Insights
The 21st amendment of the RJUE: what changes in building licensing from 3 August 2026
Portuguese building licensing is about to change again, and this time the change is structural. Decree-Law 108/2026, of 29 May, enacts the 21st amendment of the Legal Regime of Urbanisation and Building (RJUE) and takes effect on 3 August 2026. Its declared purpose is to fix the implementation problems of the 2024 «Simplex Urbanístico»: more flexible procedures, shorter deadlines, clearer concepts and legally secure titles for applicants.
For anyone preparing a project, or with an application pending at the municipal council, the implications are immediate. What changes in practice, without unnecessary legalese: prior notification as the default procedure, the end of the screening phase in notifications, the new deadlines, the return of urban planning titles and the reduction of the nullity period to three years.
Where this reform comes from
Decree-Law 10/2024 (the Simplex Urbanístico) deeply reshaped the prior control of urban development operations, but its application revealed practical difficulties: interpretative doubts, fragile titles, municipalities with diverging readings. DL 108/2026, adopted under the legislative authorisation of Law 9-B/2026, answers those problems by amending four instruments at once: the RJUE (which is republished), DL 10/2024 itself, the Urban Rehabilitation Regime and the General Regulation of Urban Buildings (RGEU), whose repeal, note, was postponed, a topic we covered in our article on the end of the RGEU and the future Building Code.
The new rules apply to procedures started from 3 August 2026 and, in addition, to certain categories of applications submitted before that date, namely those still at an early stage (screening and preliminary assessment), under the decree's transitional regime, meaning many pending files may change rules mid-course.
Prior notification as the rule, without screening
The legislator's central choice is clear: whenever the planning parameters are already defined, in particular where there are detailed plans, execution units or subdivision operations fixing alignments, building footprint, height, number of floors and uses, or in a consolidated urban area where the works respect the plans and do not exceed the most frequent height of the street front, the operation follows the prior notification procedure («comunicação prévia»). Licensing remains essentially for subdivisions and urbanisation works, interventions on listed buildings (or buildings undergoing listing) and their protection zones, and demolitions not integrated in a reconstruction.
The most impactful novelty is in how prior notification works: the screening and preliminary assessment phase disappears. Once the notification is submitted, the fees paid and the start date communicated, the operation may proceed immediately, the municipality can no longer request additional elements as a condition for starting the works. Control becomes successive: the municipality has one year to verify the project's compliance with legal and regulatory norms, while keeping, at any time, the power to check that the works match the submitted designs.
It is an enormous gain in speed, and an equivalent transfer of responsibility. The quality and compliance of the design now rest, almost entirely, on the specialty engineering designs and the technical designers' terms of responsibility. An error that used to be caught at screening will now be caught with the works under way, or finished.
Shorter deadlines and tacit decisions
In general terms, in the licensing procedure the deadlines are shortened and disciplined, with typical deadlines such as:
- Screening and preliminary assessment: 20 days, with 10 days for the applicant to correct the application, no extension;
- Architectural design assessment: 30 days, extendable only once, with tacit approval if the administration stays silent;
- Final decision, 20 days for building and demolition works, with tacit approval; 45 days for subdivisions; 30 days for urbanisation and land remodelling works;
- Specialty designs, submission within 6 months of the architectural approval, extendable once by up to 3 months;
- Partial licence: the possibility of a partial licence for the structure right after the architectural design is approved is kept.
The deadlines above correspond to the new wording of the RJUE and to the technical summaries published by the professional bodies; they should be confirmed against the consolidated text of the decree and the applicable municipal regulation.
Tacit approval stops being an uncertain figure: the decree clarifies the document that evidences it, integrating it into the new system of urban planning titles.
The return of urban planning titles
One of the strongest criticisms of the 2024 Simplex was documentary fragility: with the traditional permit gone in many cases, developers, banks and notaries no longer knew with certainty which document titled the operation. The new regime of urban planning titles, set out in the RJUE as republished by DL 108/2026, responds to this criticism by reintroducing clear urban planning titles, composed of the standard application form with a summary of the operation, proof of payment of fees and, depending on the case, the notice of express approval, the proof of submission (for tacit approval) or the declaration of conformity. For anyone buying, financing or insuring a property, it is a welcome return of legal certainty: a topic we develop in our pre-purchase feasibility checklist.
Application file, external consultations and the PIP
On the instruction side, the decree splits consultations of external entities into two groups: those related to location (agricultural and ecological reserves, easements) continue to be promoted by the case manager, through the regional coordination commission; those not related to location must now be obtained beforehand by the applicant and delivered with the initial application or the notification. In practice, part of the administrative work moves to the preparation phase: one more reason for rigorous instruction, along the lines of our article on the documentary elements of Ministerial Order 71-A/2024.
In the prior information request (PIP), the binding nature of the information provided is reinforced, the application of the «qualified» PIP to subdivision operations is clarified, and it is no longer possible to change the design after the prior hearing. For works exempt from control based on a favourable PIP, the specialty designs and terms of responsibility must now be submitted with the communication of the start of works.
Reconstruction: the «last valid precedent»
The decree revises the concepts of building, reconstruction, alteration and extension, and introduces the notion of the «last valid precedent». Reconstruction works limited to restoring the formal composition of the façades and roof of the last valid precedent become exempt from licensing and prior notification, with structural material changes and corrections strictly necessary for safety and salubrity allowed. For the rehabilitation of older building stock, including in urban rehabilitation areas, it is a simplification with real impact, provided the legal situation of the property is documented, which is not always the case in buildings with a history of unlicensed works.
Nullity and lapsing: shorter windows, tougher rules
Two movements in opposite directions deserve attention:
- More certainty for those who build: the period for the administrative declaration of nullity of licences and PIP decisions is reduced to 3 years, with administrative and popular actions lapsing within the same period (except for national monuments and protection zones, and criminal cases). The successive control of prior notifications lapses after one year;
- More demands on subdividers: the subdivision licence or notification now lapses if the building works foreseen in the subdivision are not started within the deadline set in the title, which may only exceptionally exceed 10 years. Holding plots «in waiting» stops being neutral.
The transitional regime further determines that the new lapsing periods apply to situations already constituted, for prior notifications submitted before entry into force, the one-year successive control period counts from 3 August 2026, under the terms set out in the transitional regime.
What to do if you have a pending application
- check which stage your file is at, those pending at an early stage (screening and preliminary assessment) may change rules on 3 August, under the transitional regime;
- reassess the procedural framing of the project: operations that followed licensing may switch to prior notification;
- anticipate the external consultations not related to location, which become the applicant's responsibility;
- reinforce the rigour of the designs and the application file, with successive control, errors are no longer filtered by the municipality before the works;
- keep and organise the new urban planning titles, essential in future sales and financing.
Frequently asked questions
When does Decree-Law 108/2026 take effect?
On 3 August 2026. It applies to procedures started after that date and to certain applications submitted before it, under the transitional regime, in particular those still at the screening and preliminary assessment stage.
Does prior notification become the standard procedure?
Yes, whenever planning parameters are already defined: detailed plan, execution unit, subdivision or consolidated urban area. Licensing remains essentially for subdivisions, urbanisation works, listed buildings and protection zones.
What does it mean that prior notification loses its screening phase?
Once the notification is submitted, fees paid and the start of works communicated, construction may begin immediately. The municipality controls afterwards: one year to verify the project's legal compliance and, at any time, whether the works match the designs.
What are the new decision deadlines?
Screening: 20 days. Architectural design: 30 days, with tacit approval. Final decision: 20 days for building and demolition, 45 for subdivisions, 30 for urbanisation. Specialty designs: 6 months, extendable by up to 3.
What changes in the nullity regime?
The period for declaring nullity and for challenges is reduced to 3 years, more legal certainty for those who build and those who buy, except for national monuments and criminally relevant cases.
Closing notes
The 21st amendment of the RJUE trades prior control for speed, and speed for responsibility. In a system where the municipality checks less and later, the design, the application file and the terms of responsibility become the owner's real guarantee. That is exactly where an integrated architecture and engineering team makes the difference. If you are preparing a licensing application or have a pending file and want to understand how these rules affect you, talk to the CertiAmb team, we analyse the framing and run the process end to end.
This article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or technical advice. Each situation should be assessed individually by a qualified professional.