Insights > Client Alerts
Client Alerts
SMUL internal order suspending approval processes revoked
February 4th, 2025

On January 27, 2025, the Municipal Department of Urban Planning and Licensing (“SMUL”) of São Paulo issued Internal Order No. 2/2025, which suspended administrative processes and documents being processed by SMUL units that recently amended São Paulo’s Zoning Law map. The Internal Order, however, was revoked three days later, on January 30, 2025, through Internal Order No. 3/2025.
Indeed, the nature of the discussion subject to Internal Order No. 2/2025 and the suspension of zoning map effects had created an unjustifiable possibility of reinstating a previous rule, that is, the potential absence of a regulation, albeit momentary. The Internal Order No. 2/2025 resulted from the municipality’s acknowledgment, on January 23, 2025, of the preliminary injunction granted in the Direct Action for the Declaration of Unconstitutionality (“ADI”) No. 2283278-41.2024.8.26.0000, which suspended the effects of Article 84 of Municipal Law No. 18,081, of January 19, 2024, and Article 8 of Law No. 18,177, of July 25, 2024.
Conversely, the revocation of Internal Order No. 2/2025 resulted from the decision dated January 28, 2025, within the scope of the ADI, which reconsidered the preliminary injunction granted, limiting the suspension of effects of Article 8 of Law 18,177/2024 to the area challenged in the ADI petition.
The legal provisions suspended by the decision of ADI dated January 19, 2024, altered the map of the Municipal Zoning Law, converting areas on the outskirts of Marginal Pinheiros classified as Corridor Zones (“ZCOR”) – for diversified use and compatible with the residential neighborhood – into Centrality Zones (“ZC”) – aimed at promoting activities typical of central areas, mainly non-residential –, which would significantly change construction standards and rules of use for real estate located in the region.
The ADI initiated by the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office (“MPSP”) defends the unconstitutionality of the provisions that implemented such changes to the map of the Zoning Law, due to:
- Lack of popular participation, which should be ensured in all matters relating to the urban development of municipalities, according to the São Paulo State Constitution.
- Lack of technical study and planning on the feasibility and impacts of the zoning changes on the local community and neighborhood.
- Violation of the principles of impersonality, morality, legal certainty, and motivation, for assuming that the main goal of the zoning change would be to enable the Pinheiros Presbyterian Church expansion project.
Based on the relevance of the grounds presented by the plaintiff regarding the unconstitutionality of the provisions and the possible effects that could result from their validity, the São Paulo State Court of Justice granted the preliminary injunction requested by the MPSP to suspend the effectiveness of the challenged legal provisions until the final and unappealable judgment of the ADI.
The suspension of the provisions due to the injunction led the municipality to issue the aforementioned Internal Order No. 2/2025 that suspendedthe city’s Zoning Law map as a whole, thus impacting all processes relating to the municipality’s approval and licensing of various real estate projects under development in all areas of the city, including those which were not subject to the injunction of the ADI. According to Internal Order No. 2/2025, all the processes would be suspended until their normative basis is definitively consolidated.
However, Internal Order No. 2/2025 was revoked through the decision dated January 28, 2025, within the scope of the ADI, which reconsidered the preliminary decision granted by the municipality, insofar as it restricted the effects of the suspension of validity of Article 8 of Law 18,177, of July 25, 2024, to the area challenged in the initial petition of the ADI and not to the total area of the municipality of São Paulo.
As the preliminary injunction was reconsidered and its effects limited, Internal Order No. 3/2025 restricted the suspension of processes and expedients to lots located in the area challenged within the scope of the ADI – that is, lots located in Marginal Pinheiros area, notably in the Alto de Pinheiros region –, which had their zoning changed to ZC¹.
The revocation mentioned above reinforces the idea that different effects can be observed depending on the subject matter of each ongoing process that must be analyzed to determine whether it should continue.
Demarest’s Real Estate team is monitoring the developments and effects of the ADI and remains available to provide further clarification.
[1] The municipal registration number (“SQL”) of the lots subject to suspension can be consulted in the consolidated text of Internal Order No. 3/2025/SMUL.