Faster Permitting Process in Brussels?

Four phases that Urban must now complete more quickly

The circular applies only to urban planning permits and certificates issued by the region itself through the authorized official. Municipal permits are therefore excluded. As for regional applications, Urban must now process them through four steps more quickly:

• Acknowledgment of receipt: reduced from 45 to 30 days after the application is submitted. This reduction does not apply to cases involving an environmental impact study or heritage cases processed through a combined permit.
• Incomplete application: Urban may now only notify the applicant once per application that the application is incomplete. In the case of an amended application, this may be done one additional time at most. The procedure can therefore no longer be repeatedly halted to request additional documents.
• Additional conditions: a request for additional conditions may also be made only once and must be submitted within 15 calendar days of the last procedural step.
• Decision: for simple cases, the target is 45 days instead of 75 days from the date the application is deemed complete. For complex cases, the statutory period of 160 days is reduced to 90, 120, or 135 days, depending on the procedure.

No New Statutory Deadlines

The circular does not amend the Brussels Spatial Planning Code (BSPC). The statutory deadlines therefore remain in full force. The shorter deadlines are internal targets for Urban and do not constitute new statutory deadlines.

This also means that you cannot derive any rights from the fact that these targets are exceeded. Legal consequences may only arise if the statutory BSPC-deadlines are exceeded.

What if Urban misses the deadline anyway?

In that case, nothing changes legally for your case. The statutory deadlines remain the determining factor. Missing an internal target does not automatically render a decision on a permit or certificate invalid and does not, in and of itself, provide grounds to challenge the decision.

The circular does, however, provide for follow-up. Urban must report quarterly to the State Secretary’s office on the deadlines met.

What does this mean for you?

The shorter deadlines do not guarantee a faster permit. Therefore, when planning your project, take the statutory BSPC deadlines into account.

The circular does, however, give you an additional advantage in practice. After all, Urban is committed to processing applications more quickly and to refraining from repeatedly questioning the completeness of an application or imposing additional conditions. You can therefore use the new targets to urge Urban to process your application quickly. Our specialists at Team Real Estate will be happy to advise you on urban and environmental aspects for your real estate projects in the Brussels-Capital Region.