The purpose of this law is to provide greater agility and legal certainty for the processing of construction projects and the approval of permits.
On September 23, 2024, the Congress approved the bill that introduces amendments to the General Law of Urbanism and Construction (LGUC) with the aim of decongesting the procedures in the Municipal Works Directorates (DOM) and reducing the time for the approval of construction permits.
The initiative seeks to solve one of the main problems faced by real estate and construction companies, which is the excessive processing and the long time it takes for projects to be approved, which in the end makes them more expensive and often leads developers to give up.
This is one of the factors that has caused the current crisis in the real estate and construction sector, in addition to the housing deficit that currently exists in the country.
Perhaps the most important change generated by this new law is the possibility that a significant amount of minor works may be executed only with the prior presentation of an affidavit signed by an architect and the other professionals involved, certifying that the project complies with the urban planning regulations, thus saving the ordinary processing of the building permit.
These minor works have yet to be determined by the General Ordinance of Urbanism and Construction, but the mere existence of the mechanism means an advance in the processing times of these projects and will relieve the congestion of the Municipal Works Directorates.
Among the other relevant changes that have been incorporated, the following stand out:
- Greater delimitation of the functions and powers of the Municipal Construction Managers in the processing of projects.
- Reduction of the time required for the approval of preliminary projects, road impact mitigation reports and construction permits.
- A term of 30 days is established from the presentation of the respective request for the DOM to pronounce on the construction permits, said term will be of 60 days in case the project considers occupation of 1,000 people.
- The term “building permits” is replaced by “construction permits”.
- A direct claim before the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Housing and Urbanism is created for the case in which the Director of Municipal Works denies a building permit expressly or through negative silence.
- A new claim of urban planning illegality is created, consisting of two instances. First, before the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Housing and Urbanism, and second, before the respective Court of Appeals, replacing the claim of municipal illegality that existed until now.
- It increases the range of responsibilities of the architects and professionals who carry out the structural calculation and soil mechanics studies. The responsibilities of independent reviewers are also modified.
The approved bill has already been sent to the Executive for enactment and publication.
This law will enter into force in different stages. Some regulations will enter into force 45 days after the law is published, others within 6 months.
Finally, it was agreed between the Congress and the Government to process a new bill to continue with the simplification of other sectorial procedures, which must be submitted within 15 days from September 23.
For further information on the implications of this regulation, please contact our Corporate and Business and Public Law and Regulated Markets team:
Álvaro Rosenblut | Partner | arosenblut@az.cl
Antonio Rubilar | Partner | arubilar@az.cl
Aileen Gorodischer | Associate Corporate and Business group | agorodischer@az.cl
Francisco Alarcón | Associate, Public Law and Regulated Markets Group | falarcon@az.cl
Raimundo Busquet | Associate Corporate and Business Group | rbusquet@az.cl
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