Amendment to the Legal Framework for Urbanisation and Building (RJUE)

Decree-Law no. 108/2026, of 29 May

June 2026

1. OBJECT AND FRAMEWORK

Decree-Law no. 108/2026, of 29 May, with the aim of overcoming the feasibility constraints resulting from the changes introduced by Decree-Law no. 10/2024, of 8 January, to the RJUE, amends this law in order to make procedures more flexible, speed up deadlines, clarify concepts, ensure the existence of legally secure titles and regulate the phases of instruction, sanitation and prior hearing of interested parties.

The law amends the following regimes:

• General Regulations for Urban Buildings (RGEU)
• Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building (RJUE)
• Legal Regime for Urban Rehabilitation (RJRU)
• Decree-Law no. 10/2024 of 8 January

The law makes most urban planning operations carried out in contexts where the urban planning parameters are previously defined subject to the prior communication procedure, reinforcing the self-responsibility of the interested party and the technicians.

The changes to the RJUE come into force on the first working day of the 3rd month following publication (3 August 2026) and apply to procedures started after that date and to those that, having started before, are still in the sanitation and preliminary assessment phase (articles 12 and 13 of DL 108/2026).

This newsletter analyses the main changes to the RJUE, with a critical analysis of the main innovations to be made after the publication of the regulatory ordinances.

 I. Revised and new concepts:

• Adjustments and clarifications have been made to the concepts of building, reconstruction works, alteration works, extension works, subdivision operations and urban planning operations (article 2 of the RJUE) and the concepts "charges due" and "last valid antecedent" have been introduced.

• "Reconstructionworks" are now defined as the reconstitution of the formal composition of all façades (dimensions and relationships between spans), maintenance of overhanging/recessed bodies and roofing; alterations to structural materials and constructive corrections that are strictly necessary for safety and health are permitted - an increase in area/volume is defined as an extension (Article 2(c)), and these works are now exempt from the licensing or prior notification procedure when they correspond to the replacement of the last valid antecedent.

 II. scope of urban planning procedures and titles - articles 4 and 4-A

Forms of procedure:

• Licence,
• Mere prior communication ("comunicação prévia" or "comunicação"); and
• Prior communication with a deadline (Article 4(1)).

Subject to licence (Article 4(2)):

• Allotments, urbanisation works and land remodelling not covered by prior communication (points a) to c)).
• Interventions in classified/in the process of being classified properties, as part of classified/in the process of being classified complexes/sites, and works in protection zones, with express exceptions (point d)).
• Demolitions not provided for in a reconstruction licence (point f)).

Subject to prior notification (Article 4(4)):

• Construction/alteration/expansion/demolition works in an area with a detailed plan, execution unit or subdivision operation that define at least: alignments, implantation polygon, total height/height of façades, number of floors, maximum number of dwellings, construction area and uses (point d), sub-points i) to iii)).
• Consolidated urban area: works that respect the plans and do not exceed the most frequent height of the built frontage in the section, without being subject to compromise (point e)).
• Use/change of use after works subject to control;

Prior notification with a deadline:

• Use/change of use not preceded by works subject to a licence, prior communication or favourable prior information (Article 4(5); Article 62b).

Urban planning titles (Article 4-A):

• The figure of the urban title has been reintroduced by means of application templates summarising the operation (licence, PIP, communication, communication with deadline), together with proof of payment of the fees and, as the case may be, notification of approval or proof of submission (tacit approval) and declaration of conformity (Article 4-A, paragraphs 1, 2 and 4).
• Licence: proof of payment + last application (summary of the operation) + notification of express approval or proof of submission (tacit approval) (no. 2).
• Prior notification and notification with a deadline: proof of payment + notification template and proof of submission; notification with a deadline includes, where applicable, a declaration of conformity (no. 4).
• Assignments: the title includes proof of assignment where applicable (no. 5).

Clearance and preliminary assessment

• Elimination of the sanitation and preliminary assessment phase in the prior communication procedure;
• Once the prior communication has been submitted, the due fees have been paid and the date for starting work has been communicated, the operation can proceed immediately, with the municipal intervention being referred to successive control, to be carried out within one year (as regards compliance with legal and regulatory standards);
• It is no longer possible for municipalities to request additional information before the start of the work.

External consultations (articles 13-A and 13-B)

• Consultations related to location: promoted by the procedure manager, via the CCDR, as soon as it is concluded that the application has been correctly analysed (article 13-A, no. 1).
• Consultations not related to location: must be requested in advance by the interested party and must be submitted with the initial application or prior notification (article 13-B, paragraphs 1 and 2).
• This autonomisation seeks to move the obtaining of sectoral opinions that condition the use of the building or fraction to the time of the initial instruction.

 II.2 Time limits 

II.3 Requests for prior information

• The applicability of the qualified PIP is clarified when allotment operations are involved;
• The informative nature of both the generic PIP (no. 1) and the qualified PIP (no. 2) is reinforced and it is no longer possible to submit changes to the project after the prior hearing;
• In the case of works exempt from a licence or communication based on a favourable PIP, it is now compulsory to submit the speciality projects, other instructional elements and terms of responsibility at the time of communicating the start of work.

II.4 Licensing

• Time limits by procedural type (article 23): building and demolition works (20 days); subdivisions (45 days); urbanisation and land remodelling (30 days); assessment of the architectural project (30 days).
• Exceptional extension and partial licence:
  • Single extension for the same period;
  • Partial licence for structure after approval of architectural project
• Amendments and tacit approval:
  • A single submission of amended elements after prior hearing, with the possibility of further consultations depending on the amendments submitted;
  • Clarification of the title proving the formation of tacit approval;

II.5 The use of buildings - articles 62 to 65

• Mere prior communication is maintained for use in urban operations preceded by licensing or prior communication, to which is added those preceded by a favourable qualified PIP;
• It is once again possible for the term of responsibility for use to be signed by a technician qualified as a construction manager or inspection manager, when the original technicians can no longer sign.

III. Substantive issues

III.1 Urban planning charges and nullities

• Urban planning charges, fees and assignments
  • "Charges due": include bonds, compensation and other payments in addition to fees (Article 2(q)).
  • Assignments: amendment and clarification of the rules regarding plots to be assigned for public housing, controlled costs or affordable rent (article 44).

• Validity, nullity, expiry and protection of legality
  • The new Article 35(10) of the RJUE establishes that the successive control of the legal and regulatory compliance of the projects and other instructional elements of the prior communication lapses within 1 (one) year, counting from the date of payment of the fees and other charges due or, if later, from the date of the start of use of the building or fraction.
  • The transitional regime in article 12 of the law states that the provisions on limitation periods also apply to legal situations that have already arisen, which includes prior communications already submitted before the law came into force, and in these cases the new limitation period is counted from that date (entry into force).
  • Distinction between "successive control" and "administrative supervision": the expiry of the one-year period causes the successive control of the legal and regulatory compliance of the prior communication's instructional elements to lapse, but does not affect the exercise, at all times, of administrative supervision, aimed at verifying the conformity of the work with the projects and other elements submitted.
  • The time compression of successive control does not eliminate municipal powers of urban inspection or measures to protect urban legality, which continue to be based on articles 93 et seq. and 102 et seq. of the RJUE.
  • The time limit for the administrative declaration of the nullity of licensing acts and decisions on requests for prior information is reduced to three years, also causing the right to bring administrative and popular actions to lapse within the same period, without prejudice to the exception relating to national monuments and their respective protection zones [article 69, no. 4].
  • When the facts giving rise to the nullity include the commission of a criminal offence, the time limit is extended to the length of the applicable criminal limitation period [Article 69(5)].
  • Article 70 reaffirms the municipality's civil liability for actions and omissions carried out in violation of the RJUE, including damages resulting from urban planning operations carried out on the basis of illegal administrative acts carried out within the scope of licensing procedures, prior communication or prior communication with a deadline [article 70, paragraphs 1 and 2], also providing for hypotheses of joint and several liability that are specifically typified (paragraph 3).
  • Article 71 now expressly states that the licence or prior communication of the subdivision operation expires if the building works provided for in the subdivision are not started within the time limit set in the respective title, which time limit must respect the maximum limits that may be provided for in a territorial management instrument or municipal regulation, and may only, exceptionally and in justified cases, be longer than 10 years [Article 71(1)(c)].
  • This solution makes the maintenance of the allotment's effectiveness dependent not only on its title and the execution of the urbanisation works, but also on the actual construction of the plots within the time horizon defined in the title, introducing a more demanding discipline with regard to the material execution of the allotment operations [article 71(1)(c)].

• Supervision and administrative offences
  • Administrative supervision of all operations, covering the exterior and interior aspects of buildings, exclusively with regard to compliance with legal rules (article 93, paragraphs 1 and 2).
  • Adjusted administrative offences: operations without a title (article 98, no. 1, point r)); execution without start information/without mandatory elements (point c)); use without communication or in non-compliance (point d)); failure to send proof of payment (point u)); among others (articles 98 and 99-A).