Urban construction regime set for final vote

The bill amending Law 14/2021 – Legal Regime for Urban Construction has completed detailed discussion in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) Third Standing Committee.
According to an AL statement, the final details and the committee’s legal opinion were finalized yesterday, completing all required procedures.

The bill will now move to the plenary for a final vote.

As AL noted, the bill aims primarily to align with the amendment to the Law on the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage, so that certain minor exterior remodeling works can be carried out on buildings located in cultural heritage protection zones without requiring a special permit.

Furthermore, the new law proposes exempting the prior notification requirement for the demolition of low-risk illegal constructions and relaxing the licensing requirement for public works and those carried out by certain concessionary companies.

The committee agreed with the legislative orientation of the proposed law and, during the review process, presented several suggestions for improving its content, all of which the proponent accepted.

Under the current law, the demolition of illegal constructions is generally subject to prior notification to the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU), which has been considered an unnecessary bureaucratic step.

To encourage citizens to demolish low-risk illegal constructions on their own initiative, the proposed law removes this requirement.
Another change to be enforced by the new law is that, from June 1, 2026, the duties of naming public roads and assigning building numbers will be transferred from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) to the DSSCU.

The proposed law will soon be voted on in plenary as scheduled by the president of the AL. When approved, the articles relating to the transfer of IAM’s duties to DSSCU will take effect on June 1, while the remaining articles will take effect one month later, on July 1.