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District M "To Be Improved" and district R-EA for open spaces: two qualifications that limit building

Last reviewed: September 6, 2026 — VerifiedJunta de Planificación

In short

These are the last two rules of Chapter 6.1 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 and both limit what may be built, but for opposite reasons. District M, To Be Improved, is established to qualify areas where there is an excessive agglomeration of people and buildings on lots that are too small, with inadequate access, where the indispensable public services are lacking, with broken topography and other unfavourable conditions harmful to health or the general welfare; the regulation says those conditions make the district unsuitable for housing until they are modified. The concerned agency or the municipality may submit a Master Plan to the Planning Board to manage that space, and once approved the projects are evaluated under that plan. Without an approved Master Plan, a construction permit demands three things: that the project be compatible with any improvement or sanitation plan proposed by the Central Government, that the lot have an access with a minimum width of seven metres, and that the lot area be no less than one hundred square metres. And the important part: district M may be requalified totally or partially when the conditions have changed and it is justified. District R-EA is the opposite. It is established to identify land declared as open spaces under federal regulation — 44 CFR Part 80 — or some other federal programme, because a risk condition exists as a consequence of a natural event, such as severe flooding and landslides. There, only uses that do not endanger health, life and property are permitted: outdoor parks, natural reserves, crops, grazing, camping areas except where there is no adequate warning time for evacuation, unpaved parking, buffer zones, wetland management and mitigation activities. The construction of new buildings is not permitted, changes to the qualifications will not be considered, and the open-space condition will remain in perpetuity.

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What is it?

They are Rules 6.1.29 and 6.1.30 of Chapter 6.1 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, the last two of the qualified-areas chapter. District M identifies urban areas with conditions the regulation considers harmful to health or the general welfare and which, to be corrected, require broad measures or joint action by the affected owners or the effort of the community in general. District R-EA identifies land that a federal programme declared open space because of a risk condition after a natural event, and its objective is to preserve that condition in perpetuity.

Who can do it?

District M is established where several or all the conditions the rule enumerates exist in the area under consideration. Construction permits without an approved Master Plan require the lot or premises to have an access with a minimum width of seven metres and an area no less than one hundred square metres. The uses by exception in district M are the children’s and elderly care centre, whose lot may not exceed one cuerda, and commercial uses in keeping with a C-L district, institutional and service uses on land up to a maximum of one cuerda. Requalification of district M may be requested by any governmental entity, municipal or state, or by any owner in the district, when the conditions have changed and it is justified. In district R-EA only the uses Table 6.91 lists are permitted, the construction of new buildings is not permitted, and changes to the qualifications are not considered.

Requirements

  • In district M without an approved Master Plan: that the project be compatible with any improvement or sanitation plan proposed to be developed by the Central Government.Verified against the official source
  • In district M without an approved Master Plan: that the lot or premises where the project is proposed have an access with a minimum width of seven metres.Verified against the official source
  • In district M without an approved Master Plan: that the lot or premises area be no less than one hundred square metres.Verified against the official source
  • In district M: obtaining the comments of the municipality where the project is sited and of any concerned governmental agency or entity.Verified against the official source
  • In district M: that the proposed use be compatible with the existing uses in the project’s vicinity and not be noxious to the community’s health, safety and general welfare.Verified against the official source
  • In district M’s uses by exception: a lot not exceeding one cuerda for the care centre, land up to a maximum of one cuerda for the commercial, institutional and service uses, and compliance with the parking provisions of Chapter 8.5.Verified against the official source
  • In district R-EA: that the proposed use not endanger health, life and property, and that it be one of those Table 6.91 lists.Verified against the official source
  • In district R-EA: that camping areas not be sited where there is no adequate warning time for evacuation in an emergency.Verified against the official source
  • In district R-EA: that every public installation be open on all four sides and directly related to a recreational use or another permitted use, and that no new buildings be built.Verified against the official source
  • In district R-EA in a flood zone: that any improvement to the property or new construction permitted be in harmony with the Regulation on Special Flood Risk Areas, Planning Regulation No. 13, in force.Verified against the official source

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: What a district M is

    Section 6.1.29.1 describes it plainly. This district is established to qualify areas where there is an excessive agglomeration of people and buildings on lots that are too small, with inadequate access, where the indispensable public services are lacking, land with broken topography and other unfavourable conditions harmful to health or the general welfare. And it adds the reason the district exists: these conditions require, to be corrected, broad measures or joint action by the affected owners or the effort of the community in general. Section 6.1.29.2 sets the threshold to establish it: it will be necessary that several or all of the aforementioned conditions exist in the area under consideration, which make the district unsuitable for housing until they are modified.

  2. Step 2: The Master Plan changes the procedure

    The rule offers an institutional route before the individual one. The concerned agency or the municipality in whose territory there is a district M may submit a Master Plan to the Planning Board to manage that space. Once the Master Plan is approved, the projects will be evaluated by the corresponding authority as the approved plan provides. That is: where there is a plan, the plan governs. And there is a consequence that matters to owners: the land may be requalified according to the design parameters of the approved projects.

  3. Step 3: Building in district M without a Master Plan

    For projects presented without an approved Master Plan, the regulation sets three conditions. The project must be compatible with any improvement or sanitation plan proposed to be developed by the Central Government. The lot or premises where the project is proposed shall have an access with a minimum width of seven metres. And the lot or premises area shall be no less than one hundred square metres. To that are added two procedural requirements: the comments of the municipality where the project is sited and of any concerned governmental agency or entity must be obtained, and it will be ensured that the proposed use is compatible with the existing uses in the vicinity and is not noxious to the community’s health, safety and general welfare. New construction, extension and reconstruction of structures are additionally governed by Section 3.4.13.4 of Chapter 3.4 in Volume III.

  4. Step 4: The way out of district M: requalification

    Section 6.1.29.5 is what gives the district a future again. Any governmental entity, municipal or state, or any owner in a district M, may request, under Volume VII on processes before the Planning Board, the total or partial requalification of such district M to one of another type when the district’s conditions have changed and the requalification is justified. And as part of the revision of the Autonomous Municipalities’ Territorial Plans it may also be requalified totally or partially when the conditions have changed and it is justified. The district’s uses by exception are two: the children’s and elderly care centre, whose lot may not exceed one cuerda, and commercial uses in keeping with a C-L district, institutional and service uses, on land up to a maximum of one cuerda; for both, the parking provisions of Chapter 8.5 must be met.

  5. Step 5: What a district R-EA is

    Section 6.1.30.1 explains a district born of a federal decision. It is established to identify land declared as open spaces under federal regulation, 44 CFR Part 80, or some other federal programme, because a risk condition exists as a consequence of a natural event. Those spaces may include, but are not limited to, severe flooding and landslides. Conditions exist in these areas that are unfavourable or harmful to health, safety or the general welfare, and a risk of loss of life and property may exist. And the objective is expressly stated: to preserve the open-space condition established in perpetuity by the federal regulation, with which the government or the community must comply for the purpose of protecting health, life and property, avoiding severe and repetitive losses of goods, reducing the investment of public and federal funds in mitigation, and rescue efforts, among others.

  6. Step 6: The nine permitted uses in R-EA

    Table 6.91 lists them under a general condition: only those uses that do not endanger health, life and property will be permitted. They are parks for outdoor recreational activities; natural reserves; crops; grazing; camping areas, except where there is no adequate warning time for evacuation in an emergency; unpaved parking; buffer zones; wetland management; and mitigation activities. And Section 6.1.30.5 closes it: new use permits will be granted only for the uses permitted in this chapter.

  7. Step 7: What cannot be built in R-EA

    Section 6.1.30.4 is titled new constructions or repairs, and it ends with a prohibition. A public installation open on all four sides directly related to a recreational use or another use permitted under that section is admitted. If the land is sited in a flood zone, any improvement to the property or new construction permitted must be in harmony with the Regulation on Special Flood Risk Areas, which is Planning Regulation No. 13, in force. And the third item is the governing one: the construction of new buildings is not permitted.

  8. Step 8: Segregating and requalifying in R-EA

    Section 6.1.30.3 repeats, with a variant, district C-H’s formula. The segregation of land is not permitted, except to make a public safety work viable. Nor is the segregation of the portions of properties or lots in a district R-EA from the rest of the property or lot bearing another classification permitted, except where it is to devote the R-EA portion to public use in favour of a competent governmental entity by public deed. And Section 6.1.30.6 closes the rule and the chapter with two sentences that leave no margin: changes to the qualifications will not be considered, and the open-space condition will remain in perpetuity. It is the fundamental difference from district M, which can be requalified when the conditions change.

Where to do it

Construction permits in district M are processed before OGPe or the municipality, and the procedure is additionally governed by Section 3.4.13.4 of Chapter 3.4 in Volume III. The Master Plan to manage a district M is submitted to the Planning Board by the concerned agency or the municipality in whose territory the district lies. The requalification request for a district M is filed before the Planning Board under Volume VII, and may be filed by any municipal or state governmental entity or by any owner in the district. In district R-EA, new use permits will be granted only for the uses permitted in the chapter, and changes to the qualifications are not considered.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If the property is in district M, the first question is whether the municipality or the concerned agency submitted a Master Plan to the Planning Board to manage that space and whether it is approved, because if so the projects are evaluated under that plan and not by the general route. Without an approved plan, two numbers decide almost everything before spending on design: the access must have a minimum width of seven metres and the lot may not be under one hundred square metres. If the land does not reach those measures, the path is not an individual permit but the joint action the rule itself describes as the district’s remedy, or waiting for requalification. And requalification exists: any owner in the district may request it before the Planning Board when the conditions have changed and it is justified. If the property is in district R-EA, the conversation is different and worth having early: the construction of new buildings is not permitted, changes to the qualifications will not be considered and the open-space condition will remain in perpetuity. What does fit are the table’s uses — outdoor park, natural reserve, crops, grazing, camping where there is evacuation time, unpaved parking, buffering, wetlands and mitigation — and a public installation open on all four sides related to a recreational or another permitted use. And if it is also in a flood zone, it must be harmonised with Planning Regulation No. 13.

Common mistakes

  • Processing a project in district M without finding out whether there is a Master Plan approved by the Planning Board for that space.
  • Proposing a project in district M on a lot with an access under seven metres wide.
  • Proposing a project in district M on premises with an area under one hundred square metres.
  • Presenting a project in district M incompatible with an improvement or sanitation plan proposed by the Central Government.
  • Omitting the comments of the municipality and of the concerned governmental agencies or entities.
  • Assuming the M qualification is permanent, when any owner in the district may request requalification before the Planning Board if the conditions have changed.
  • Seeking a children’s and elderly care centre in district M on a lot exceeding one cuerda.
  • Proposing commercial, institutional or service uses in district M on land over one cuerda.
  • Planning a new building in district R-EA, which the regulation does not permit.
  • Requesting a qualification change for a district R-EA, when changes to the qualifications are not considered and the open-space condition remains in perpetuity.
  • Siting a camping area in R-EA where there is no adequate warning time for evacuation in an emergency.
  • Paving an R-EA’s parking, when the table permits unpaved parking.
  • Building a public installation in R-EA that is not open on all four sides or is not directly related to a permitted use.
  • Segregating land in R-EA for something other than making a public safety work viable.
  • Making improvements in an R-EA in a flood zone without harmonising them with Planning Regulation No. 13 in force.

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean for my land to be in a district M?

That it is in an area where the regulation identifies an excessive agglomeration of people and buildings on lots that are too small, with inadequate access, where the indispensable public services are lacking, with broken topography or other unfavourable conditions harmful to health or the general welfare. The regulation says those conditions make the district unsuitable for housing until they are modified.

Can I build in a district M?

Yes, with conditions. If there is an approved Master Plan, the projects are evaluated under that plan. Without an approved Master Plan, the project must be compatible with any improvement or sanitation plan proposed by the Central Government, the lot must have an access with a minimum width of seven metres and its area may not be under one hundred square metres. The comments of the municipality and of the concerned agencies must also be obtained.

Can the M qualification be removed?

Yes. Any municipal or state governmental entity, or any owner in a district M, may request before the Planning Board, under Volume VII, the total or partial requalification of that district to one of another type when the conditions have changed and it is justified. It may also happen as part of the revision of the Autonomous Municipalities’ Territorial Plans.

What is a district R-EA?

It is the district identifying land declared as open spaces under federal regulation — 44 CFR Part 80 — or some other federal programme, because a risk condition exists as a consequence of a natural event, which may include severe flooding and landslides. Its objective is to preserve the open-space condition established in perpetuity by the federal regulation.

Can I build a house on R-EA land?

No. Section 6.1.30.4 says the construction of new buildings is not permitted. The only thing the rule admits by way of construction is a public installation open on all four sides directly related to a recreational use or another use permitted under that section.

Can R-EA land be requalified?

No. Section 6.1.30.6 says it in two sentences: changes to the qualifications will not be considered, and the open-space condition will remain in perpetuity.

What uses are permitted in an R-EA?

Only those that do not endanger health, life and property: parks for outdoor recreational activities, natural reserves, crops, grazing, camping areas except where there is no adequate warning time for evacuation in an emergency, unpaved parking, buffer zones, wetland management and mitigation activities.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 6, 2026

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