Obtain topographical documentation
Agency: Private company
To obtain the urban planning certificate, BuildCo must submit up-to-date topographical documentation. This will be drafted by an authorized engineer.
Time and cost: 7 days, RON 2,000
Obtain approval of topographical documentation and land registry excerpt from the Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry (OCPI)
Agency: Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry (OCPI)
The information excerpt provides information regarding the legal status of the land. Topographical plans executed by authorized engineers must be approved by the Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry (OCPI).
Time and cost: 15 days, RON 270
Obtain urban planning certificate
Agency: Department of Urbanism of the local City Hall
Pursuant to Order No. 839/2009 issued by the Ministry of Regional Development and Housing (“Order 839”), approving the Methodological Norms to the Construction Law, the following urban planning documents are required:
- The general urban plan (PUG) and the related local regulation
- The (zone) urban plan (PUZ) and the related local regulation
- The detailed urban plan (PUD)
The urban planning certificate provides information on the ownership, the public utility service availability, the location within (intravilan) and outside (extravilan) the city limits, the urban planning requirements, the land use at the time, the allowed uses, and so forth.
From a technical point of view, the certificate shows the percentage of land occupation, the coefficient of land use, the minimum and maximum dimensions of the plots, the allowed built-up area, utilities, and access, necessary parking, alignment of the land and buildings with the adjacent streets, and the maximum and minimum construction height allowed.
This certificate does not grant the right to build. Its validity period varies but cannot exceed 12 months. Construction must start during that 12-month period.
The urban planning certificate enumerates all the necessary project clearances applicable to the warehouse case considered here. The municipality has the right to decide which project clearances are needed.
Time and cost: 30 days, RON 14
Obtain project clearance from Bucharest Regional Environmental Protection Agency
Agency: Bucharest Regional Environmental Protection Agency
According to the Order of the Ministry of the Environment and the Climacteric Changes no. 865 / 2014 regarding the amendment of certain regulations in the environment protection field, the cost in case the application requires no assessment (the project can be built without environmental permit) is of Ron 100. In this case, the application will be responded in 10 days;
If a preliminary assessment of the project is found necessary by the Environmental Protection Agency (highly probable for our case study) the tax is of Ron 500 and the application will be responded in 21 days.
Time and cost: 21 days, RON 500
Obtain project clearance from water supply and sewerage authority (Apa Nova SA)
Agency: Apa Nova SA
By law, the project clearance from the water supply and sewerage authority (Apa Nova S.A.) must be issued within 15 days, but, in practice, it can take up to 18 days.
Time and cost: 18 days, RON 334
Obtain project clearance from the electric power supply authority (Enel S.A.)
Agency: Enel S.A.
According to Order No. 48/2008 on the Approval of the Methodology Regarding the Issuance of Clearance Permits by Network Operators, BuildCo must obtain a project clearance from Enel S.A. prior to beginning construction. The electric power authority will clear the electrical plans, by confirming that the plans are in compliance with regulations and standards. An approval from the electric power supply authorities is required for all construction projects implying the use of electricity.
Time and cost: 15 days, RON 95
Obtain project clearance from General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
Agency: General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
The relevant legal provisions in force are Methodological Norms for the Endorsement and Permitting regarding Fire Security and Civil Protection, approved by Order no. 3/2011 of the Ministry of Administration and Interior.
According to the amendments to the Construction Law, if the 15-day term provided by the law for issuing the clearance is not observed by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the legal provisions referring to tacit approval shall be applied.
Time and cost: 15 days, no charge
Obtain project clearance from Health Department
Agency: Bucharest Health Department
The maximum term to respond to the application for project clearance from the Heath Department is 20 working days by the Order No. 251/2012 issued by the Ministry of Health, published in the Official Gazette Part I, No. 196/2012. In practice, the term to obtain the clearance is normally 15 days. However, there is a possibility to fast track this procedure, which allows BuildCo to complete it in 5 days for RON 250.
To apply for approval at the Bucharest Health Department, several documents must be submitted:
- Urbanism certificate with annexed plans
- Technical memorandum drafted by the architect
- Ownership title
- Incorporation certificate
Time and cost: 7 days, RON 250
Obtain updated land registry excerpt from the Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry (OCPI)
Agency: Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry (OCPI)
An updated land title excerpt is needed to attest that no legal changes have occurred. The land title excerpt obtained at the beginning is only valid for 30 days and so the initial one can’t be used. OCPI issues the land title excerpt in 2 business days.
Time and cost: 2 days, RON 20
Sign contract with the solid waste authority (REBU SA)
Agency: REBU SA
Through the certificate of urbanization the municipality requests that a contract be signed with a waste disposal company to clear construction debris from the construction site. There are two companies that provide services in this area: ROSAL S.A. and REBU S.A. The latter is a larger player with a wider network. The fees are RON 93 (RON 75.00 + 24% VAT) per cubic meter of waste (although VAT is not taken into account in the Doing Business case study). Additionally, for the surface of the land in question, a tax of RON 42.00 would also be applicable. The minimum of 35 cubic meters must be contracted according to the requirements of company.
Time and cost: 1 day, RON 2,667
Notarize statement about nonexistence of land disputes
Agency: Notary
BuildCo must obtain a notarized statement stating that there are no disputes related to the land. This procedure is not a standard requirement by law but is often requested in practice.
Each notary charges a different fee, but the fee cannot exceed RON 30.00, the maximum notary fee established by the National Notaries Union.
Time and cost: 1 day, RON 15
Register project with the Order of Architects and pay architecture stamp duty
Agency: Order of Architects
Pursuant to Government Decision 932/2010 regarding the methodological norms for the application of Law 184/2001, the local branch of the Order of Architects (OAR) issues an attestation to their members confirming their right of signature on projects that are submitted for obtaining the building permit and other types of similar authorizations. The fee for this attestation cannot exceed RON 50 and constitutes revenue for the local OAR. Pursuant to Law 121/2002 regarding literary, cinematographic, theater, music and visual arts stamp duty and Order 2823/2003, architecture stamp duty is added to the value of the investment. The stamp duty represents 0.05% of the value of the investment and is applied to all plans designed by architects. It can be paid directly at the OAR or via bank transfer. The collected amount is transferred to the Order of Architects or the Architects Union based on the option of the architect in charge of the plans.
Time and cost: 1 day, RON 1,232
Obtain building permit
Agency: City Hall
BuildCo must apply for a building permit by submitting the following documents:
- City-planning certificate
- Property title on the land (there are no requirements as to how recent the title must be)
- Technical documentation which replaced former plans for the authorization of construction
- Necessary approvals, as required by the city-planning certificate
- Environmental approval
- Proof of payment of the legally required taxes (receipts from the tax authorities)
- Legalized copy of the title to the real estate or the updated cadastral plan and land registry extract for informative purposes
The building permit is issued by the City Hall. For Bucharest, the construction permit is issued by the General Mayor of Bucharest if the construction is outside the buildable area or if it exceeds a district area; or by the relevant district mayor if the construction is located in one of the six districts of Bucharest.
The cost of the building permit is 1% of the value of the construction work.
Time and cost: 30 days, RON 23,644
Notify the City Hall of the start of construction works
Agency: City Hall
According to Law 50/1991 on Approval of Construction works, the investor must notify the building permit issuing authority, the City Hall, of the date on which construction work will begin.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Notify Bucharest Construction Inspectorate of commencement of construction and submit the schedule of inspections
Agency: Bucharest Construction Inspectorate
According to Law 50/1991 on Approval of Construction works, the investor must notify the Bucharest Construction Inspectorate of the date on which construction work will begin.
Time and cost: 1 day, RON 11,822
Notify the Bucharest Labor Inspectorate of the start of construction
Agency: Bucharest Labor Inspectorate
The investor or the project manager of the construction project must notify the local Labor Inspectorate if (i) the extent of the works is estimated to be over 30 days and there are at least 20 workers on the site simultaneously or (ii) the estimated workforce is greater than 500 workers/day.
The notification must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the construction works. Otherwise, the Labor Inspectorate will impose a fine.
This is prescribed in Government Decision No. 300/2006 on minimum health and safety requirements for temporary construction sites.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Receive foundations work inspection
Agency: Bucharest Construction Inspectorate
The schedule of inspections is described in the building permit. By law, BuildCo must pay 0.1% of the authorized value to the competent territorial inspectorate for construction. In addition, the investors or owners must pay the State Inspectorate for Construction a monthly payment equivalent to 0.7% of the value of the expenses incurred in that month for the execution of the construction work.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Receive frame inspection
Agency: Bucharest Construction Inspectorate
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Notify City Hall of completion of construction and request final assessment
Agency: Department of Urbanism of the local City Hall
BuildCo notifies the local public administration and other relevant authorities of the date of completion of construction so that the Acceptance Commission may be convened and a final assessment can be carried out.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Notify Bucharest Construction Inspectorate of completion of construction and request final assessment
Agency: Bucharest Construction Inspectorate
At the end of construction works BuildCo must notify the State Construction Inspectorate and submit a request for the convening of the Acceptance Commission. Together with the notification, BuildCo must also submit proof of the actual value of construction works and a tax adjustment form.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Receive final inspection and obtain final assessment from the Acceptance Commission
Agency: Acceptance Commission
The final acceptance commission will analyse: (i) the protocol(s) signed upon completion of the works, (ii) the manner the remaining works [mentioned by the initial protocol(s)] were performed and (iii) the report on the construction performance in time.
Although prescribed by the law, in practice, the final inspection hardly ever takes place (especially in cases where the investor is also the construction company).
Time and cost: 15 days, no charge
Obtain water and sewage connection (Apa Nova SA)
Agency: Apa Nova SA
According to the water and sewage authority (Apa Nova S.A.), this procedure takes approximately 2 – 3 months due to a significant increase in demand and backlog. Inspections for utilities occur at the same time as the connection.
Time and cost: 75 days, RON 2,300
Obtain certificate attesting the existence of the construction from the City Hall
Agency: Department of Urbanism of the local City Hall
According to Order 700/2014 of the National Agency for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry the City Hall will issue a certificate attesting the existence of the construction, which, together with the final assessment, is necessary for registering the building with OCPI.
Time and cost: 30 days, no charge
Register the building with the Real Estate Registry
Agency: Real Estate Registry
Before obtaining the certificate attesting the existence of construction and registering the building with the Office for Cadaster and Real Estate Registry, BuildCo needs to hire a cadastre/topographical engineer to update the cadastre plans with the construction. The building can be registered once it has been completed and approved.
Pursuant to Order No. 700/2014 for the approval of the regulation regarding the endorsement, the reception and the registration with the Real Estate Registry, the standard registration time is 15 business days but if the applicant pays an additional fee, the registration time will be reduced to 5 business days. According to Order No. 39/2009 on the approval of fees for performing services by the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (“Order 39”), the standard fee for registering the building upon reception is RON 60 plus 0.05% of the value of construction. For the fast-track process, the fee is the standard fee plus 4 times the standard fee. The fees can be found at the following link: http://www.OCPI.ro/images/documente/prima_inregistrare_imobil.pdf.
Time and cost: 30 days, RON 1,242
