The Decree-Law introduces substantial changes to the Legal Regime of Territorial Management Instruments (RJIGT), focusing on simplifying and making the land reclassification process more flexible, in addition to creating a favorable regime for housing and urban projects. Below are the main legal aspects that can directly affect the performance of professionals in the area:
1. Reclassification of Rural Land to Urban:
- Special Reclassification Regime: Establishes a new approach to the conversion of rustic land into urban land, with more flexible criteria and procedures. However, this process can only be justified by clear public needs, such as social, environmental or economic issues.
- The reclassification requires due grounding in values of public interest.
2. Moderate-Priced Housing:
- Price Definition and Limitations: Introduces the concept of moderate-value housing, with a price limit for real estate construction that should not exceed the national median or 125% of that median. The measure aims to facilitate access to housing.
3. Simplification of Administrative Procedures:
- Streamlining of Procedures: the new regime aims to speed up the approval of urbanization and construction projects with a simpler licensing process.
4. Possible Conflicts with Environmental Protection Areas:
- The decree-law may allow the reclassification of soil in areas classified as National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) or National Ecological Reserve (REN), which raises concerns about environmental protection and the obligation of public consultation. Lack of adequate safeguards can result in litigation related to compliance with environmental standards.
5. Challenges in Urban Quality Control:
- The relaxation of urban planning standards can lead to an increase in the number of low-quality projects, especially in areas where there is pressure for development. The risk of disrespect for urban planning and territorial planning can result in legal disputes, especially in cases of violation of urban planning and land use standards.
6. Supervision and Responsibility of Public Agents:
- With the new regime, there is the possibility of greater delegation of powers to local authorities and other bodies. This can generate legal questions about liability in case of errors in assessment or excess of authority in the soil reclassification process.
7. Conclusion:
Decree-Law No. 117/2024 is an important milestone in territorial management and can benefit the real estate sector by allowing the creation of more urban areas and affordable housing. However, it also raises challenges in terms of environmental protection and quality of urbanism.
