The two diplomas, approved by the Council of Ministers, fall within the scope of the legal regime of the simplified cadastral information system and the Balcão Único do Prédio (BUPi), introducing some changes to the current diploma.

As explained to journalists by the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, at the end of the meeting, one of the amendments provides for the extension of the free period of identification and registration procedures until the end of 2025.

The diploma also establishes conflict resolution mechanisms, resorting to an “administrative conciliation”, in cases where there may be an “overlap of limits on the lands that are being identified and registered”.

“We all know that it is much easier to accept a decision that has been agreed upon than a decision that has been imposed. Basically, by sitting at the table for those interested in this procedure and through a third party, who will be a technician, who will mediate, we can thus resolve any issue that may arise from conflict regarding the limits”, explained the official.

The changes introduced also provide for public consultations to be carried out, via the Internet, notices or consular entities, “in cases where all the borders of the neighboring buildings have not yet been identified” and the promotion of land registration by the services of the Public administration.

The documentation delivered to each of the BUPi will also be used for registration purposes, with no need to deliver new documents to the registry office.

By way of balance, the Minister of Justice said that close to 1.7 million properties have already been identified in the 144 municipalities participating in the project.

“The BUPi is part of one of the most important reforms of this century. With this, we will be able to know the territory, so that we can better manage it and better prevent fires. It assigns a name and a face to a given property and contributes to legal certainty. Only then is there full ownership,” she underlined.

Created in 2017 as a pilot project, the BUPi is currently financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), component C08 Florestas, integrated in the governmental area of Justice and Environment and Climate Action, in conjunction with Territorial Cohesion.