The legislation introduced in Parliament aims to reduce timelines to minimize contextual costs associated with construction activities and expedite housing construction.
Under the housing strategy “Building Portugal,” the government seeks to streamline procedures, expedite timelines, clarify concepts, ensure the existence of legally secure titles, and regulate the stages of instruction, sanitation, and prior hearing of interested parties, the document states.
Most urban operations will now be executed following a “prior communication,” without requiring administrative acts, as is currently the case. This change aims to allow work to commence within a minimum of eight days after prior communication, aligning with governmental objectives.
Recognizing that prior communication no longer acts as a control mechanism for urban operations, given the municipal intervention at the stage of formal verification of document submission, the government suggests “self-accountability” by the interested parties for delivering necessary documentation and fully complying with legal and regulatory standards.
While emphasizing the informational nature of prior communication, municipal services are urged to reinforce inspection actions and responsibility mechanisms for developers in case of non-compliance.
Licensing processes will see the removal of timelines linked to the gross construction area. Intermediate deadlines will instead adjust to operational complexity, allowing simpler projects to be decided upon swiftly, with potential extensions for more complex operations as determined by the municipality.
During the assessment phase, consultations with relevant entities will be triggered simultaneously once the process is adequately documented, thus preventing projects from being stalled with one body awaiting decisions.
Urban rates will be paid through self-assessment by interested parties across project phases, with municipalities required to ensure clarity in values or formulae used for calculating dues.
The legislation clarifies what constitutes reconstruction, alteration, expansion, and building work, specifying that reconstruction work remains exempt from licensing or prior communication procedures.
This exemption also covers reconstruction in protected or pending classification areas, as well as urban operations by local municipalities, the state, public institutes, public real estate investment funds, universities, polytechnics, and public companies, or those intended for urgent or temporary accommodation, and residential facilities. It also includes subdivision operations, urbanization work, or land remodeling by cooperatives and private entities for housing purposes, among others.
Changes to the RJUE require approval from the Assembly of the Republic. Initially, the government aimed to secure legislative authorization by the end of the year to conclude the process in the first quarter of 2026.
