Dealing with Construction Permits in
Albania
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
ALL 40,000,000
- City: Tirana
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Request and obtain recent property certificate
The certificate of ownership of property (the construction site) can be obtained from the Real Estate Registry. As of February 2008 the validity term of the certificate should be at most 72 hours. The Registry’s automated system expedites this process. As of February 2008 Real Estate Registry started including the mailing fee into the cost of obtaining a recent copy of property ownership certificate.
Agency: Real Estate Registry
|
30 days
|
ALL 2,870
|
| * 2 |
Request and obtain Extract of Master Plan of the Plot from the Urban Planning Department
The master and general plans of the plot are issued by the municipality’s Urban Planning Department. The general plan is a topographic map of the situation of the existing property, while the master plan is a plan of the proposed development. The fee covers both plans. The master plan should contain the approval of the municipality’s Department of Road Projects which can be done internally. Article 36 of the Law On City Planning states that the plot’s master plan must be submitted to the technical secretary of the Territory Management Council and to the municipality within 15 days of the date of its inclusion. It will be available to the company within 30 days.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
30 days
|
ALL 4,000
|
| * 3 |
Request and obtain document attesting that the firm has no unpaid environmental fines
This attestation is required by Point 18 of the Council of Ministers’ approval of the city planning regulations. It must be submitted with the required set of documents when applying for the construction site permit and the construction permit (up to three stories).
Agency: Environmental Authority
|
1 day
|
ALL 200
|
| * 4 |
Request and obtain opinion of the District Urban Planning Department
BuildCo should request an attestation on the drawings’ compliance with urban zoning regulations from the district Urban Planning Department. This requirement is provided for by Point 21 of the regulations on construction (of up to three stories), "Documents That an Investor Should Submit for Obtaining Construction Site Permit and Construction Permit," published by the Council of Tirana Municipality.
Agency: District Urban Planning Department
|
10 days
|
ALL 2,000
|
| * 5 |
Request and obtain Project Clearance from Water Authority
The water authority approves the project and indicates the nearest water supply sources. Since January 2008 the Water and Sewage Company introduced a new cost for granting a project clearance at the initial stage of designing at the amount of ALL 3,000.
Agency: Water Authority
|
9 days
|
ALL 3,000
|
| * 6 |
Request and obtain Project Clearance from Environmental Protection Agency
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
|
8 days
|
no charge
|
| * 7 |
Request and obtain Electricity Authority Approval
Agency: Korporata Elektro-energjetike Shqiptare (Kesh)
|
5 days
|
ALL 500
|
| * 8 |
Request and obtain Fire Department Approval for Land Permit and Fire Permit
This procedure takes 30 days because while the Fire Department gives the approval, the Prefecture holds the actual seal that must be used to stamp the approval. In practice, the public actually make this request at the Prefecture (although according to the Fire Department, the law stipulates that Fire Department is the handling agency). The Fire Department then has to call the Prefecture to ask for files, which are forwarded to the Fire Department. The Fire Department must then review and send back to the Prefecture to stamp the approval. This procedure can takes place twice, before the Land Permit and before the Building Permit.
The fee for this procedure is 0.5% of the project value for objects with investment value of up to ALL 50 million, according to Decision No. 285 (of June 27, 2002) "On Tariffs of the Police for Protection against Fire Services." The fee is estimated at 0.5% of the design value (generally 10% of the warehouse value, which would be ALL 4 million in the case considered here). Hence, the fee is ALL 20,000. This cost is to cover the both stages- for land permit and for building permit.
Agency: Fire Department
|
30 days
|
ALL 20,000
|
| 9 |
Request a Land Permit from Urban Planning Department (Technical Commission)
BuildCo must request the Urban Planning Department to issue a land clearance for the construction site.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 10 |
Receive inspection from Technical Commission
Upon inspection, the Technical Commission prepares an authorization letter, attesting that the land is clear for construction.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 11 |
Request and obtain decision of the Territory Adjustment Commission
The Territory Adjustment Commission convenes every 30 days. It is a commission chaired by the mayor that is constituted of 9 members—the mayor, 6 from political parties, 1 elected by 2/3 of the municipal council and 1 representative of the central government. However, owing to the recent backlog, with too many files processed by too few civil servants, as of April 2007, the Commission had not convened since December 2006. The fee is 2-4% of the overall project value.
Agency: Territory Adjustment Commission
|
90 days
|
ALL 800,000
|
| 12 |
Request and obtain Building Permit
The building permit is valid for a term determined by the Territory Adjustment Commission. According to Article 46 of the law "On City Planning," the permit is valid for 180 days. This permit grants the right to build on the site (construction site permit is already granted).
The building permit shall be issued to only juridical persons who are licensed contractors. Several forms and documents are required to obtain this permit:
- Technical project.
- Chart of construction work.
- Table of costs.
- Seismologic study.
According to Article 50 of the law "On City Planning," the Territory Management Council has 45 days to decide on the construction permit. According to Article 51 of the same law, the fee is 1% of the investment value.
As of 2008 construction companies do not have to notify the construction police about the start of construction works. The construction police has been moved under the Municipality’s Urban Planning Department.
Agency: Territory Adjustment Commission
|
45 days
|
ALL 400,000
|
| 13 |
Receive on-site inspection of construction foundations
The on-site inspection occurs in 6–7 days.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 14 |
Receive on-site inspection of the completion of construction skeleton
The on-site inspection occurs in 6–7 days.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 15 |
Receive on-site inspection of the adjustment of the surroundings of the building according to the drawings
The on-site inspection occurs in 6–7 days.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 16 |
Request and connect to telecommunications services
Agency: Albtelecom
|
30 days
|
ALL 30,000
|
| * 17 |
Request and connect to water and sewage services
Agency: Water and Sewerage Agencies
|
20 days
|
ALL 40,000
|
| 18 |
Submit Report on the Completion of Works and request on-site inspection by an authorized expert
Within 30 days of completing construction, BuildCo submits to the Urban Planning Department a report that documents construction materials and associated costs and requests an inspection of the construction site.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 19 |
Receive on-site inspection by an authorized expert and obtain approval
The authorized expert from the Urban Planning Department will sign the inspection completion statement after performing the on-site inspection.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
30 days
|
no charge
|
| 20 |
Receive inspection from Municipality
The municipal inspection takes place several weeks later.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 21 |
Receive compliance report after inspection
The construction firm usually receives the compliance report within 2-3 days of inspection. Another 30 days are required to obtain the occupancy permit.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
2 days
|
no charge
|
| 22 |
Obtain Occupancy permit
The occupancy permit grants the right to use the building after construction is completed. Addressed to the Urban Planning Department, the request must be accompanied by a set of documents related to the construction process and by the completion statement, duly signed by the authorized expert.
Agency: Municipal Urban Planning Department
|
30 days
|
no charge
|
| 23 |
Register with the Real Estate Registry
Upon receiving the occupancy permit, BuildCo registers the warehouse with the Real Estate Registry. It does so by submitting the construction file, which includes the building permit and inspection reports (cited in Procedure 1). The registration tax is EUR 8 per sq. m., or EUR 10,405. (The total fee thus corresponds to ALL 4,250.)
Agency: Real Estate Registry
|
60 days
|
ALL 4,320
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.