On 28^th November, the Council of Ministers approved a decree-law amending the Legal Regime for Territorial Management Instruments (RJIGT), with the aim of increasing the supply of land for housing construction.

According to the Council of Ministers press release, the decree-law aims to guarantee a special reclassification regime for urban land, the majority of which (at least 70 per cent) must be allocated to public housing or moderate value housing. 

Additionally, the concept of moderate value housing, now created, seeks to cover the access by the middle class, considering the median values of the local and national markets to ensure the realisation of social justice. 

Therefore, the exceptional regime makes it possible to create new housing areas on land compatible with an urban area, namely on land classified as rustic, and the decision will only depend on the town councils and municipal assemblies.

This regime will not cover the most sensitive areas from the point of view of risks, nature conservation and high agricultural potential, safeguarding the specificities defined for the National Ecological Reserve and the National Agricultural Reserve.

The decree-law will now be subject to hearings by the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities and other organisations.