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Construction - Ukraine

 

Once a building (or other construction) has been completed, it must be commissioned for use. Ukrainian law strictly prohibits the use of buildings before they are commissioned by the appropriate authority and according to the established procedure, which is based on Article 30(1) of the Law on Planning and Development (1699-III).

 

On December 25 2008 Parliament passed the Law on Prevention of the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Development of the Construction Industry and Residential Construction. The new laws amended Article 30(1) and formulated a new commissioning procedure. Under the terms of the latter law, the approval procedure required the assent of the Cabinet of Ministers.

 

Cabinet Resolution 923/2008, which was issued on October 8 2008, established the new conditions and mechanism for approving new buildings. It came into force on January 1 2009. Previously the procedure was regulated by Resolution 1243/2004, which came into force on September 22 2004.

 

Pursuant to the old resolution, approving new buildings for use was the responsibility of working commissions and state approval commissions, which assessed the building's readiness for use, its compliance with technical engineering fittings with the approved design documentation. Resolution 923/2008 makes the procedure more straightforward and only one commission is required to confirm the building's readiness and compliance.

 

The Inspectorate of State Architectural Construction Control will approve the commissioning of a building by issuing a certificate of compliance of the construction with design documentation, requirements of state standards and construction norms and rules. Previously, approval was based on an administrative instrument, issued by a state commission, which had to be approved within 15 days by the executive or local government entity that had created the commission. Only then could the instrument be registered with the inspectorate, which would issue a permit to certify the performance of the construction work.

 

The procedural reform introduces a number of improvements:

 

  • An applicant for a certificate need no longer await the creation of a state approval commission, as the latter's functions are performed by the inspectorate which issued the permit for construction works. Previously, an applicant had to appeal to the local executive or government body with a request to create a commission. It took 10 days for the commission to be established and the additional participation of a working commission was obligatory in some cases.
  • Under the new system, the inspectorate has 10 days to process an application (ie, to consider it and either reject it or issue and register a certificate). Under the previous regime, the same process took between 55 and 85 days. Thus, the time taken for approval has been not only considerably reduced, but also capped at a maximum of 10 days.
  • The new legislation requires the competent authority to explain its reasons for rejecting an application.

The inspectorate is responsible for establishing an approval commission, which must comprise:

 

  • the applicant or its representative;
  • a general designer;
  • a representative of an insurance company;
  • a general contractor; and 
  • representatives of the inspectorate and the appropriate state administration or local government body.

The applicant must file an application with the inspectorate and provide the documents specified by law. If the documents comply with all formal requirements, the inspectorate has three days in which to establish the acceptance commission.

 

The commission's confirmation takes the form of a document known as an 'act for readiness for operation', which must be prepared by the applicant and signed by the head and all members of the commission. If construction defects have been identified, they must be remedied within a period specified by the commission.

 

The applicant must provide the inspectorate with the act and the duly approved project documentation in order to obtain a certificate. The building is deemed to be approved with effect from the certificate's date of issue.

 

The inspectorate has three business days to inform the relevant local government body or local state authority that it has issued the certificate. The certificate is needed in order to:

 

  • conclude agreements for the supply of utilities that are necessary to the building's use; 
  • have certain data about the building entered in the state statistical report; and
  • formalize the ownership rights in the building. 

On September 16 2008 Parliament passed the Law on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts to Support Construction (509-VI), which also amends Artice 30(1). The amendments will come into force on October 15 2009 and generally coincide with the changes introduced by Law 800-VI, except that the certificate is termed a 'testimonial'.

 

It remains to be seen how effectively the new procedure will work in practice. In light of previous experience in the sector, many construction stakeholders find it difficult to believe that the slow and bureaucratic procedure will improve, but it is hoped that the new regime will expedite the formalities of commissioning and support the construction industry.

 

 

 



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