Planning to paint or renovate and wondering what time you can make noise, whether you need a licence and what a neighbour can do? The answer sits mainly in the Regulamento Geral do Ruído (General Noise Regulation) and the Código Civil (Civil Code). This guide sums up what we read in the texts, separates an interior repaint from construction work, and says who to turn to.
Updated on 3 November 2026. General information, not a substitute for legal advice.
The essentials
- Interior works of repair, remodelling or maintenance in homes may only be done on working days, between 8:00 and 20:00, and in those hours need no special noise licence (article 16 of the Regulamento Geral do Ruído, Decreto-Lei 9/2007).
- Whoever carries out the works must post the expected duration in an accessible place in the building and, if possible, the noisiest period. Failing to do so is an administrative offence.
- Urgent works to avoid harm to people or property (a burst pipe, for example) are outside these limits (article 17).
- If works break the hours, the police order them to stop and send a report to the town hall (article 18).
- In a block, the condominium rules and the building’s founding deed may be stricter. We did not read them: check your own building’s.
Is painting a “noisy work”?
Article 16 covers works of “recovery, remodelling or maintenance” inside homes, shops or offices that are a source of noise. The text does not mention painting. In our reading, rolling paint makes almost no noise, but machine sanding, chipping plaster, drilling or compressors do. Working days, 8:00 to 20:00, is the safe reference for anything audible. To prepare, see preparing your home for painting. Sanding dust has other risks: old paint and lead.
Interior or construction: what changes
| Situation | Rule in the text | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Interior maintenance or remodelling in a home | Working days, 8:00 to 20:00. No special noise licence | 16 |
| Temporary noisy activity (includes civil construction works) near homes | Banned on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and on working days between 20:00 and 8:00 | 14 |
| Outside those hours | Only with a special noise licence, “in exceptional and duly justified cases”, issued by the municipality | 15 |
| Urgent work to avoid harm | Exempt from the limits of articles 14 to 16 | 17 |
A façade with scaffolding is construction work, and the definition of “temporary noisy activity” (article 3) gives civil construction works as its first example. The practical hours are the same, but the special noise licence applies to this case and not to the article 16 case. On façades, see painting the façade: licence and condominium.
The text does not make clear whether a municipality can authorise interior works at weekends: article 16 says they need no licence, but allows them only on working days. DECO PROteste (21 August 2026) writes that non-urgent works in residential buildings are, as a rule, banned at weekends. Ask the town hall before you hire.
Special noise licence
Article 15 says the licence is requested from the municipality at least 15 working days in advance, stating place, dates, hours, reasons and noise-reduction measures. If it is issued for more than a month, limits of 60 dB(A) in the evening and 55 dB(A) at night apply at sensitive receivers.
The Porto Portal do Munícipe page confirms the 15-working-day notice, says the fee follows the municipal table and that payment is due by 17:00 on the working day before. For construction work or noisy equipment, it lists the special noise licence as the request to make. We could not read the Lisbon page (automated access was blocked), so we give no Lisbon deadlines or fees.
Who enforces, and what happens
- Police (PSP, GNR) and municipal police supervise temporary noisy activities and can stop the work (articles 18 and 26).
- The town hall decides the fine (article 30). Doing interior works outside the hours and not posting the information are minor environmental offences (article 28). Fine amounts are in Lei 50/2006, which we did not read. We state no amounts.
- According to DECO PROteste, the police can act without prior measurements or proof, but recordings, witnesses and logs help if the case goes to court.
Neighbourhood noise
Article 24 has a different rule for noise linked to everyday home use: between 23:00 and 7:00 the police can order it to stop immediately. Between 7:00 and 23:00 they can set a deadline. We could not confirm whether a neighbour’s building work falls under this article or under the works articles.
Civil Code and condominium
- Article 1346: an owner may object to noise and similar effects coming from a neighbouring property when they cause “substantial harm to the use of the property” or “do not result from the normal use of the building they come from”. It is a civil route for persistent cases, not a replacement for calling the police.
- Article 1422: co-owners are bound by the limits on owners. Acts banned by the founding deed, or later by an owners’ meeting resolution passed without opposition, are not allowed.
- Article 1429-A: with more than four co-owners, and if the founding deed is silent, a condominium regulation should exist on the use, enjoyment and upkeep of common parts. Rules on works noise in flats may sit there, but the legal text does not say so.
On damp and common parts, see damp in the building: who decides and pays. If you rent, read the lease and painting before renting or selling. For damage from badly done works next door, see leak from the flat above.
Step list for anyone planning works
- Confirm the hours with whoever does the work: working days, 8:00 to 20:00. Put it in the contract (painting contract).
- Read the condominium regulation and the founding deed.
- Post a notice at the entrance or lift with the dates and the noisiest phases.
- Tell neighbours in writing, including anyone who works nights.
- If you need special hours, apply to the town hall 15 working days ahead.
- If a neighbour is the problem: talk, write, tell the administrator and, if it continues, call the police. The Civil Code and the courts are for persistent cases.
What we could not confirm
- Whether the Regulamento Geral do Ruído was amended after 2007. We read a consolidated copy dated 1-8-2007 (published by the Madeira regional government) and could not open the current text on dre.pt.
- Lisbon’s rules, because access was blocked. Other municipalities may have their own regulations.
- Fine amounts (Lei 50/2006, not read).
- Whether silent painting falls under article 16, and whether a licence is possible for interior works at weekends.
Sources (read on 3 November 2026)
- Decreto-Lei 9/2007 of 17 January, Regulamento Geral do Ruído, consolidated copy (version of 1-8-2007), Madeira Regional Government (PDF). Read: articles 3, 14 to 18, 24, 26, 28 and 30. Not read on dre.pt.
- Código Civil, articles 1346, 1422 and 1429-A, pgdlisboa.pt. Not read on dre.pt.
- Porto City Council, Portal do Munícipe: Special noise licence and Construction work or use of noisy equipment. Pages read through an automated summary.
- DECO PROteste, Lei do Ruído: direitos, horários e como reclamar de barulho (21 August 2026), deco.proteste.pt. Read online; check the original.
- Lisbon City Council, special noise licence page: not read (access blocked).