Documents cemented – Newspaper Kommersant No. 169 (7370) dated 09/14/2022

Local authorities have not implemented a simplified procedure for approving new construction projects on time, developers complain. According to business data, some regions and municipalities continue to require permits for the movement of waste, earthworks, and approval of the urban design of objects, although these requirements have been abolished at the federal level. At the same time, city defenders and lawyers defending the rights of private investors are against excessive indulgences.

The March decree of the government of the Russian Federation, which reduces the list of data collected by government agencies for the approval of construction, is not fully implemented by local authorities, market participants told Kommersant. The document, in particular, provides that government agencies should not require developers to provide information that they themselves can obtain from state databases, explained Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. So, developers are exempted from the need to provide documents for the right to receive a plot, information about the possibility of connecting an object to networks, agreements on the development of the territory, etc. In total, 238 out of 989 requirements have been canceled, and by September 1, concessions should begin to operate at the regional and municipal levels .

But, as Kommersant was told in the Moscow Investors Club (KIM; unites developers), a number of subjects and municipalities continue to demand from developers data that the Russian government has crossed out from the mandatory list. According to KIM, in the Moscow region they still require permission to move construction waste, and also oblige to coordinate the architectural and urban design of the object, which they can do only in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol. In Irkutsk, Krasnodar and Anapa, they require obtaining permits for earthworks, in St. Petersburg, Irkutsk and Anapa – permits for the destruction or transplantation of plants, indicate in KIM.

Evgeny Protopopov, the founder of GGroup Asset Management, notes that the authorities often delay the approval of projects several times over. Maxim Slovyagin, Director of Pre-Project Approval at Granel Group of Companies, confirms that the group encountered a problem, but did not want to delay the process, but received documents. According to Marina Chernenko, director of legal affairs at Neometry Group of Companies, delaying deadlines entails costs, especially in cases where loans are involved. A delay in completing even one procedure also negatively affects the entire construction schedule, adds Vladislav Preobrazhensky, Executive Director of KIM. Only the initial stage of documentation development takes 6-12 months from the developer, says Vladimir Shchekin, co-owner of Rodina Group of Companies.

The Ministry of Construction confirmed to Kommersant that the presentation of requirements not provided for by a government decree for the implementation of construction projects is not allowed. They added that the issue is controlled by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The FAS told Kommersant that no complaints on this issue have yet been received, and will be considered upon receipt. The administration of Krasnodar said that the developers themselves did not have time to take full advantage of the simplified project approval procedure. In the administrations of the other listed regions, Kommersant did not respond.

Arkhnadzor told Kommersant that they oppose the “thoughtless reduction” of permits required for project approval. “The basis for any construction should be a clear understanding of its expediency,” points out the coordinator of the movement, Konstantin Mikhailov. The existing list of requirements for developers for issuing construction and commissioning permits acts as a state control mechanism to protect the interests of equity holders and private investors, adds Daniil Sinitsyn, a partner at Poverenennyy. In his opinion, it is more expedient to reduce the time and simplify the procedure for consideration of all documents, switching state bodies to work on the principle of “one window”.

Daria Andrianova, Alexandra Mertsalova