Within the scope of Simplex for urban licensing the Government intends that work can begin after a minimum period of eight days, after prior communicationwithout “being dependent on any administrative act”, as is currently the case.
The objective is to speed up the licensing processes for housing construction, in order to speed up the placement of more homes on the market as quickly as possible.
This is one of the measures contained in the proposed law that the Government presented this Tuesday in the Assembly of the Republic – approved on November 28th in the Council of Ministers.
In the same document it is also clear that, with regard to prior communication — and assuming that this act no longer constituted a mechanism for prior control of urban operations, since municipal intervention only occurred in the “formal verification of document delivery” phase — the Government proposes, as an alternative, the “self-responsibility” of interested partieseither by delivering the necessary instructional elements or by fully complying with legal and regulatory standards.
Accusations of delays in support payments are “misunderstandings”
At the same time, the “eminently informative nature” of prior communication is reinforced, highlighting that municipal services must reinforce “inspection actions, as well as mechanisms for effective accountability of promoters, in case of non-compliance”.
The importance of the role of municipalities
In a first analysis of the measures in the Government’s proposed law, Sónia Lourenço, senior associate in the Real Estate area at PRA – Miranda, Sá Raposo & Associados, Lawyers’ Office, highlights that the implementation of the planned measures “will depend on the way in which they are implemented — and subsequently monitored — by the municipalities”, also referring to the important role of the “economic agents” themselves in this process. A relevant point, according to the PRA lawyer, is to understand to what extent “the municipalities will be able to monitor and how they will implement the new measures”.
It should be noted that the proposed law, according to the presentation document, is intended to “eliminate and correct” the various constraints created by the previous Simplex legislation — Decree-Law no. Building (RJUE), approved by Decree-Law no. 555/99, of December 16th.
Nuno Fox
Greater confidence for investors
Still on these changes proposed by the Government, Sónia Lourenço highlights that they have “potential to produce results” and to bring “greater dynamics to construction”, giving “greater confidence to investors and developers to invest in the housing market”.
The PRA lawyer highlights the fact that the diploma presents “a set of less dubious situations” than the current Simplex regime, highlighting the importance of aspects such as “the reduction of licenses” and “prior control measures”, which will allow for the reduction of bureaucracy in the licensing processcontributing to the reduction of “work deadlines and costs”.
The diploma also provides for a set of other measures such as, in the assessment phase – to prevent projects from being stuck in a single body waiting for a decision -, it becomes possible for consultations with the various entities that have to comment to be activated at the same stage, “as soon as the process is duly instructed”.
Regarding urban fees, the diploma warns of the need for municipalities to ensure “the clarity of values or calculation formulas of the amounts owed”, allowing them to be paid through self-assessment by those interested in the various phases of the projects.
Exemption from procedures for classified properties
The diploma also clarifies what reconstruction, alteration, expansion and building works are, establishing that “reconstruction works remain exempt from licensing procedures or prior communication”.
The exemption from procedures also applies to reconstruction in protection zones of properties classified or in the process of being classifiedas well as urban operations by local authorities, the State, public institutes — including public real estate investment funds — universities and polytechnics and public companies, or intended for urgent or temporary accommodation and residential equipment.
The same exemption also covers subdivision operations, urbanization or construction works and remodeling of land promoted by cooperatives. and private entities for housing purposes, among others.
The Government plans to obtain legislative authorization by the end of the year, in order to complete the process during the first quarter of 2026.
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