deposit received to the buyer — a real financial consequence on both sides that underlines just how binding this contract is.
What matters about these two points
The answer box above states the case. The two points it is built from carry their own heading here — together with what each of them means in practice.
How the CPCV differs from a plain reservation
In practice: settle the state of your financing before signing the CPCV, not after. A binding contract without secured financing is precisely the constellation in which the deposit is at stake.
The financial commitments that typically come with it
The symmetry of the rule protects both sides — but only if the contract states what counts as a recognised reason to withdraw. A financing clause therefore belongs in the draft before the price is discussed.
Why financing should already be in place by this point
Signing the CPCV means taking on a firm obligation — the buyer's own financing should ideally already be secured, or at least clearly on track, by this point, not something to start arranging afterwards. A CPCV signed without a secured financing outlook carries a real risk of losing the deposit if the financing ultimately falls through.
The suspensive clause that protects your deposit
A CPCV does not have to be signed unconditionally — a cláusula suspensiva (suspensive clause) tied to mortgage approval lets the buyer withdraw and recover the deposit in full if financing is formally declined by the bank within an agreed deadline, instead of losing it under the standard forfeiture rule. Not every seller accepts this clause, and it needs precise wording (bank, amount, deadline) to hold up — this is exactly the kind of clause we negotiate into the CPCV before it is signed, not after.
What happens if one side walks away
The CPCV binds, and the consequences are set by statute rather than by the contract: a buyer who withdraws forfeits the deposit paid, a seller who withdraws owes double it. That applies whether or not the contract says so. A buyer who would rather have the property than the money can, where the CPCV has been executed before a notary and noted at the land registry, sue for performance instead. The second point concerns protection: a financing condition is not included automatically. Sign without one, and a later refusal by the lender costs the deposit — even where the refusal had nothing to do with the buyer's own conduct.
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