How Will the 2026 Planning Reform Affect Property Owners?

The amendments to Estonia’s Planning Act that entered into force in 2026 are intended to make the often lengthy and costly detailed planning process faster, more flexible and more predictable.

The first major part of the reform entered into force on 13 June 2026. It focused primarily on simplifying detailed planning procedures, clarifying the rules for amending plans and their validity, and expanding the options available to local authorities when conducting planning proceedings. Further amendments to the Building Code entered into force on 1 August 2026 and concern, among other things, the use of design specifications to refine an existing detailed plan, including changes to the building area and building footprint within the limits prescribed by law. Some amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2027. In addition, the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) is currently considering the next stage of the reform, which aims to further accelerate and simplify planning and construction procedures.

In Some Cases, a Detailed Plan May Be Avoided Altogether

From a property owner’s perspective, one of the most significant changes is that even in an area where a detailed plan would normally be required, construction may no longer always require one.

Kohalik omavalitsus võib teatud tingimustel lubada hoone püstitamist või laiendamist projekteerimistingimuste alusel, kui kinnistu asub olemasoleva hoonestuse vahetus läheduses ning kavandatav hoone sobib oma mahu, kasutuse ja iseloomu poolest ümbritsevasse keskkonda. See tähendab väga suurt ajavõitu. Detailplaneering võib kesta aastaid, projekteerimistingimuste menetluse tähtaeg on oluliselt lühem.

It should be noted, however, that a property owner does not have an automatic right to proceed without a detailed plan. The decision rests with the local authority. If the proposed development would significantly alter the spatial character of the area or conflict with the comprehensive plan, a detailed plan may still be required.

Practical recommendation: before initiating a detailed planning procedure, it is always worth checking whether the proposed development could instead be authorised through design specifications.

An Important Change Also Concerns the Three-Year Time Limit for Detailed Planning Proceedings

Kui varem hakati kolme aastat arvestama detailplaneeringu ametlikust algatamisest, siis nüüd algab tähtaja arvestus detailplaneeringu algatamise taotluse esitamisest. See vähendab võimalust, et taotlus jääb pikaks ajaks enne ametlikku menetlust seisma.

Local authorities also have greater scope to terminate detailed planning proceedings that have remained inactive for years, for example because the interested party has failed to submit the required documents or has not responded to repeated requests from the local authority.

Amending an Existing Detailed Plan Is Easier

An existing detailed plan can now be amended through a simplified procedure in certain circumstances, for example where the plan has become outdated or where legislation or the comprehensive plan has changed since the detailed plan was adopted.

An existing detailed plan can also be refined more flexibly through design specifications. Subject to certain conditions, for example, the building area or building footprint may be adjusted by up to 15%, and other building conditions may also be refined.

There is, however, an important limitation: design specifications cannot be used to fundamentally alter the principal solution established by the detailed plan.

Greater Oversight of Local Authorities from 2027

From 1 January 2027, the Estonian Land and Spatial Development Board (Maa- ja Ruumiamet) will have the authority to exercise administrative supervision over planning proceedings, including compliance with statutory time limits.

If proceedings have been unjustifiably delayed, the Board may issue a mandatory direction requiring the local authority to carry out a procedural step or make a decision. This gives developers and property owners an additional avenue for addressing situations where planning proceedings have stalled without sufficient justification.

New Detailed Plans Will Be Subject to a Ten-Year Time Limit

1. jaanuarist 2027 kaotab kehtestatud detailplaneering üldjuhul kehtivuse, kui selle elluviimist ei ole kümne aasta jooksul alustatud. Põhjendatud juhul võib kohalik omavalitsus tähtaega ühe korra kuni viie aasta võrra pikendada.

The new automatic ten-year validity period does not apply to detailed plans adopted before 1 January 2027.

Detailed Plans Will Become Less Prescriptive

From 2027, local authorities will no longer be able to require detailed plans to contain essentially the same level of detail as a building design. An excessively detailed plan can itself become an obstacle to development over time. If, for example, the exact design of a building is fixed too rigidly in the detailed plan, even a relatively minor subsequent change may create the need to amend the plan.

The detailed plan should establish the key spatial principles, while technical and architectural solutions are to be specified in the building design documentation.

The Reform Is Continuing

2026. aasta suvel esitas valitsus Riigikogule järgmise planeerimisseaduse muudatuste paketi. Eesmärk on, et võimalikud probleemid ja nõuded selguksid võimalikult vara ning planeeringumenetlus oleks arendaja jaoks paremini prognoositav.

The current approval procedure carried out by the Estonian Land and Spatial Development Board is proposed to be replaced with a coordination-based system. The tasks to be addressed through detailed plans would be clarified, clearer deadlines would be introduced both for initiating plans and for intermediate stages of the proceedings, and applications to initiate detailed plans would be submitted through the national planning database.

The proposed amendments would also introduce a stronger principle requiring authorities involved in the proceedings to raise their comments and requirements as early as possible. The aim is to reduce situations where a developer addresses one issue, resubmits the documentation, and only then encounters a new issue in the next round of proceedings.

According to the explanatory information accompanying the bill before the Riigikogu, detailed planning proceedings in Estonia currently take approximately 2.2 years on average, although in individual cases proceedings have lasted as long as 18 years. The next stage of the reform is intended to make these timeframes more predictable.

If the proposed amendments enter into force in their current form, the greatest practical benefit may come not from eliminating any single procedural stage, but from changing the overall process from a sequence of consecutive steps into a more parallel and front-loaded procedure. Necessary requirements, potential conflicts and approvals should be identified as early as possible in the process.

What Should Property Owners and Buyers Do Differently?

When considering the purchase or development of a property with development potential, it is advisable to check:

• whether the proposed development actually requires a detailed plan or could instead proceed on the basis of design specifications;
• if a detailed plan is already in force, whether the proposed changes fall within the scope of adjustments permitted through design specifications or a simplified amendment procedure;
• if a detailed plan is currently being processed, when the application to initiate the plan was submitted, when the last substantive procedural step took place, and whether the local authority has requested additional information;
• what the applicable comprehensive plan provides and whether the proposed building rights are consistent with it.

The reform of the Planning Act does not abolish detailed plans, nor does it reduce the need to take into account neighbouring property owners, environmental considerations and the public interest. However, the direction chosen by the legislature is clear: lengthy and complex planning procedures should not be used where the same objective can lawfully be achieved through a simpler process.

Erika Truuverk | Certified Real Estate Agent

This article is based on the following sources:

• Planning Act (PlanS), § 125(5), and the amendments that entered into force in 2026 concerning detailed planning procedures, amendments to detailed plans and procedural time limits.
• Planeerimisseaduse ning ehitusseadustiku ja planeerimisseaduse rakendamise seaduse muutmise seadus.  Põhiosas jõustunud 13.06.2026, osa sätteid jõustub 01.01.2027.
• Building Code (EhS), §§ 26 and 27, governing the issuance of design specifications both where no detailed plan exists and where a detailed plan is already in force. From 1 August 2026, § 27 also allows, among other things, the building area and building footprint to be adjusted by up to 15%.
• Draft Act 949 SE amending the Planning Act, the Building Code and their implementing legislation, aimed at further accelerating and simplifying planning procedures. As of 26 August 2026, the bill is still under consideration by the Riigikogu and has not yet entered into force as law.