With the aim of relieving EOAs of approximately 5.000 applications for building permits, the Decree of the Minister of the Interior entered into force yesterday for the rapid issuance of building permits for low-risk developments of up to two residential units (Category A), which had been submitted before July 1, 2024 and their review is pending.
In today's announcement, the Ministry of the Interior states that with the decree, the researchers of the developments in question can fill in the special Researcher Declaration Form (checklist) and submit it to the relevant Provincial Self-Government Organization (EOA), which within two working days days examines and approves or rejects the application.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the measure is implemented as a transitional stage in the context of the new development licensing system, pending the implementation of the new way of examining and issuing building permits for low-risk developments.
"The aim is to relieve EOA of approximately 5.000 applications for Class A building permits, which were submitted before July 1, 2024 and have secured planning permission," it is noted.
It is recalled that within the framework of the reform of the development licensing system, rapid and automated examination procedures for urban planning and building applications are foreseen, with the introduction of the concept of self-checking and assuming the responsibility for the correctness of the application by the designers.
In the first phase, from October 2, 2024, the new method is implemented for the issuance of urban planning permits for single-family houses and two-family houses with an implementation schedule for building permits at the end of January 2025.
With the new practice, the necessary permits for low-risk developments are issued in a total of 40 working days, thus reducing delays and time to issue permits and speeding up the start of construction work.
Besides, the competent Ministry states that the implementation of the planning will be completed next March, with the extension of the rapid process of issuing permits to medium-risk developments for four-storey apartment buildings up to 20 apartments and 12 houses in a row (Category B). Applications for Category B will be made in a corresponding manner by completing a special checklist by the researchers and permits will be issued in a total of 80 working days, thus facilitating development.
He also notes that an important innovation in the reform of the licensing system is the introduction of the institution of the Building Inspector and the transfer of control on the ground to the construction sites in three stages of the construction of the building, so that any irregular constructions can be detected in time and prevented in the beginning .
