An urban plan can be annulled in court, and for anyone with a project under way the practical question comes straight after the judgment: on which rules will the issuing authority now grant the certificat de urbanism? The Urban Planning Code answers in article 361, with one rule for the PUG (general urban plan) and another for the PUZ (zonal plan) or PUD (detailed urban project).
In short
| What the court annuls | What applies | For how long |
|---|---|---|
| PUG or PUGZM, in full | by law, the general plan previously in force, without redoing the approvals | at most 24 months |
| PUZ or PUD | directly, the PUG in force or the PUZ for the protected built zone in force | the text sets no limit |
After the 24 months, or if steps towards a new PUG have not been started, building and demolition works can be authorised only on the basis of an approved zonal urban plan.
Why plans can be challenged
Article 110 paragraph (1) says that urban plans and the related local urban planning regulations are administrative acts of a normative character. The detailed urban project (PUD) can be, depending on its features, either a normative act or an individual administrative act. Article 14 paragraph (2) explains why this matters: the provisions of urban planning documentation, meaning the PUGZM, PUG and PUZ, are binding when certificates de urbanism and permits are issued.
Article 361 paragraph (1) subjects these acts to review by the administrative court. Paragraph (2) sets the limit: they cannot be challenged on grounds of expediency (oportunitate), only for illegality. Paragraph (3) allows the court to declare the act null in whole or in part and, in compliance with articles 14 or 15 of Legea nr. 554/2004, to suspend its effects in whole or in part.
When a PUG falls
Paragraph (4) states its purpose in the text itself: to prevent a blockage in the issuing of certificates de urbanism, building or demolition permits, and in carrying out investments. The mechanism is this. If the court annuls a PUG or a PUGZM in full, the PUG or PUGZM previously in force for that territory applies by law, without redoing the approval procedure. At the same time, the authority is obliged to start the steps for a new plan.
PUGZM is the general urban plan of the metropolitan area, defined in article 13 paragraph (2) letter a). It is optional and, where it exists, replaces the general plans of each locality in the area.
Paragraph (5) limits the return: the plan brought back into force is valid for at most 24 months. Paragraph (6) says what follows if the steps for the new plan have not been started or if the 24 months have passed: building or demolition works can then be authorised only on the basis of an approved PUZ.
For an owner, paragraph (6) is the one that changes the calculation. In this scenario, a plot that could be authorised under the PUG’s rules ends up, after that term, needing an approved PUZ.
When a PUZ or a PUD falls
Paragraph (7) is simpler. If a PUZ or a PUD is annulled, the provisions of the PUG in force apply directly, or those of the PUZ for the protected built zone in force. This paragraph sets no time limit and no obligation to redo the annulled plan.
What additional approvals a protected built zone requires is covered in what approvals a protected zone needs.
What the article does not say
Three things are missing from the text, and I flag them as such without filling them in.
Paragraph (4) speaks only of annulment in full. For a PUG annulled in part, the article does not say which plan applies to the annulled part.
Paragraph (5) does not say expressly from what moment the 24 months run. The wording, the validity of the plan brought back into force, suggests the return as the starting point, but that is a reading, not a provision.
Nor are certificates and permits issued under the annulled plan, before the judgment, dealt with in article 361. What happens to a building erected under a permit that is itself annulled is the subject of the permit is annulled, the house is built.
The link with a challenged refusal
If you challenged a refusal and won, changes made in the meantime to the urban planning documentation cannot be invoked against the refiled request. The exact conditions are in an annulled refusal cannot return.
What the PUG, PUZ and PUD are, and what update obligations city halls have after the code came into force, is on the page about PUG, PUZ and PUD.
This article is analysis, not legal advice. Provisions are cited from Legea 169/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 661 of 10 August 2026. Check your own situation with the issuing authority. Romanian legal terms are kept in the original, because the Romanian text is the one that governs.