Bucharest City Hall suspends urban planning permits for new code transition

Bucharest City Hall has announced a six-day suspension of urban planning certificates, construction permits, and various public domain occupation permits. This suspension, running from August 25 to August 31, coincides with the implementation of the new Urbanism Code.

The municipality stated that the pause is necessary to allow the Directorate of Urbanism to modify internal procedures and transition to the new legal requirements. During this period, only documents intended to complete existing files submitted by August 24 will be accepted.

Key changes introduced by the new Urbanism Code include reducing the issuance time for construction permits to approximately 65 days, down from the current four to eight months. Additionally, starting in November 2028, all urban planning certificates and construction permits will be issued exclusively by Bucharest City Hall, whereas sector town halls currently hold this authority. The reform also mandates that large-scale residential developers with over 500 housing units contribute financially to local utility infrastructure to fund schools and nurseries.