Turnkey modular home: what does 'included' really mean?

Direct answer: a legitimate turnkey contract delivers a home habitable on the day of key handover — with occupancy licence, active meters, equipped kitchen, installed sanitary ware, flooring laid, ventilation running and energy certificate. All that's missing is your personal furniture. If anything on this list is missing, it's not turnkey — it's halfway there with surprises to come.

The term "turnkey" is used loosely by many builders in Portugal. This article gives you an item-by-item checklist to identify honest quotes and avoid €30-50k surprises at the end of the build.

What 'turnkey' should mean (strict definition)

A turnkey contract is a construction agreement in which the builder delivers a fully completed, licensed and habitable work, for a fixed price and within a pre-agreed timeline. The client pays the agreed amount in predefined tranches and receives a home in which:

• The occupancy licence has been issued by the municipal council.
• Water, electricity, gas and telecom meters are active.
• All technical installations have passed the tests required by law.
• The energy certificate has been issued and handed over.
• The interior is ready: flooring, painting, installed sanitary ware, equipped kitchen, fitted doors, false ceilings finished.
• There is no pending technical task that would prevent moving in and living from the next day.

Item-by-item checklist: what should be in the contract

Before signing, demand a detailed list from your builder, by category. An Ecoimport Wood turnkey proposal includes, for example:

Design and licensing

• Architectural project with dimensioned floor plans, elevations, sections and descriptive memory.
• Structural and thermal engineering (current SCE / DL 101-D/2020, successor to REH).
• Acoustic engineering (RRAE).
• Electrical and ITED (telecoms) engineering.
• Gas, water, drainage and SCIE (fire safety) engineering.
• All municipal fees and duties.
• Final municipal inspection and issuance of the occupancy licence.

Foundations and siting

• Earthworks (excavation and levelling).
• Footings and reinforced concrete foundation beams.
• 15 cm reinforced concrete slab with calculated reinforcement.
• 60 mm XPS insulation under the slab (eliminates thermal bridge).
• Waterproofing and damp-proofing.

Building envelope (walls, roof, slab)

• Multilayer Passive House panel-frame, produced at a partner European factory.
• Continuous insulation (mineral wool or blown-in cellulose) 250-300 mm equivalent.
• Vapour barrier and vapour-permeable membrane.
• Exterior cladding of your choice (timber slats, fibre cement or metal panel).
• Openings (windows and exterior doors) with high-performance PVC or aluminium frames, low-emissivity double or triple glazing.
• Roof with thermal insulation and drainage system.

Technical installations

• Complete electrical network, distribution board with differential breakers.
• Cold and hot water network, plumbing.
• Domestic drainage connected to the public network or septic tank (depending on location).
• Gas network (if applicable) or preparation for heat pump.
• ITED network (fibre optic, cable TV, phone).
• Mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR).
• Heat pump for domestic hot water.
• Renewable-energy system for domestic hot water (thermal solar panels, heat pump or dedicated PV — Portuguese DL 101-D/2020 requires a renewable contribution to DHW while allowing equivalent alternatives to solar thermal).

Interior finishes

• Flooring: floating hardwood or ceramic tile from the standard line.
• Ceramic tiling in bathrooms and kitchen.
• Interior painting (walls and ceilings).
• False ceilings with recessed LED lighting in corridors and technical areas.
• Interior doors in lacquered MDF or wood.
• Skirting boards and joint finishes.

Equipment

• Equipped standard-line kitchen: upper and lower cabinets, worktop, extractor, hob, oven, fridge, dishwasher.
• Complete bathrooms: basin, WC, shower tray or bath, taps.
• Vitreous china fixtures (WC and basin).
• Standard bathroom furniture.

Final handover

• Energy certificate.
• Home operation and maintenance manual.
• Certificates for all installations.
• Pre-handover professional cleaning.
• Joint inspection with the client and signing of acceptance report.
• Key handover and activation of the 10-year structural warranty.

What is NOT included (and it's fair to say so)

For the full picture, some items are not part of the standard base price. They can be added to the quote, but they're explicitly listed:

• Land: separate cost, highly variable by municipality.
• Swimming pool: separate quote (from €15,000 for a 5×2.5 m pool with equipment).
• Garden, landscaping and vegetation: ground levelling and seeding/lawn included, but not plants or complex landscape structures.
• Perimetre walls, gates and railings: separate quote depending on lot configuration.
• Furniture outside the kitchen: bedrooms, living room, office — brought by the client.
• Advanced security systems: alarm, CCTV, premium home automation — optional.
• Utility connections to the public water and electricity networks when the plot is very distant (>50 m) — can represent €3,000-8,000 depending on distance.
• Premium glass shower enclosures, specific-brand taps, top-of-the-line sanitary ware: replaces the standard line if you want to upgrade.

Warning signs in a 'turnkey' quote

Before signing, check whether the quote shows:

1. Price presented without VAT — you'll be adding 23% at the end. Always ask for the final amount "VAT included".
2. Automatic price revision clauses — these let the builder raise the price if material costs rise. A serious turnkey absorbs that risk.
3. Vague list of finishes — "equipped kitchen" without indicating brand, "quality flooring" without specifying model. This opens the door to economy solutions you weren't expecting.
4. No binding timeline — if there is no delivery date with a late-delivery penalty, the builder has no incentive to accelerate.
5. Exclusion of municipal licensing — if this item falls to the client, it costs 5-15% additional in fees, projects and personal time.
6. "Preparation for X" instead of "Installation of X" — "preparation for a heat pump" means they leave pipes but don't install the equipment.

How to compare quotes honestly

When you receive proposals from several builders, use this comparison grid:

If two builders say "turnkey" but one fills in the table and the other can't, the price difference will appear at the end — generally between 15% and 30% in additional costs.

"Turnkey isn't a marketing adjective. It's a defined contractual arrangement with clear duties. If it isn't in writing, it doesn't count."

Typical payment structure

A well-structured turnkey contract divides payment by verifiable milestones, not by calendar dates:

• 20% at contract signing (kick-off of the architectural project)
• 15% at municipal submission for licensing
• 25% at the start of industrial panel production
• 25% on panel delivery to the plot
• 15% at final key handover

Each tranche is tied to a verifiable delivery. If any delivery slips, the next tranche is also deferred — protecting the client from a builder asking for money without delivering.

Conclusion

"Turnkey" is a simple concept: deliver a habitable home, with no pending tasks, for a fixed price and within a binding timeline. In practice, many quotes use the term without meeting these three criteria. The difference between an honest contract and a marketing one can cost you €30-50k and several months of stress.

Ecoimport Wood delivers turnkey with all the items listed in this article, fixed price, binding timeline and late-delivery penalty. Ask us for the standard contract before signing a quote — you can compare it item by item against other builders.

10 mandatory questions to ask before signing a turnkey contract

A well-drafted turnkey contract prevents 90% of typical site problems. Before signing any proposal, put the following ten questions to the builder, demand written answers, and check that each has an exact counterpart in the contract clauses.

1. Does the price include VAT? VAT on new construction is 23% in mainland Portugal. A "price + VAT" proposal on 250,000€ adds 57,500€. Always demand a VAT-inclusive price to compare offers on the same basis.
2. Is there a price revision clause? If so, indexed to what — INE construction cost index, or the polynomial revision formula of DL 6/2004? Quarterly revision on 200,000€ can mean an extra 6,000€ over 18 months of works in an inflationary period.
3. What is the binding deadline and the late-delivery penalty? In serious contracts, the penalty is 0.1% to 0.3% of the works value per working day of delay, capped at 10% total. Without written penalty, the deadline is an indication, not a commitment.
4. Are payments tied to verifiable milestones? Each tranche should be paid only against physical delivery (foundations finished, panels erected, watertight roof, first blower door test). A flat monthly schedule signals financial risk to the client.
5. Which specific brands and models are contracted? "Quality single-lever tap" is not a spec; "Grohe Eurosmart 32467002" is. Demand an annex listing brand, model and reference for the top 20 items (windows, kitchen, sanitary, flooring, heating).
6. Are all sub-contractors legal and notified to the ACT? Prior notification to the Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho is mandatory. Ask for copies of notifications and proof that sub-contractors hold a valid AICCOPN licence for their trade.
7. Is the 10-year decennial warranty registered with a policy number? The 10-year cover on structural elements and 5 years on insulation and airtightness is only useful when actually insured. Ask for the policy number, insurer (reference brands: Fidelidade, Generali, Zurich) and a copy of the policy.
8. Are SCIE and ITED included? The Fire Safety in Buildings (SCIE) design and the Telecommunications Infrastructure in Buildings (ITED) design are mandatory by law but often omitted from "cheap" bids. Separate cost if not included: 1,800€ to 3,200€.
9. Is the occupancy licence issued at the end? Without the licença de utilização issued by the City Hall you cannot legally occupy nor register the property with the tax authority. The builder must handle everything, including the final Term of Responsibility, as-built drawings and inspection.
10. What happens if the builder goes bankrupt mid-way? Demand an on-first-demand bank guarantee or equivalent surety insurance for 10% of the works value, callable directly by the client. It is the only effective protection against a stoppage caused by the builder's financial trouble.

If any of these questions is left without a written answer or a matching clause in the contract, it is not turnkey — it is a sale with risk transferred to the client. It is always worth paying a construction-law solicitor to review the contract before signing. The cost (400 to 900€) is negligible compared with the risks.

Figures and comparisons shown are 2026 market estimates and may vary by project, plot and supplier.

→ Get your detailed turnkey quote (48h) or see our step-by-step process page to understand what happens after signing.