New rules for urban rehabilitation

New urban rehabilitation rules will be in force as of 15 November

Anyone considering rehabilitation should be aware that in less than 2 months the new rules will come into force. There are news regarding the assessment of seismic vulnerability, fire safety, thermal behavior and energy efficiency, acoustic requirements, accessibility, various facilities, among others.

These new rules entail a number of modifications, notably to the RGEU - Regulamento Geral das Edificações Urbanas. (General Regulation of Urban Buildings) Among the various changes is the repeal of the exceptional regime of 2014, which until now exempted the works of accessibility or seismic reinforcement in buildings older than 30 years.

From the 15th of November, regardless of the age of the building, it will be mandatory to assess the seismic vulnerability and to identify "the situations in which this analysis is required as there may be situations where even if the structure is not moved, taking in to account the state of the building, its specific characteristics, the location itself, it is important to assess the concrete situation" reveals Ana Pinho, Secretary of State for housing, to Jornal de Negócios.

In the case of fire safety, the new law is applicable, when the building permit occurred on a date prior to the entry into force of Decree-Law no. 220/2008, of November the 12th. In terms of thermal behavior and energy efficiency, when the building permit occurred before the entry into force of Decree-Law no. 40/90, of February the 6th. In acoustical requirements, the new rules apply to building permits prior to Decree-Law no. 129/2002, of May the 11th, and accessibility to building permits prior to Decree-Law no. 163/2006, of August the 8th. 

According to Ana Pinho, the idea of ​​the new legislation is "to make rehabilitation works feasible, easy and accessible, without deregulation" and "without jeopardizing the safety of people and the living conditions" of buildings. It also states that "interventions need not be more expensive, as it will be possible to maintain a set of building elements that was not possible before, which reduces waste materials". "There is a great incentive to maintain existing resources and elements," says the official.

Be sure to consult the new legislation.