# Access ramp for a home: when it helps and what the law says > A ramp suits a few steps and the law sets the slope. See what Decree-Law 163/2006 says, when to talk to the municipality, the condominium rules and the support available. - Page: https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/access-ramp-home-steps - Language: English - Updated: 2026-11-03 ## Summary - The annex of Decree-Law 163/2006 limits a ramp to 6% (rise up to 0.6 m, projection up to 10 m) or 8% (up to 0.4 m and 5 m): it suits a few steps. - The decree also covers housing, but we found no obligation in it for an owner to adapt an existing home; the art. 9 deadlines target public buildings. - National law does not name ramps among works exempt from a licence; it depends on the work and the municipal regulation. If it touches the footpath, talk to the municipality first. - SAPA lists portable and fixed ramps, with prior prescription. We found no open call of the Acessibilidades 360 programme. Do you have three or four steps at the front door, and someone who uses a wheelchair or a walker? A ramp can solve it, if there is room. This guide explains when a ramp works, what Decree-Law 163/2006 says about slope and about who is obliged to do what, when to talk to the municipality, and what help exists. *Updated on 3 November 2026. General information; it does not replace the opinion of a qualified technician or of your municipal services.* ## The essentials - A ramp suits **a few steps**. The technical standards allow a maximum slope of 6% (rise up to 0.6 m) or 8% (rise up to 0.4 m), so a rise of half a metre needs a ramp several metres long. - Decree-Law 163/2006 also covers residential buildings, but **we found no obligation in it** for an owner to adapt an existing home. The adaptation deadlines in art. 9 target public buildings and buildings open to the public. - Whether a ramp needs a licence or a notification to the municipality depends on the work and on the municipal regulation. The national law does not name ramps in its list of exempt works. - In an apartment building, a ramp in the common parts follows the condominium rules. If the staircase is long or there is no room, look at a stair lift or a platform lift. ## When a ramp works and when it does not A ramp makes sense when the rise is small and there is room in front of the door. It does not solve a full flight between floors: the slope is limited, so the length grows with the height. Our own calculation with the annex values: a rise of 0.5 m at 6% needs about 8.5 m of ramp. Measure the height of the steps and the free space before asking for quotes; see [how to measure stairs](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/how-to-measure-stairs-for-quote). If there is no room, see [stair lift or platform lift](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/choose-stair-lift-or-platform) and, for steps outdoors, [outdoor stair lifts](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/outdoor-stair-lift). ## What Decree-Law 163/2006 says We read the current consolidated version, the 6th, which includes Law 44/2026 of 10 August. **Whom it covers.** Art. 1 sets conditions for the design and construction of public spaces, collective facilities and public and residential buildings. Art. 2(3) includes buildings where at least 50% of the area is housing. **Who has to adapt.** The deadlines in art. 9(1) and (2) (10 years for buildings begun before 22 August 1997, 5 years for later ones) refer to the buildings in art. 2(1) and (2): public administration and buildings for public use. Housing is not there. For housing already built, art. 9-A says that, in urban works, a design method to be set by ministerial order applies, and the designer must justify it. **We did not find that order.** In short: reading the decree, nobody obliges an owner to build a ramp at home. The rules bite when there is work that needs the municipality: the application carries an accessibility plan (art. 3(1)), and the municipality may not refuse an alteration over a non-conformity that the work neither creates nor worsens (art. 3(3)). Art. 10 allows exceptions when the work is disproportionately difficult. **Annex figures for ramps (section 2.5).** - Slope up to 6%, rise up to 0.6 m and horizontal projection up to 10 m; or 8%, up to 0.4 m and up to 5 m (2.5.1). In-between values are allowed. - In alteration works, where space is short: 10% for a rise up to 0.2 m and 2 m of projection; 12% for up to 0.1 m and 0.83 m (2.5.2). - Minimum width 1.2 m, or 0.9 m if the projection is up to 5 m (2.5.4); inside dwellings, 0.9 m (3.3.6). - A landing at the bottom and at the top, at least 1.5 m long (2.5.5 and 2.5.6). - Handrails on both sides, except for a rise up to 0.2 m (none) or between 0.2 m and 0.4 m with a slope up to 6% (one side). They extend 0.3 m at the ends, at 0.85 to 0.95 m above the floor if the slope is up to 6% (2.5.7 to 2.5.9). We do not know whether a ramp exempt from a licence must meet the annex. Use it as a reference. ## Municipal licence and the footpath The urban development and building regime (Decree-Law 555/99) exempts from prior control maintenance works, interior alterations of buildings and works of "minor urban relevance" (art. 6(1) and art. 6-A, in the 2024 version). The national list includes "small works to arrange and improve the surroundings of buildings that do not affect the public domain", and also "other works so classified in a municipal regulation". **It does not name ramps.** We could not confirm whether a ramp at the door fits the first. One example we read: the municipal urban development and building regulation of Vila Nova de Gaia treats as minor works the "construction of ramps for persons with reduced mobility and removal of architectural barriers, when they do not affect the public domain" (art. 12(1)(f)). Art. 41(2) allows ramps or steps in public space only where there is no viable technical alternative and public circulation is not compromised. That is one municipality, not the rule for the country. The exemption does not waive municipal plans, easements and technical standards (art. 6(8)), and it does not apply to listed buildings or their protection zones (art. 6-A(2)). If the ramp takes up footpath or street, **talk to the municipality first**: the space is public. Decree-Law 108/2026 of 29 May reformed the regime and, according to the Ordem dos Engenheiros (Northern Region), takes effect on 1 October 2026; it keeps the works classified in municipal regulations. ## In an apartment building Common stairs and entrances are common parts. The Civil Code (art. 1425) provides for access ramps in the common parts for people with reduced mobility; the vote, the notice to the administrator and who pays are in [stair lift in an apartment building](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/stair-lift-apartment-building). ## Who helps pay - **SAPA.** The current list (Despacho 11077/2025) has "portable ramps" (18 30 15) and "fixed ramps" (18 30 18). A multidisciplinary team (with a physiotherapist or an occupational therapist) and a physiatrist prescribe; ISS funds them (for portable ramps, also Health and IEFP). We could not confirm whether it pays for the building work of a fixed ramp at home. See [who pays for a stair lift](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/who-pays-stair-lift-support). - **Acessibilidades 360 (PIH).** The Home Interventions Programme, funded by the recovery plan (PRR), supports private homes through the municipality, for people with a disability of 60% or more who own, rent or live in the household. Ramps are among the eligible works. Call no. 5/C03-i02/2023 took applications until 30 November 2023. **We found no open call.** To see what suits your case, you can use the [tool to choose a solution](https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/stair-solution). ## What we could not confirm - Whether a ramp to a house door needs a licence, a notification or is exempt. It depends on the work and on your municipality's regulation; we only read the one for Vila Nova de Gaia. - Whether a ramp exempt from prior control must meet the annex of Decree-Law 163/2006. - The ministerial order of art. 9-A of Decree-Law 163/2006 on housing already built. - Rules on portable or removable ramps: we did not see them in the decree (our reading of the annex stopped at section 4). - The consolidated RJUE text after Decree-Law 108/2026. We read arts. 6 and 6-A in a working document of the Ordem dos Arquitectos with Decree-Law 10/2024, and the 2026 reform in a summary by the Ordem dos Engenheiros. The INR guide "Accessibility and mobility for all" did not open: the address leads to the IDiPD home page. - Whether there is a new PIH call or an equivalent programme. ## Sources (read on 3 November 2026) - [Decree-Law 163/2006 (PGDL)](https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=3110&tabela=leis): arts. 1, 2, 3, 9, 9-A, 10, 23 and the annex, sections 2.5, 3.3.6 and 4.7; 6th version (Law 44/2026). - [Decree-Law 10/2024, consolidated RJUE (Ordem dos Arquitectos)](https://www.ordemdosarquitectos.org/backend/uploads/20240108_DL_10_2024_RJUE_consolidado_1fffc4c07f.pdf): arts. 6 and 6-A; a working document, not the Diário da República. - [Technical Notebook, RJUE reform (Ordem dos Engenheiros, Northern Region)](https://www.oern.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Caderno-Tecnico-Reforma-RJUE-1.pdf): Decree-Law 108/2026, entry into force, exempt and minor works. - [Municipal Urban Development and Building Regulation of Vila Nova de Gaia](https://www.cm-gaia.pt/fotos/editor2/documentos_municipais/regulamentos/2019_12/rmue.pdf): arts. 12 and 41; copy on the municipality's website, with amendments up to 2019 (Aviso 14978/2015, DR of 22-12-2015). - [Despacho 11077/2025, Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 181, 19-09-2025](https://files.diariodarepublica.pt/2s/2025/09/181000000/0008700121.pdf): paras. 1 to 5 and Annex I, codes 18 30 15 and 18 30 18. - [Call no. 5/C03-i02/2023, PIH, republished 28-09-2023 (Recuperar Portugal)](https://recuperarportugal.gov.pt/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Republicacao_Aviso_05-C03-i02-2023-PIH.pdf): points 1, 2, 4 and 9. - Civil Code, art. 1425: not reopened for this text; see the condominium guide, which cites and explains it. ## FAQ ### What slope can a ramp at the front door have? The annex of Decree-Law 163/2006 (section 2.5.1) allows up to 6% with a rise up to 0.6 m and 10 m of projection, or up to 8% with a rise up to 0.4 m and 5 m. In alteration works where space is short it allows 10% (rise up to 0.2 m) and 12% (up to 0.1 m). ### Am I obliged to put a ramp at my home? In the text of Decree-Law 163/2006 we read, we found no such obligation for homes already built. The adaptation deadlines in art. 9 refer to public buildings and buildings open to the public. Art. 9-A refers to a ministerial order that we did not find. ### Do I need a municipal licence to build a ramp? We could not confirm this in general. The RJUE (arts. 6 and 6-A) does not name ramps, but lets each municipality classify other works as minor. The Vila Nova de Gaia regulation, for example, includes ramps that do not affect the public domain. Ask your municipality. ### Does Social Security pay for a ramp? Despacho 11077/2025 puts portable and fixed ramps on the SAPA list, prescribed by a multidisciplinary team and a physiatrist, and funded by ISS. We could not confirm whether it covers the building work of a fixed ramp at home. ### Is there help from the Acessibilidades 360 programme? The Home Interventions Programme (call no. 5/C03-i02/2023) included ramps and took applications, through municipalities, until 30 November 2023. We found no open call. --- Source: https://casasemdegraus.pt/en/guides/access-ramp-home-steps. Independent information, not legal or tax advice.