On 23 October, Decree-Law 112/2025 was published, comprising amendments to the Public Contracts Code and to Law 30/2021 of 21 May, with the aim of increasing housing supply and curbing the rise in house prices. The decree-law makes the use of the design-build scheme more flexible, allowing it to be adopted whenever, in light of the public interests at stake, it is deemed appropriate, and introduces special public procurement measures applicable until 31 December 2026, simplifying public tenders, prior consultation procedures and direct awards in public housing projects. It also repeals Article 2-A of Law 30/2021 and applies to public procurement procedures initiated after 28 October 2025.
On 23 October, Decree-Law 112/2025 was published, comprising the fifteenth amendment to the Public Contracts Code (PCC) and the third amendment to Law 30/2021 of 21 May, which approved special public procurement measures.
This legislation is part of an effort to reverse the trend in house price growth and aims to 'develop mechanisms to mobilise and stimulate agents in the construction sector, with a view to increasing housing supply and, consequently, mitigating the imbalance between supply and demand'.
I. Amendments to the Public Contracts Code: making use of the design-build scheme more flexible
Until this amendment, the use of the design-build scheme was limited to 'duly substantiated exceptional cases, in which the contractor must assume, in accordance with the specifications, obligations relating to the use of the work to be carried out, or in which the technical complexity of the construction process of the work to be carried out requires, due to the specific technical expertise of the competitors, their special connection to the design of the work' (cf. Article 43(3) of the PCC, in its previous wording).
With the entry into force of Decree-Law 112/2025 of 23 October, contracting authorities may now use design-build contracts not only in exceptional and duly justified cases, but whenever, at their discretion and in the light of the public interests at stake, they conclude that this type of contract is appropriate.
Under the new wording of Article 43(3) of the PCC, the contracting authority may 'provide for the preparation of the construction design as an aspect of the performance of the contract to be entered into, in which case the specifications shall consist solely of a preliminary programme and the base price defined therein shall separately itemise the maximum amounts that the contracting authority is willing to pay for the performance of the services corresponding to the design and execution of the works'.
II. Amendments to Decree-Law 30/2021 of 21 May
In addition to amending the Public Contracts Code, this law changed the exceptional public procurement measures, allowing contracting authorities, in the context of concluding contracts aimed at promoting public housing or controlled costs, and until 31 December 2026, to adopt:
- The simplified public tender or limited tender by prior qualification procedure, when the contract value is below the thresholds referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 of Article 474 of the CCP, as applicable;
- The simplified prior consultation procedure, with invitations sent to at least five entities, when the contract value is both below the thresholds referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 of Article 474 of the CCP, as applicable, and below EUR 1,000,000;
- The simplified direct award procedure when the contract value is equal to or less than EUR 15,000;
- The direct award procedure for: (i) entering into public works contracts or concessions, where the contract value is equal to or less than EUR 60,000; (ii) the conclusion of contracts for the lease, purchase of movable property or services, where the contract value is equal to or less than EUR 30,000; and (iii) the conclusion of other contracts, where the contract value is equal to or less than EUR 65,000.
In addition to the above, and following the relaxation of the use of the design-build scheme brought about by the amendment to the PCC, Decree-Law 112/2025 repeals Article 2-A of Law 30/2021 of 21 May, which established the special design-build scheme applicable to contracts for the execution of projects financed or co-financed by European funds.
III. Scope of application and entry into force
The decree-law is applicable to public procurement procedures begun after its date of entry into force, which corresponds to 28 October 2025.
