In today's article from the "Mornings for Construction Professionals" series, and in conjunction with today's webinar on the legalization of unauthorized construction, we will attempt to explain the standard procedure for legalizing unauthorized construction, which is more complex than the simplified legalization procedure. Therefore, it's worth spending some time on today's alert, which will allow you to better understand what will be discussed during the webinar.
We had the pleasure of telling you what illegal construction is and what the simplified legalization procedure involves in previous alerts, which we encourage you to read.
- Legalization of unauthorized construction – introduction
- Legalization of unauthorized construction – when will the new regulations apply?
- Simplified legalization procedure
But let's move on to today's topic. If, after conducting a property inspection, the authority concludes that it's dealing with unauthorized construction, it will issue a decision to suspend construction. The competent authority for legalization is, of course, the district building inspector. As a brief reminder, according to the regulations, unauthorized construction applies to a building or part thereof that is under construction or has already been constructed:
- without first obtaining a building permit;
- no notification required;
- in the event of commencement or continuation of construction despite the building administration authority having filed an objection to the notification.
Furthermore, it should be noted that if construction creates a threat to human life or health, the construction supervision authority will issue a decision to suspend construction. Under this decision, the authority orders the immediate securing of the building or the area where construction is taking place and the removal of the threat.
Importantly, the decision to suspend construction should include information about the possibility of submitting an application for legalization of the building or part thereof. This instruction also includes information about the required legalization fee and the rules for calculating it. The decision to suspend construction may be appealed by filing an appeal. Interestingly, the decision to suspend construction is also issued after construction is completed.
If a party is interested in legalizing an unauthorized construction project, they should submit a legalization application within 30 days of receiving the decision to suspend construction. The Building Law considers the investor, owner, or manager of the building to be the authorized party to submit a legalization application. Such an application may be withdrawn until the date the legalization decision is issued by the authority.
If a party decides to file an appeal against the decision to suspend construction, the deadline for submitting an application for legalisation begins to run from the date on which the decision becomes final.
The next step after submitting the legalization application is for the construction supervision authority to issue a decision requiring the party to submit legalization documents. It's worth noting that the deadline set by the construction supervision authority, in accordance with the regulations, cannot be shorter than 60 days and begins on the date of service of the decision requiring the submission of documents. This solution is intended to protect the party's interests in the proceedings by providing them with sufficient time to gather the documents requested by the authority.
After the party submits the legalization documents, the supervisory authority verifies the completeness of the documentation, including the construction design, and the compliance of the plot or land development plan with the provisions of the Building Law, including compliance with technical and construction regulations. If construction has been completed, the condition is examined for compliance with the regulations in force at the time of completion.
If any irregularities are identified in the documentation (e.g., errors or omissions), the construction supervision authority issues a decision requiring the correction of these irregularities and sets an appropriate deadline for this purpose. Such a decision is also subject to appeal.
If, after being summoned by the authority, the party successfully corrects the deficiencies, or following a complaint, the authority concludes that the documentation was complete and correcting the deficiencies was unnecessary, the authority will issue a decision establishing the legalization fee. This decision may also be appealed if, in the party's opinion, the fee was determined inconsistently with the regulations.
Only after the party pays the legalization fee does the construction supervision authority issue a legalization decision. Depending on whether the construction is completed or not, the legalization decision will be:
- approved a construction project or a plot or land development project, or
- allowed construction to resume if the construction had not been completed.
The legalization decision also imposes the obligation to obtain an occupancy permit.
We remind you that our next webinar will take place today, October 27th, at 10:00 AM, and will be entirely devoted to issues related to the new procedure for legalizing unauthorized construction. During the meeting, we will be able to provide you with more details about the changes to the procedure resulting from the September amendment to the Building Law, including what legalization documents will be required by the authority in the legalization process, as well as information about the recovery process.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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