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Construction is a very time-consuming and painstaking process that requires not only the ability to create a living space but also good legal knowledge. Unfortunately, this point causes the construction of a dream house to be postponed for an indefinite period. And if you want to acquire a ready-made object, then all the more you need to be 100% sure that there will be no problems with the law after the purchase. One of the first and most important documents for a developer is a building permit. In this article, we describe how to get it, what it is, what its cost and its terms of readiness.
Building permit – what is it?
To start the construction of any object, first, you need to get this treasured document, without which it is forbidden to start any work, and in principle, it simply does not make sense. If your housing was built without legal grounds, then even if your house has already been built, it can be demolished and all your financial investments will be in vain. Therefore, a permit must be obtained in the first place.
A Building Permit is defined at the legislative level in Art. 28 sec. 1 of the Construction Law. It states that any construction work can only start on the basis of a building permit issued by the Architecture and Construction Authority.
It also states that the parties to the process are:
– investor;
– owners, permanent users or property managers who use the property.
The Construction Law also specifies such an option as construction on a notification without obtaining a building permit. Thus, you will not have to wait a long time for a response from government agencies, but it will be enough to apply, and if local authorities do not object to the planned work within 21 days, you can safely start building. If you have not received an answer about the construction ban within three weeks, then this is considered the tacit consent of the state authorities to your building.
How to get a building permit? Step by step
So, you are determined to build your dream house, you imagine how it will look after the renovation and how dramatically your life will change. But before that, you have to solve the extra credit problem and get a building permit. We will tell you how to do this step by step.
Step 1. Checking the Local Development Plan or getting the development conditions if there is no such plan for your building plot. The LDP is an act of local legislation that is enacted by the community or city council, depending on where the site is located.
Even if you are only at the stage of searching for a land plot that suits you and your future house, you will still have to check the LDP or apply for a decision on the development conditions of the selected plot. The LDP or development conditions must provide you with all the requirements for your plot or the one you have chosen:
– the type of buildings that can be found on it;
– number of stories of the building;
– roof colour, etc.
Step 2. After receiving the LDP or development conditions, you should apply for the conditions for connecting the future house to the relevant utility lines: water, electricity, gas and sewerage.
Step 3. For design purposes, it is necessary to prepare a situational and elevation map at a scale of 1:500. This must be done by an authorized land surveyor. The map contains a sketch of the selected house project (ready-made or designed individually for you). The land surveyor also prepares a land development plan. At this stage, you need an extract from the cadastral book for your plot and land in the immediate vicinity.
Step 4. When you already have a development plan and a preliminary design of the house, you can begin to prepare an architectural and construction project taking into account the plot. The design must be made in four identical copies.
Step 5. When obtaining a building permit for a house with a flat, gable or multi-pitched roof, you still need to prepare documentation for the project documentation development team (PDDT). At this stage, to successfully obtain a building permit, additional documents may be required:
– water permit (if your investment affects the management of water resources in the region);
– permission of a local restorer of architectural monuments to carry out construction work on the territory included in the register of monuments.
Step 6. When you have all the documents required to apply for a building permit, you can submit the appropriate application to the city or municipal administration along with the necessary annexes.
Building permit 2022 – what documents?
The collection of documents for obtaining a building permit must be approached with particular scrupulousness since if you fill out the application incorrectly, indicate an insufficient amount of required data, or add the wrong number of requested documents, you will have to start over. To complete this quest as quickly as possible, collect all the documents in advance. The list consists of:
– statements of the applicant about the right to use real estate for construction purposes;
– decisions on issuance of development conditions, if there is no local development plan;
– extracts from the Land Register for your plot and neighbouring plots, as well as an extract from the cadastral map;
– 4 copies of the construction project (they should be accompanied by descriptions, contracts, permits and any other documents provided for by the provisions of the Construction Law);
– specifications received from media providers;
– statements of the designer and inspector on the preparation of the construction project, in accordance with the current norms and principles of technical knowledge;
– documents certifying that the designers have the relevant permits required by law and certificates of entry into the relevant chamber of professional self-government.
In the application for a building permit itself, you must provide the following information:
– all your data as an investor;
– the type of investment being made (for example, construction of an individual house);
– building address;
– designation of the object that you are going to build.
Further, after submitting all the necessary documents, the competent authority checks the compliance of the site development plan with technical and building regulations. Additionally, the full compliance of the construction project with the provisions of the territorial development plan or the decision on the development conditions and the requirements of environmental protection is checked.
If the mayor or other authority issuing a building permit finds errors, inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the submitted documentation, they will call you to correct these inaccuracies. You will be assigned a new date by which you must correct all deficiencies and provide an updated package of documents or a corrected application.
How much does it cost to get a building permit?
The price of obtaining such a document is fixed and depends on several factors and the need to provide specific documents for your case. The estimated cost will be:
– about PLN 50 for photocopies of excerpts and extracts from the territorial development plan;
– about PLN 50 for a map of the area, which can be obtained from the land surveying office;
– PLN 30 for an extract from the land and mortgage register (if necessary);
– PLN 600-700/ha per map for design purposes (paid to the land surveyor);
– from PLN 2,500 to PLN 6,000 – for a simple house project – finished, not individually prepared by an architect, because such project will cost much more.
Who issues a building permit?
This answer is also contained in the provisions of the Construction Law. It says that a building permit can be issued by the architectural and construction department. However, this can be done not only by this body but also by:
– mayor;
– governor (if it is a very complex and/or strategic object);
– director of the district mining department for the construction of structures in the mines.
How long does it take to get a building permit?
When it comes to obtaining documents from state bodies, there is no need to wait for a particularly quick decision, alas. Therefore, we advise you to prepare in advance and protect yourself from repeated applications and be patient. A building permit is issued in the form of an administrative decision within a full 65 days, in some cases, these periods can be even longer.
In a situation where you receive this document through the mayor, they cannot delay the decision for more than 65 days. Otherwise, for each day of delay, they may be fined PLN 500. This rule can work to your advantage and then issuing a permit in this way will be the best option.
We also want to note that the decision is only valid after 14 days from the moment you receive it. This period is the time during which each party may file an appeal.
How long is a building permit valid?
The term of the building permit itself is only 3 years. This also includes the time of construction delays. If you are not doing any active work, the permit still expires. In any case, after three years from the date of receipt of the document, you will have to go through this procedure again and obtain a new permit.
How to renew a building permit?
If the permit is about to expire and the work has not yet been completed, you can try to renew the document. To do this, you need to re-submit the plan of the house in four copies to the city or community administration with all the necessary documents and approvals. Together with them, you will need to apply for a new building permit.
Separately, we want to note that if your building permit has already expired, but you continue your work, this will be tantamount to illegal construction arbitrariness. As soon as a building supervision inspection comes to you, you will encounter several problems. Sometimes such stories end with huge fines or even a decision to demolish the building.
Conclusion
No wonder at the very beginning of the article we said that the skilful hands of builders are only 50% of success. To build a house, you need to be well educated not only about foundation and painting work, but you also need to be an excellent lawyer. If you are not, we will be happy to provide you with support services in this complex and multi-level issue. Our Euromed-Bud company is engaged in the construction of turnkey houses, including the solution of all legal aspects. With us, it will be easier to look at the construction and not spend a huge amount of time studying the law, as our lawyers will do it for you!