Lisbon, Jan. 23, 2025 (Lusa) - The law that amends the Legal Framework for Territorial Management Instruments (RJIGT), allowing the reclassification of rustic land into urban land for housing, is drawing criticism from experts, environmentalists and politicians but is unlikely to be repealed in parliament on Friday.
Decree-Law 117/2024, of 30 December, which makes the 7th amendment to the RJIGT, approved by Decree-Law 80/2015, of 14 May, allows for the simplified reclassification of rustic land into urban land by resolution of municipal bodies, provided that it is intended for housing.
The president of Portugal countersigned the amendment to the RJIGT. However, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considered that the law constitutes "a significant twist in terms of the generic regime for land use and planning, at the national and local levels".
However, Bloco de Esquerda, PCP, Livre, and PAN have requested parliamentary scrutiny of the decree-law that makes construction on rural land more flexible, including in less protected areas of the national ecological (REN) and agricultural (RAN) reserves, with a view to its repeal. At the same time, the PS has said that it only wants the decree-law to be amended.
Here are the main points of the amendment to the RJIGT and the positions of civil society, academia and political parties and movements on the law.
*** Lack of debate and public fears ***
The legislative change was announced in general terms on 28 November and approved without prior public debate, but the intentions of Luís Montenegro's government (PSD/CDS-PP) immediately generated opposition from dozens of environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who, at the beginning of December, launched a manifesto repudiating construction in the REN and RAN, stating their opposition to "an agenda of property developers".
Organisations such as Associação Evoluir Oeiras, Associação Natureza Portugal/WWF, Campo Aberto, Fapas, GEOTA, Liga para a Proteção da Natureza (LPN), Quercus, Zero, SOS Quinta dos Ingleses and Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA) united "in support of public housing in consolidated urban areas", the rehabilitation of vacant properties and the "conversion of office buildings" into "affordable housing".
Also in December, 16 NGOs, including A Rocha and Almargem, expressed concern in an open letter, highlighting the essential natural characteristics of rustic soils, "suitable for agricultural, forestry, conservation and leisure activities", and that the change contradicts international commitments and could lead to agricultural fragmentation and forest destruction.
Zero also warned at the time that allowing construction on rural land in the RAN and REN jeopardises national land-use planning and protection principles, with decisions subject to different interpretations by municipal assemblies, risking construction on agricultural and environmentally important land.
Quercus also spoke out against making the law more flexible because, in its opinion, it would accelerate the risks associated with the climate crisis and property speculation.
Experts from the Laboratório Associado Terra, which brings together more than 400 researchers from the universities of Lisbon and Coimbra, warned of the risks of uncontrolled urbanisation. They warned that Sustainability in using natural resources is a fundamental premise for avoiding ecological and economic disasters.
*** Need to revisit the law ***
Although the law states that the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), the governing bodies of the Azores and Madeira and the Association of Architects were consulted, after publication, the professional association said that the reclassification of land in the REN and RAN "must be exceptional and duly substantiated", which is not safeguarded in the new law.
The Association called on the government to reopen and readjust the decree-law, considering it possible to improve the legislation and prevent land conversion by municipalities from being carried out "in a climate of mistrust".
More than 600 experts and former political leaders have criticised the government's measure in an open letter promoted by Rede H - National Network for Housing Studies, as they believe it will not solve the housing crisis and will harm the environment. "It will also fragment rustic soil that is essential to our food security and boost the sudden appreciation of rustic land for real estate purposes, inhibiting its productive use," they emphasised.
Among the signatories, who already number 2,400, are members of various PS and PSD governments, such as former governors Amílcar Theias, João Cravinho, Ana Pinho, Artur da Rosa Pires, Carlos Miguel, Carlos Pimenta and João Ferrão.
*** Parliamentary scrutiny and its effects *** The BE, PCP, Livre and PAN called for parliamentary consideration following public demonstrations against the law, particularly by architects Aitor Varea Oro, Sílvia Jorge and Helena Roseta, warning of an increase in speculative processes that are already highly inflated in the country, which raises questions about the transparency of this type of instrument that has now been liberalised.
In addition to Roseta's challenge, João Paulo Batalha, from the Civic Front Association, challenged parliament to "take matters into its own hands and put a legislative stop to this assault" on the territory, calling for the decree-law to be revised.
The 14 MPs who requested the parliamentary review also believe that the concept of moderate value laid down in the law will lead to a generalised increase in housing prices, except for Lisbon and Cascais, as well as in the rustic land itself that can be reclassified.
After hearings on the law in the Local Government and Territorial Cohesion and Economy, Public Works and Housing committees, it will be debated in plenary, with votes on draft resolutions to end its validity or proposals for amendments from the parties.
If the repeal is approved, the law will cease to apply as soon as it is published in the Diário da República and cannot be reinstated during the same legislative session. Still, if amendments are approved, the proposals will be sent back to the committees for specialised discussion before the final overall vote in plenary.
BE, PCP and PAN tabled motions for resolutions to terminate the law, while PS acknowledged only amendments to the document.
*** Main changes to the RJIGT ***
The government said in the decree-law that the greater availability of land "will facilitate the creation of housing solutions that meet the criteria of controlled costs and affordable sales, thus promoting greater social equity and allowing Portuguese families to have access to decent housing".
The special reclassification regime ensures that at least 700/1,000 of the total above-ground construction area is for public or moderate-value housing.
The government explained that it wouldn't be "cost-controlled" housing, but homes for the middle class, "weighting median values of the local and national markets, and defining maximum values to ensure greater equity".
The amendment to the RJIGT makes it possible, on an exceptional basis, to create construction areas on land that is compatible with the existing urban area, "while the prohibition on building on units of land with high suitability for agricultural use, under the terms" of the RAN, class A1 or class A and B soils, remains in force.
It will now be possible to build on land with "moderate aptitude for agricultural use", marginal or conditioned aptitude "for specific use", or soils with "high erosion risks" and "excess water or poor drainage".
As for the REN, "fundamental natural values and functions continue to be safeguarded, as well as preventing risks to people and property".
The reclassification to urban land of areas in the National System of Classified Areas, dangerous areas or those at risk of flooding, for example, and, among others, those covered by special coastal programmes, hydro-agricultural developments, watercourses or dunes, is prohibited.
However, it will be possible to build on REN in "strategic areas of infiltration and aquifer protection and recharge", "high risk of soil erosion" and "slope instability".
The reclassification to urban land "must unequivocally contribute to the consolidation of urban areas", states the decree-law, which, however, repeals the need to demonstrate the economic and financial sustainability of the land transformation, namely concerning the "unavailability of urban land in the existing urban area" and the impact of the urbanisation load on existing infrastructures.
*** Entry into force of the decree-law *** The decree comes into force 30 days after publication, on 30 December, but the rule with exceptions to the suspension of developable areas already took effect on 31 December.
The document stated that taking into account that on 31 December, "the deadline for integrating the land classification and classification rules into municipal and inter-municipal land-use plans ends", although that deadline remains, "it is possible to carry out urban planning operations for residential or related purposes".
Article 199 of the RJIGT stipulates that municipalities must review or amend their municipal or intermunicipal master plans by 31 December 2024 to adapt them to the rules on land classification and classification, under penalty of suspension of the rules on urbanisable areas or planned urbanisation included in the territorial plans in force.
The measure stems from the 2014 publication of the Soil Base Law, which distinguished between rural and urban land. It ended the classification of urbanisable or planned urbanisation, which had to be reviewed or altered in municipal plans according to their characteristics.
The deadlines for this review have been extended. The amendment to the RJIGT now introduces exceptions to the automatic suspension, providing that it does not apply to "urbanisable or planned urbanisation areas that have acquired the characteristics of urban land in the meantime", or "until the deadline for carrying out urbanisation works" defined in a detailed plan or urbanisation contract.
*** From the risk of ghettoisation to the costs for local authorities *** In a parliamentary hearing, architect Helena Roseta, considered that the risk of corruption posed by building on rustic land could be combated with transparency, by publicising government and local authority consultants, and she defended the need to justify changes in land use.
The former PSD and PS MP said that local authorities should use the measures at their disposal, such as increasing the Municipal Property Tax (IMI) for "houses that have been vacant" for a long time and warned of another "very dangerous" aspect, the possibility of building in agricultural areas, because "it will create ghettos of agricultural labourers".
The Deputy Minister for Territorial Cohesion told parliament that it would not be possible to build "in the middle of fields or forests", with the possibility of reclassifying rustic land as urban, and that the intention is to consolidate urban areas.
"It won't be possible to build houses in the middle of fields or forests. The new law expressly requires that the consolidation and coherence of the urbanisation with the existing urban area be ensured. The aim is to consolidate the urban fabric, fill in gaps or extend it coherently. There can be no dispersion or ghettoisation," said Manuel Castro Almeida.
"The average values in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas or in the district capitals are, on average, 20% more expensive than the maximum values defined in the decree-law. This is the opposite of speculation," he emphasised.
The Minister of Infrastructures considered that the "land law" is not the "silver bullet that will solve all problems", but he defended that "it will lower housing prices".
Miguel Pinto Luz, who also holds the Housing portfolio, said that he was willing to "adapt" and "improve" the law, and that he was waiting for proposals from the PS, which has called into question the creation of a reference price for property (median value) that the Socialists believe could push up sales prices.
One of the ANMP's vice presidents argued that construction on rustic land in agricultural and ecological reserves should be clarified in urban contiguity, or the costs will fall on the local authorities.
"This is there when we say consolidation of public space, but we think it's important to clarify this because obviously we're against the idea that now in the middle of [...] an agricultural or ecological reserve," they're going to “build an urbanisation, not least because” to “urbanise there are infrastructure costs and, as a rule, it's the local councils who pay these costs,” warned José Ribau Esteves (PSD).
At the request of the PSD, the Economy Committee also heard from Isaltino Morais, the mayor of Oeiras, for whom the "speculator is the state" by ending urbanisable land in 2014 and defining only rural and urban land, as well as urban planner Sidónio Pardal, a historical opponent of the RAN and REN.
*** From excess urban land to empty houses *** For MP Joana Mortágua (BE), it has yet to be demonstrated that there is a "lack of developable land", when the country has "a lot of heritage still to be redeveloped", as well as that "with more land for housing, the price will go down".
The MP emphasised that the ANMP had asked several questions about the lack of definition of the RAN and REN, to "understand which land is or is not eligible for reclassification" and questioned whether the law had "sufficient safeguards" concerning environmental protection and lack of planning, which could result in "tragedies".
Socialist Marina Gonçalves (PS) questioned the non-existence or disappearance of "the concept of cost-controlled housing for rent", proposed by the ANMP, which she considered "sensible", while expressing many doubts as to whether the concept in the law "should be changed" and "converted" into "moderately priced".
Social Democrat Sónia Ramos praised the government's courage, because "the housing crisis is indeed structural and requires immediate measures" and "it is necessary to increase the supply of homes at moderate prices".
For Albino Ramos, from IL, increasing supply is the best way to lower housing prices. The amendment has "positive points, despite the surreptitious way in which the government" tried to pass it "through the raindrops at the end of last year".
Alfredo Maia highlighted the PCP's respect for "democratic local power" and rejected the idea that the initiative to examine the decree-law or to ask for the "revocation of the government's amendment", made "in the dead of the Christmas holidays and without any discussion in parliament", could be seen as a "suspicion of mayors and their organs", but is instead rooted in the risk of "artificialising the soil".
Filipa Pinto, from Livre, noted that the serious housing crisis "puts unfair pressure on families" but that the solution is not to increase construction on rural land but to invest in rehabilitating dilapidated buildings, including more than 700,000 vacant homes.
Marta Silva, from Chega, acknowledged that the law's aim of promoting more developable land is "meritorious", but warned that, as it stands, "it runs the risk of compromising transparency and allowing practices that do not serve the public interest at all, open the door to territorial disorder" and even "increase the price of housing".
*** From civil society to academia ***
The National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS) issued a negative opinion on the decree law, recognising that the scarcity of urban land can contribute to rising house prices but that this scarcity does not occur throughout the country.
CNADS, in the opinion signed by Filipe Duarte Santos, added that the proposal is in "frontal contradiction" with the so-called "European model of urban intervention", enshrined in multiple policy documents and programmes of "European territorial cooperation, to which Portugal is a signatory and in which it actively participates".
The head of the Sustainable Construction Portal (PCS), Aline Guerreiro, considered that reclassifying rural land is "another nail in the coffin of spatial planning" and will not lower house prices.
"The solution is not to waterproof more soil, much less in rural areas," she stressed, pointing out that “according to INE data from 2021, there are 12% of vacant houses compared to the total number of existing flats and houses”, of which “around half are for sale or rent”, and there is “a surplus of around 211,000 houses on the market compared to the housing shortage”.
The Portuguese Association of Urban Planners (APU) called on the government to "amend or revoke" the decree-law amending the RJIGT, which revoked the need for justification for reclassifying rustic land as urban.
Ad Urbem - Associação para o Desenvolvimento do Direito do Urbanismo e da Construção also said that the proposal had negative consequences and increased "doubts and procedural complexities".
The municipal master plans in force had oversized urban perimeters, far above the real needs of urbanisation and building, which allowed and encouraged fragmented, disordered urban occupation," it recalled.
For the director of the Centre for Geographical Studies (CEG), José Luís Zêzere, building on rustic land, including on slopes in the REN, opens "a Pandora's box" with costs for the future, pointing to 240 deaths from landslides in the last century and a half.
"The different parts of the national ecological network have compatible uses. There is a matrix of compatible uses, which says [that] some things can be done there. The areas of slope instability are among those that have the least compatible uses, and rightly so, because they are dangerous areas, in fact," emphasised the professor from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Lisbon.
Engineer Pedro Bingre do Amaral considered that building on rural land transfers speculation on urban land to the countryside, where the building rates in the plans allow for "19 million houses".
The president of the LPN told Lusa that he had no doubts about the outcome of the law: "What we're going to do with this is that we're not going to combat this speculation in urban land through taxation, and we're going to transfer this speculation to rural land."
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