Law 169/2026: what changes in construction permitting

What changes, briefly

• Three permitting regimes, from no formality at all to the full autorizație de construire, with clearer lines between them (art. 259, 294-300).
• The autorizație de modificare, for scope changes that come up during authorised works, requested before starting them (art. 293).
• The autorizație de regularizare, the legal instrument for works built without a permit or in breach of one (art. 301).
• DTAC becomes PAC: the same technical documentation, under a new name.
• The Single Approval Commission (Comisia de acord unic), one filing for the avize required through the certificat de urbanism, a commission that counties, municipalities and the sectors of the municipality of Bucharest are required to organise; using it stays the applicant's choice (art. 305).
• The carte tehnică a construcției moves to electronic form, uploaded to the Registrul Național al Construcțiilor (art. 529-530).
• The certificat de urbanism validity extension (art. 257 para. 17) and the permit execution-period extension (art. 310 para. 5) are both granted once only.
• The ghișeul unic național, the digital platform through which acts are filed and issued, rolled out in stages over 5 years (art. 139).

What law disappears

From 25 August 2026 the following are repealed:

• Legea nr. 50/1991 on authorising construction works.
• Legea nr. 350/2001 on territorial planning and urbanism.
• Legea nr. 10/1995 on construction quality, art. 1-9, 11-40 and 42-44 (the rest of the law stays in force).
• Ordinul nr. 233/2016 approving the methodological norms for Legea nr. 350/2001, except annexes 4-6.
• Ordinul nr. 839/2009 approving the methodological norms for Legea nr. 50/1991.

Wherever other laws or normative acts refer to provisions repealed or amended by Codul urbanismului, that reference is now read as a reference to the new code.

When it applies

Codul urbanismului takes effect 15 days after publication in the Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I. The law was published in Monitorul Oficial nr. 661 of 10 August 2026, so the effective date is 25 August 2026.

Entry into force is automatic: the law is not conditional on secondary or tertiary legislation being adopted, so the new rules apply even if the implementing norms have not yet been issued.

What happens to files already started

Procedures for drafting, reviewing and approving urbanism and territorial-planning documentation, started before 25 August 2026, stay subject to the law in force on the date they were initiated. That initiation date is the date the administrative act starting the procedure was brought to third parties' knowledge.

A certificat de urbanism issued before 25 August 2026 stays valid. The avize it requires are issued under the rules in force on the date the certificate was issued, even if you request them after that date. The authority that issues the autorizație de construire or de desființare based on the certificate may be the one competent as of the certificate's issue date or the one competent under the new code, depending on any change in competence.

For avize not yet obtained by the effective date, the review procedure can continue on a simplified basis, through the integrated review commission, taking into account any avize already obtained and still valid.

The clocks running now

• The national integrated review commission: the Ministry of Development must set it up and make it operational within 45 working days of the law's publication.
• The local integrated review commissions and Single Approval Commissions: local authorities have the same deadline, 45 working days from publication, to set them up and make them operational.
• Updating procedures: authorities and entities that had norms and procedures issued under Legea nr. 350/2001, Legea nr. 50/1991 and Legea nr. 10/1995 must update them to the new code within 120 days of publication.
• The regularisation window: owners of buildings built without a permit or in breach of one have one year from entry into force to obtain an autorizație de regularizare, with conditions and fees explained on its own page.
• Amending the Fiscal Code: the Ministry of Finance must start amending Legea nr. 227/2015 to reflect the fees introduced by the new code, within 60 days of entry into force.
• Bucharest only: the transfer of urbanism powers to the general mayor applies from 1 November 2028, with the implementing acts due by 1 July 2027.

The three regimes, at a glance

Not every piece of work needs an autorizație de construire. Codul urbanismului defines three distinct regimes, from the simplest to the most formal.

• No formality at all: upkeep and repair work that does not change the structure, shape or appearance, plus a short list of amenajări. Close to this regime: a few small pieces of street furniture, such as bike racks, recycling points or road signage, can go up on an aviz de amplasare alone, with no permit.
• Notificare simplificată: a form and a simplified technical project, filed with the town hall before starting works; the town hall has 15 working days to respond, otherwise the notification is approved by default.
• Autorizație de construire: everything that does not fall into the first two regimes, mandatory for every category of work the law covers.

What has not changed yet

The forms changed on 26 August 2026.

• From 26 August 2026 the forms approved by Ordinul 975/2026 apply, replacing the models from Ordinul 839/2009, repealed by art. 576. The order covers the urbanism certificate, building authorisation, demolition, modification, regularisation and the notificare procedure.
• Requests filed before 26 August 2026 are settled on the forms valid at the date of filing, so nobody has to file again.
• The full list of avize and acorduri for the certificat de urbanism is likewise set by ministerial order, not issued as of 7 September 2026.
• We could not verify Ordinul 975/2026 against the official source, so treat this as a press report and ask the town hall where you file which form it takes today.