«And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been treated or recognized at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure.». (Niccolo Machiavelli 'The Prince.')
February 17, 2011 was marked by the critical invasion into the system of urban laws of Ukraine, which is associated with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "About regulation of urban development"(hereinafter - "the Act "), the abolition of the Law of Ukraine "On the Planning and Development” and a significant change in the key construction laws. Innovations came into force on 12 March 2011, with some exceptions.
Under the slogan "Let’s simplify licensing procedures" the concept of construction projects had actually been changed and toughened. The concept of a new building legislation is revealed in regulations 3 and 4 of Article 24 of the Act: in the absence of a zoning plan and detailed site plan, approved in accordance with the requirements of the Act, the provision of communal land (state) ownership in the property, the use of natural or legal persons for purposes of construction and change of their intended purpose is prohibited. Despite the fact that the rules establishing these bans come into force on 1 January 2012, a de facto ban has already occurred. Many municipalities have been denied the privatization and land allocation for construction. This is because the key process in the construction project is inherently linked to the presence of and compliance with the requirements of urban planning documents. Such procedures include: development of land use documentation (Article 25), the realization of the right to develop (art. 26), which should be in accordance with town planning documents in the absence of the transition period and or of any exceptions here to.
As we predicted, with the entry into force of this law licensing and investment in construction were paralyzed (see column from Feb. 13, 2011).
For over 2,5 months in Ukraine as it has been impossible to embark on new construction projects because there are no legal options for obtaining urban conditions and restrictions on development which is the first prerequisite document in the construction algorithm. The reason is simple - there is no procedure for the issue of urban conditions and restrictions, which must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The uniqueness of this situation lies in the fact that even with the advent of the said regulations, the issuance of urban conditions and restrictions will be possible only if there is such planning documentation as a detailed site plan and, accordingly, the master plan of settlement (in the case of construction within settlements) or planned layout of the area (if we are talking about construction outside of the settlement). However, in accordance with the law, a detailed site plan must contain not only the part on the urban development, but also a plan for land and economic system. To approve the detailed site plan in the new environment even with the funds the investor is also impossible because the process is hampered by lack of State construction regulations of Ukraine “On the composition, structure, design and approval of the detailed site plan” (yet to be approved Minregionstroy with State Land Commission), and the non-existence of provisions on the procedure for public hearings (yet to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine).
The numbers game with the theme of “how many documents were developed and approved for this law to work” no longer impresses any one, since the quality of these fast-tracked documents makes one eagerly await their speedy amendment. And when according to the information supplied by Interfax Ukraine on May 18, 2011 4 approved documents suddenly turn into 24 out of 44 it looks either as a mistake of the reporter or as a deliberated attempt to misinform the Prime Minister.
On May 13, 2011 it became possible to obtain permission to carry out construction work or to submit a declaration of the beginning of construction work, since a resolution of Cabinet of Ministers of 13 April 2011 N 466 came into force. But the relevant issue is the question of the proper attribution of the category of object to be created, because it is a key issue in determining the algorithm of the authorization. Error in this matter is fraught with the status of the object of unauthorized construction and liability by the commissioner of the construction and his officers (administrative, financial, criminal).
Is anyone surprised by the fact that the construction reform was turned in an experiment? After all the analyzed law actually does not have a transitional period and it is quite natural that its coming into force suspends a number of processes and actually hinders investment activity. It was not difficult to predict such a development even before the adoption of the law, which we did. Unwittingly the impression is that this pseudo construction reform was ideologically well presented but that in fact it is a planned action to undermine the reformist government's image.
For now developers and construction customers remain silent – they still believe and wait for those real simplifications of the legal maze they have to deal with. It is high time to acknowledge the reform’s fiasco and to start working on perfecting the Law “On urban construction regulation”. Some of the MPs have already approached the Prime Minister with such requests.
Under the slogan "Let’s simplify licensing procedures" the concept of construction projects had actually been changed and toughened. The concept of a new building legislation is revealed in regulations 3 and 4 of Article 24 of the Act: in the absence of a zoning plan and detailed site plan, approved in accordance with the requirements of the Act, the provision of communal land (state) ownership in the property, the use of natural or legal persons for purposes of construction and change of their intended purpose is prohibited. Despite the fact that the rules establishing these bans come into force on 1 January 2012, a de facto ban has already occurred. Many municipalities have been denied the privatization and land allocation for construction. This is because the key process in the construction project is inherently linked to the presence of and compliance with the requirements of urban planning documents. Such procedures include: development of land use documentation (Article 25), the realization of the right to develop (art. 26), which should be in accordance with town planning documents in the absence of the transition period and or of any exceptions here to.
As we predicted, with the entry into force of this law licensing and investment in construction were paralyzed (see column from Feb. 13, 2011).
For over 2,5 months in Ukraine as it has been impossible to embark on new construction projects because there are no legal options for obtaining urban conditions and restrictions on development which is the first prerequisite document in the construction algorithm. The reason is simple - there is no procedure for the issue of urban conditions and restrictions, which must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The uniqueness of this situation lies in the fact that even with the advent of the said regulations, the issuance of urban conditions and restrictions will be possible only if there is such planning documentation as a detailed site plan and, accordingly, the master plan of settlement (in the case of construction within settlements) or planned layout of the area (if we are talking about construction outside of the settlement). However, in accordance with the law, a detailed site plan must contain not only the part on the urban development, but also a plan for land and economic system. To approve the detailed site plan in the new environment even with the funds the investor is also impossible because the process is hampered by lack of State construction regulations of Ukraine “On the composition, structure, design and approval of the detailed site plan” (yet to be approved Minregionstroy with State Land Commission), and the non-existence of provisions on the procedure for public hearings (yet to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine).
The numbers game with the theme of “how many documents were developed and approved for this law to work” no longer impresses any one, since the quality of these fast-tracked documents makes one eagerly await their speedy amendment. And when according to the information supplied by Interfax Ukraine on May 18, 2011 4 approved documents suddenly turn into 24 out of 44 it looks either as a mistake of the reporter or as a deliberated attempt to misinform the Prime Minister.
On May 13, 2011 it became possible to obtain permission to carry out construction work or to submit a declaration of the beginning of construction work, since a resolution of Cabinet of Ministers of 13 April 2011 N 466 came into force. But the relevant issue is the question of the proper attribution of the category of object to be created, because it is a key issue in determining the algorithm of the authorization. Error in this matter is fraught with the status of the object of unauthorized construction and liability by the commissioner of the construction and his officers (administrative, financial, criminal).
Is anyone surprised by the fact that the construction reform was turned in an experiment? After all the analyzed law actually does not have a transitional period and it is quite natural that its coming into force suspends a number of processes and actually hinders investment activity. It was not difficult to predict such a development even before the adoption of the law, which we did. Unwittingly the impression is that this pseudo construction reform was ideologically well presented but that in fact it is a planned action to undermine the reformist government's image.
For now developers and construction customers remain silent – they still believe and wait for those real simplifications of the legal maze they have to deal with. It is high time to acknowledge the reform’s fiasco and to start working on perfecting the Law “On urban construction regulation”. Some of the MPs have already approached the Prime Minister with such requests.