The Parliament of Romania has adopted the Code on Territorial Planning, Urbanism and Constructions (“the Code”), a comprehensive legislative instrument which consolidates and replaces the principal laws governing land-use planning, urbanism and construction permitting in Romania. The Code unifies the regulatory framework previously dispersed across Law no. 350/2001 on territorial planning and urbanism, Law no. 50/1991 on the authorisation of construction works, and Law no. 10/1995 on quality in constructions (in part), with a significant emphasis on modernisation, transparency and digitalisation of the planning and permitting process, through:
- a unified hierarchy of territorial planning and urbanism documentation, from national to local level;
- a fully digitalised permitting regime channelled through a National Single-Window Platform and Geo-Portal;
- a reformed construction quality and safety regime, including revised classes of consequence;
- stricter institutional accountability through the institution of the chief architect and local expertise centres;
- a structured investment project lifecycle framework for both public and private construction works.
The Code enters into force and becomes applicable according to the following deadlines:
- 15 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. Entry into force is automatic and is not conditional upon the adoption of secondary legislation;
- within 45 working days from publication, central and local authorities must operationalise the new integrated advisory commissions for territorial and urbanism documentation;
- by 31 December 2026, all public authorities must revise their organisational rules and operational procedures to conform with the Code;
- by 1 November 2028, in the Municipality of Bucharest, territorial planning and urbanism competences transfer from the sector mayors to the General Mayor.
GENERAL PRESENTATION
The Code’s purpose is to establish a single, coherent normative framework for territorial planning, urbanism and constructions, replacing the fragmented prior regime, as follows:
- (i) A unified planning hierarchy and mandatory documentation:
Territorial planning is structured through the National Territorial Development Strategy (20–25 year horizon), the Urban Policy of Romania (Politica urbană a României), the National Territorial Plan (PATN) with six sectoral sections, county plans (PATJ) and the County Development Strategy (Strategia de dezvoltare județeană), inter-municipal/zonal plans (PATZ/I), the optional Metropolitan General Urban Plan (PUGZM), which replaces individual PUGs, General Urban Plans (PUG), Zonal Urban Plans (PUZ), and the Urban Design Detail Project (PUD); - All planning documentation must be elaborated in GIS-compatible vectorial format and uploaded to the National Geo-Portal of Urbanism, ensuring accessibility and interoperability;
- Documentation has unlimited validity until superseded, but local authorities must review implementation every five years.
(ii) A digitalised construction permitting and single-window system: - The National Single-Window Platform (Ghișeul Unic Național) becomes the mandatory interface between applicants and public authorities for all planning certificates, permits and endorsements;
- A Unified Agreement Commission (Comisia de Acord Unic) is established at each municipality to coordinate the issuance of all permits and endorsements in one procedure;
- Construction permits are valid for an initial term of 3 years from issuance, and that initial validity term cannot be extended; the term may be suspended once for up to 12 months. If works cannot be commenced or completed within the authorised execution duration for justified reasons, the permit holder may request, at least 15 working days before expiry, a one-time extension of the execution duration for up to 12 months, subject to a fee of 30% of the initial tax. Permits lose validity if execution is suspended for more than 24 months, except where the suspension results from litigation concerning property rights, permit legality or another dispute affecting the right to execute the works, or from a force majeure event.
(iii) Enhanced institutional governance and the Chief Architect: - The institution of the Chief Architect (Arhitect-Șef) is formalised at county, municipal and commune level, combining strategic planning with operational control over construction authorisation;
- Centres of Expertise in Territorial Planning and Urbanism (ATU) are non-governmental, non-profit bodies of public utility with legal personality, established by local public authorities in partnership with other public authorities or institutions to support local authorities in planning, monitoring and GIS data management.
(iv) A structured investment project lifecycle for constructions: - The Code introduces a five-stage lifecycle for construction investment projects: initiation of the investment project; project planning (design); project realisation (construction execution); project completion and handover of the construction; and exploitation and use of the construction.
- Budget margins and unforeseen expenditure rules are codified, with mandatory technical economic indicator re-approval at the final design stage for publicly funded projects.
(v) Transitional provisions and preservation of acquired rights: - Urbanism certificates issued before the Code’s entry into force retain their validity; construction permits may be issued on their basis by either the formerly competent or the newly competent authority;
o Pending procedures for the elaboration, endorsement and approval of territorial-planning and urbanism documentation remain subject to the law in force at the date of initiation; however, for endorsements not yet obtained, the procedure may be continued through the simplified integrated advisory commission process, taking into account endorsements already obtained, which retain their validity. - Projects in execution or already subject to procurement under the former regime are exempted from the new investment lifecycle requirements only where they are publicly funded investment objectives/projects covered by Government Decision no. 907/2016 and satisfy the transitional conditions; the exemption does not extend generally to private projects.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
Real estate and development
- Developers and investors should anticipate materially longer lead times in the short term as local authorities operationalise the new digital platforms and integrated advisory commissions; however, once fully implemented, the single-window system should significantly reduce procedural delays.
- The mandatory GIS-format requirement for all urbanism documentation and its publication on the Geo-Portal will enhance due diligence transparency for real estate acquisitions and development feasibility assessments.
- Project scheduling should account for the permits’ initial three-year validity, a one-time suspension of up to 12 months, and a one-time extension of the execution duration for up to 12 months in justified cases, if requested at least 15 working days before expiry and subject to a fee of 30% of the initial tax. A permit loses validity if works are not commenced within its authorised validity period; the relevant rule concerns non-commencement within the validity period, not a separate prohibition on renewal for that reason.
Commercial contracts and procurement
- Construction and design contracts should be reviewed to align with the new five-stage project lifecycle and the revised technical economic indicator approval process, particularly for publicly funded works.
- Procurement documentation for territorial planning, urban plans and zonal plans must now comply with the Code’s requirements regarding GIS-compatibility, vectorial format and the role of accredited specialist teams.
- The Unified Agreement Commission mechanism and the National Single-Window Platform alter the contractual allocation of responsibility for obtaining permits and endorsements.
General
- The Code permits local councils, the General Council of Bucharest and, where applicable, county councils to establish a local territorial equipment tax to finance infrastructure required for the area affected by an urbanism or territorial-planning document. The tax applies to individuals or legal entities in the regulated area of a PUZ that provides for conversion of land from extravilan to intravilan for real-estate development, functional reconversion or modification of the urban indicators under the PUG; it may also be differentiated for persons who did not initiate the planning document according to the benefit created. Corporate entities with significant real estate holdings should factor this potential tax into financial planning.
