What the bill provides
Three strands, presented in July 2026.
A single national building regulation, intended to replace the regulations existing in each municipality in the country.
A simplification of the procedures for adopting planning documents, notably with a single adoption procedure for general and particular development plans.
A statutory period for concluding the implementation agreement.
The stated guiding principle is to build more and faster, the text forming part of a package of measures arising from a working group on housing.
| Element | Position today | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Draft national building regulation | Tabled, not adopted | Do not base a project on it |
| Existing municipal rules | In force | The only applicable basis |
| Announced timetable | Indicative | To be rechecked quarterly |
The announced content of the national regulation
The announced bill comprises a defined number of measures and covers fields going beyond construction alone. Its exact scope is checked in the text as tabled.
Minimum standards applying to buildings, new and refurbished.
Greening of public space, notably tree planting.
Water management, with retention arrangements.
Sealing and parking, with a minimum proportion of charging points and cycle spaces in residential developments.
Equipment, notably solar panels and emergency escapes.
An important principle is announced: the regulation would set floors rather than ceilings. A project could go beyond the criteria, but not fall below them.
A reasoned power of exception would be open to the mayor, to take account of particular local situations.
The announced timetable
Two markers, both provisional.
The target entry into force is early 2028, at the same time as the new procedures on planning documents.
The announced time savings concern planning procedures, the adoption procedure for a general development plan falling from around twelve months to around seven, and that for a particular plan from around eight and a half months to around six and a half.
These savings concern the adoption of documents, not the processing of individual permit applications, a distinction regularly confused in commentary.
The objections raised
A necessary point of balance, since the text is not uncontested. The criticism concerns municipal autonomy.
Members have warned against the disappearance of local protections stricter than the national standard envisaged.
The claim that the reform would actually accelerate construction has been disputed during committee work.
Municipal competence in planning would be preserved. What would be centralised is the technical building rule, not zoning or the development plans, which would remain municipal.
This distinction is essential to reading this guide: even if adopted, the reform would not remove the variation in zoning, covered in the article on why the rule is municipal.
The exact status of the text
Three facts, to be taken as they stand.
It is a bill amending the 2004 law, lodged and identified by a parliamentary file number.
It was presented to the competent parliamentary committee in July 2026, and a rapporteur was appointed.
It is neither passed nor in force at the date this article was checked.
The reading rule is absolute: announced does not mean passed, and passed does not mean applicable to a given project. A text may be amended during the parliamentary process, and often has been.
What to do about it today
Four courses of conduct, suited to a live project. They avoid founding a project on a text not yet adopted.
Continue applying the law in force, that is the municipal regulations, without anticipating the announced text.
Check the status of the text before any reasoning based on it, particularly on long-horizon projects.
Build the announced date into long-duration projects, a project starting in 2027 being capable of crossing a change of framework.
Follow the parliamentary work, the final content being capable of differing appreciably from the initial presentation.
What this means for a professional
Four rules.
Never advise on the basis of a text not passed, whatever the media coverage of its announcement.
Distinguish the building regulation from zoning when explaining matters to the client, only the former being targeted for centralisation.
Distinguish planning timescales from processing timescales, the announced savings concerning the former.
Recheck this subject at each parliamentary milestone, the status of the text being capable of changing rapidly.
This article reflects the state of the work at the date of checking and serves professional orientation. It does not replace consultation of the official sources or legal advice.