This law establishes the regime for the recognition and protection of establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest (third amendment to Law no. 6/2006, which approves the New Urban Lease Regime, and fourth amendment to Decree-Law no. 157/2006, which approves the legal regime for works on leased buildings).
With regard to the protection of establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest, the law defines that municipalities are responsible for protecting and safeguarding establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest, within the scope of their powers in terms of urban management and heritage preservation. As such, municipalities are responsible for:
– Inventorying and recognising establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest, under the terms of this law;
– Communicating the identification of establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest recognised under this law to the State, approving municipal regulations, creating support programs, and encouraging the protection and safeguarding of these establishments and entities through municipal urban planning, heritage and tax policies, under the terms of this law;
- Including appropriate measures for the protection and safeguarding of these establishments and entities in territorial management instruments, such as municipal master plans, urbanisation plans and detailed plans.
In turn, the law establishes that it is the responsibility of the state, namely through the members of the government responsible for the areas of commerce, urban planning and culture to annually ensure the existence of national programs to support and encourage the protection of establishments and entities of historical and cultural or social interest, in conjunction with local authorities, and to create and ensure the updating of a national inventory of establishments and entities of local historical and cultural or social interest recognised under this law.
In January 2023, this law was amended by Law No. 1/2023, of January 9th, which ensures the maintenance of protection for historic shops that have transitioned to the New Urban Lease Regime (NRAU) until December 31, 2027. Specifically, Article 13 of Law No. 42/2017 is altered to prevent landlords from opposing the renewal of new contracts under the NRAU for these shops until the specified date.
