Decree-Law no. 10/2024 of 8 January, known as the Simplex Urbanístico, amended the Legal Regime of Urbanisation and Building (RJUE). The decree removes several operations from the licence requirement and gives the developer more time to act after a favourable answer from the council. It came into force on 4 March 2024, and the changes to article 6 of the RJUE apply from 1 January 2024.
Fewer licences, more prior notifications
The decree created new cases of prior notification (comunicação prévia), which replace the urban licence. For operations subject to prior notification, the applicant cannot choose the licensing route (article 4(6) of the RJUE).
More works exempt from prior control
Article 6 of the RJUE exempts from prior control alteration works inside buildings or units that improve, do not harm or do not affect the structural stability, that do not change the building heights (cérceas) or the shape of the facades and roofs, and that do not remove facade tiles. It also exempts reconstruction and extension works that do not raise the facade height, even if they add floors and usable area. Check the conditions for your works in the text of the article before you assume they are exempt.
A favourable PIP: exemption from prior control and two years to act
A favourable prior information decision (PIP, pedido de informação prévia) issued under article 14(2) and (3), with the statements in points a) to f) of article 14(2), exempts the operation from prior control. The same applies when the PIP concerns an area covered by a detail plan or a subdivision operation (article 17(2)). These operations must start within two years of the favourable decision and always carry a declaration from the authors and the project coordinator that they respect the content, terms and conditions of the PIP (article 17(5)).
After the two years, the developer can ask the mayor for a declaration that the factual and legal assumptions still hold. The mayor decides within 20 days. If the assumptions hold, or if the council does not answer in time, the developer has one year to submit the licence application or the prior notification (article 17(6)). The preamble of the decree-law describes the change as extending the validity of a favourable PIP from one year to two.
Public road and use
When an operation needs a licence to occupy the public road, for example with skips or scaffolding, the applicant can include that request in the licence application or the prior notification, with no further formality. The permission sits in the same title as the operation (article 4(7) and (8)).
After an operation subject to prior control, the use of the building needs no separate permitting act (article 4(5)). The use of new buildings or units after construction works exempt from prior control under point a) of article 6(1) is subject to a prior notification with a deadline (article 62-C).
Before you decide
The RJUE has been amended several times, and the version in force is the one that counts. Check the consolidated text in the Diário da República and confirm with the municipal council how your operation is classed. For a new plot, the PIP remains the most direct way to get the council's position in writing before you spend on design. This text is informative and does not replace legal advice.
Photo: Timur Seyfelmlyukov, Unsplash.