I believe that the publication of Decree Law 29/2020 of 29 June, “Pair to Order”, was unnoticed. We would also unnoticed it if had it not been for the kindness of Francisco Campos, a geographic engineer, whom we are grateful to have informed us about.
This decree is very interesting for four reasons:
- Promoting land reparcelling as a tool for the viability and economic sustainability of farms;
- It is another push for the “Simplified Register”, which never starts again.
- It is a job opportunity for the property appraiser, as it is required to be present in the property appraisal process;
- It could be a new business opportunity for real estate mediation, which should start to look with different eyes at the mediation of rustic properties.
The evaluation of rustic properties, for the purposes of attributing benefits under the “Pair to Order”, must follow the expropriation code, Law No. 168/99, of 18 September.
According to this legislation,
“Article 27.º
Calculation of soil value for other purposes
1 – The value of the soil suitable for other purposes will be the result of the updated arithmetic average between the unit prices of acquisitions or tax assessments that correct the declared values made in the same parish and in the neighboring parishes in the three years, among the last five, with higher annual average, in relation to buildings with identical characteristics, taking into account the parameters set in a territorial planning instrument and their specific aptitude.
2 – For the purposes foreseen in the previous number, the competent services of the Ministry of Finance shall provide, upon request by the expropriating entity, the list of transactions and tax assessments that correct the declared values carried out in the area and the respective values.
3 – If it is not possible to apply the criteria established in paragraph 1, due to lack of elements, the value of the land for other purposes will be calculated taking into account its actual or possible yields in the state existing at the date of the declaration of public utility , the nature of the soil and the subsoil, the configuration of the land and the access conditions, the predominant crops and the climate of the region, the outstanding fruits and other objective circumstances that may influence the respective calculation. ”
It turns out that points 1 and 2 are very difficult to apply, as this information is generally not accessible to the real estate appraiser and, when it is, it is very difficult to interpret. There remains, then, the application, and very well, of point 3, the yield method!