Air conditioning: legal requirements in Portugal

Leak check: when it is mandatory

The obligation does not depend on the type of unit, but on the fluorinated greenhouse gas charge it contains, measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. The person with the duty is the operator of the equipment, typically the company, in the commercial case.

Have a leak detection system installed doubles the range at all levels. In large installations, this is worth the investment just by reducing checks.

Only a certified technician can touch the refrigerant

This is the rule that applies to everyone, from the split room to the warehouse system. Technical interventions on equipment with fluorinated greenhouse gases (installation, maintenance, repair, refrigerant collection) must be carried out by certified technicians and companies by a certification body, in accordance with article 9, no. 1 of Decree-Law no. 145/2017, of 30 November.

On our side, the team holds fluorinated greenhouse gas certification. You can see the credentials before letting us into your home, and you should ask the same of anyone who goes in.

Registration of equipment and communication to APA

For the equipment covered, there is a register (RAE) that must be maintained for at least five years and updated whenever there is a technical intervention on components with fluorinated greenhouse gas.

There is also annual communication of data on the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases to the Portuguese Environment Agency, until March 31 of each year.

Condominium: the façade is not yours

In a horizontal property building, the façade, roof and main walls are common parts, article 1421 of the Civil Code. Fixing the outdoor unit to the façade, or drilling holes in it to pass the piping, means messing with a common part.

Jurisprudence and practice treat the placement of an outdoor unit on the façade as a innovation work (article 1425 of the Civil Code), which requires approval at a condominium assembly by a qualified majority.

In classified heritage zones Authorization from the city council may also be required. It is always worth confirming the condominium and municipal regulations before scheduling the installation.

And is maintenance mandatory?

For a domestic unit below the 5 t CO₂eq threshold, the law does not impose a maintenance periodicity. The recommended annual review is good practice in the sector: it serves to maintain performance, avoid breakdowns and slow the growth of consumption. It is not a legal requirement.

In a business space the sums are different, and there are two figures that get mixed up a lot. The first is about capacity: above 70 kW, an air conditioning system becomes subject to mandatory periodic inspection. Between 70 and 250 kW it is every four years; above 250 kW, every two. The regime sits in article 15 of Decree-Law no. 101-D/2020, but the figures are in Order no. 6476-C/2021, which is where most people forget to look for them.

The second figure is not about capacity, it is about area, and this is where most businesses get it wrong. The maintenance plan for technical systems is mandatory in large commercial and service buildings, article 10 of the same decree-law. A large building is one with 1000 m² of usable floor area, or 500 m² if it is a shopping centre, hypermarket, supermarket or indoor pool. A 1200 m² office with little installed capacity is inside the rule; an industrial unit with a lot of capacity and 800 m² may be outside it. In those buildings, the results of carrying out the plan are filed every year on the SCE portal.

There is also indoor air quality, which is a separate regime. In large commercial and service buildings, and also in nurseries, pre-schools, primary schools and residential care homes, there is a simplified annual assessment which measures carbon dioxide and particulates, carried out by an environmental health technician. That is Ordinance no. 138-G/2021, under article 16 of the same decree-law. Meeting the thresholds applies to every commercial and service space; it is the annual assessment that only applies to this list.

We checked this on 18 September 2026, against the official text. Thresholds and dates change, and the date is there so you know when this needs looking at again.

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