The GOB calls on city councils to make public regulations on rural land

PalmaThe GOB has asked the Balearic town councils this Thursday to report on how many constructions on rural land have been legalized through the positive administrative silence mechanism, after the Government eliminated this route with the new Law on urgent measures for strategic projects.

The environmental organization links this regulatory change to the unconstitutionality appeal filed against the decree-law approved by the Government in May 2024, which opened the door to regularizing illegally erected buildings on rural land. According to the GOB, one of the most controversial measures of that regulation was precisely the incorporation of positive administrative silence.

This mechanism allowed that, if a town council did not resolve a legalization request within six months, it would be automatically approved. The GOB considers that this created a comparative grievance, because owners of legal buildings continue to be obliged to wait for an express resolution to carry out any action.

The organization recalls that it already promoted a legal report critical of the regulation and that, together with other entities, it forwarded it to parliamentary groups in Congress, which subsequently filed the appeal before the Constitutional Court, which was admitted for processing.

With the modification now approved by the Government, administrative silence becomes negative. This means that the lack of response from the Administration will no longer imply the automatic validation of any file. According to the GOB, this shift could respond to the desire to avoid a future judicial annulment of the previous system and the resulting legal consequences.

Given this scenario, the GOB has urged political groups with municipal representation to request data on the files that may have been approved through this route and to identify the most significant cases, especially those linked to large chalets built on rural land.