Against the backdrop of pressure exerted by tight deadlines under National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) funding and the acute need to streamline administrative procedures, the Romanian Government adopted Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) No. 31/2025, published in the Official Gazette No. 393 on April 30, 2025. This represents a major step toward simplifying and digitalizing urban planning and construction permitting, in a context where chronic administrative delays had been blocking large-scale public and private investments.

Tacit Approval: A Fundamental Shift

The most significant innovation introduced by GEO No. 31/2025 is the implementation of the principle of tacit approval. If public authorities fail to issue required approval notices or clearances within statutory deadlines, they are legally deemed granted by operation of law, subject to specific exceptions (such as clearances concerning national defense, public order, national security, or opportunity approvals).

For project developers, this means permitting procedures can proceed without artificial blockage caused by administrative inaction, significantly mitigating the risks of project stagnation or loss of grant funding.

Clear Deadlines for Public Authorities

The Emergency Ordinance establishes maximum and uniform deadlines for issuing clearances and approvals:

• 30 days for urban planning documentations (PUD, PUZ, PUG);
• 15 days for clearances required for the building permit, where review by a specialized commission is not required;
• Sector-specific deadlines for specialized fields, such as environmental protection (15 days from procedural completion), historical monuments (up to 60 days), Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) (15 days), Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority (AACR) (30 days), etc.

Where requests for supplementary documentation or clarifications are issued, public authorities must make such requests in a single instance, supported by technical and legal grounds, within the statutory timeframe. The applicant then has 60 days to respond, following which the authority has 15 days to issue the clearance or issue a reasoned refusal.

Parallel, Non-Sequential Approval Procedures

Conditioning the issuance of one approval notice upon the prior receipt of others is explicitly prohibited. All clearances must be requested simultaneously in parallel, with the responsibility of cross-referencing and coordinating information resting on design professionals and project developers.

Furthermore, administrative overreach is strictly curtailed: public authorities may no longer demand documents not prescribed by law or impose technically or legally unjustified solutions.

Immediate Application, Including Pending Procedures

The Emergency Ordinance applies to pending applications submitted prior to its entry into force, provided the relevant approvals had not been issued as of April 30, 2025. Statutory deadlines under the new framework begin running from that date, providing a procedural reset for numerous stalled projects.

Misdemeanor provisions constitute an exception—entering into force 30 days post-publication, specifically on May 30, 2025.

Administrative Penalties for Public Authorities

For the first time, statutory administrative fines are established for public authorities failing to adhere to statutory deadlines. The State Construction Inspectorate (Inspectoratul de Stat în Construcții – ISC) is empowered to levy fines ranging between RON 3,000 and RON 10,000 for:

• Delays in placing documentation on commission review agendas;
• Failure to issue reasoned requests for clarifications within statutory limits;
• Unjustified refusal to issue approval notices.

Tacit Approvals and Developer Liability

Issuing a building permit based on tacitly approved clearances does not relieve design professionals and contractors of liability regarding the accuracy and technical soundness of project specifications. The developer must submit a formal declaration of compliance in accordance with the template approved by Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA) Order No. 634/2025.

Where risks arise regarding utility networks or other critical infrastructure, full liability rests with the project development team. Consequently, while administrative processing time is saved, professional diligence requirements are heightened.

GEO No. 31/2025 is unquestionably an unblocking legal instrument, fostering conditions for accelerated investment and curbing administrative discretion in urban planning and construction. It remains to be seen whether public authorities will seamlessly integrate this new procedural framework. From a real estate development perspective, this is a long-awaited and vital reform.