Rui Ribeiro Lima, Miguel Arnaud and Manuel Bragança Santos sign article on changes to the Land Law

Recent changes to the Land Law bring new rules for the reclassification of rustic land for housing, allowing the conversion of land for housing and complementary purposes. The legislation requires that 700/1000 of the total above-ground area be set aside for public or moderate-value housing and introduces a simplified procedure for amending territorial plans, subject to a 20-working-day public consultation.

Rui Ribeiro Lima, Miguel Arnaud and Manuel Bragança Santos wrote the article ‘Housing at the core of the amendment to the legal framework for land use plans’, published in Vida Imobiliária, in which they analyse the most recent changes to the Land Law (Legal Framework for Land Management Instruments - RJIGT), introduced by Decree-Law no. 117/2024, of 30 December.

In the article, the lawyers highlight the revision of the special regime for the reclassification of urban land for residential use, allowing the conversion of rustic land for residential and complementary use. However, they draw attention to the lack of a clear definition of complementary uses, which could lead to interpretative challenges.

One of the main innovations discussed is the requirement that 700/1000 of the total area above ground be used for public housing or housing of moderate value, a concept whose definition is detailed in the article. The authors also analyse the maintenance of the simplified procedure for reclassifying land for industrial, logistics and storage activities, as well as the new possibilities for simplified amendments to land use plans, through a public consultation of 20 working days.

Read the full article below ‘Housing at the core of the amendment to the legal framework for land use plans’.