Dealing with Construction Permits in
Ecuador
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.
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Building a warehouse
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Estimated Warehouse Value:
USD 429,000
- City: Quito
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain Urban Regulation Report (Informe de Regulación Urbana - IRM)
The Urban Regulation Report (Informe de Regulacion Urbana, IRM) is required for most procedures before the District Municipality, such as purchasing, selling, dividing, and building a property, as well as determining if the site is affected by road construction design.
Valid for 2 years, this report provides the parameters to subdivide or urbanize the following:
- Area available to construct the ground floor.
- Maximum building area.
- Maximum building height permitted.
- Maximum number of dwelling units.
- Building separation distances.
- Permitted and unauthorized land use.
- Basic service availability.
- Manufacturing line (línea de fábrica) reference.
To obtain the report, BuildCo must do the following:
- Purchase the IRM form, whose value is equivalent to 5% of the effective unified basic wage (salario básico unificado vigente), at the respective Subdivision Administration (Administración Zonal).
- Register the property's data and enclose a copy of the property tax payment receipt.
- Submit copies of the citizenship identification and of the updated voting voucher or owner's exemption certificate.
- Enclose a cartographic sheet of the Geographical Military Institute (scale, 1:5,000 or 1:25,000), showing the exact property location and the respective public deeds registered at the Property Registry.
= Enclose a copy of the public writ of the estate (a request signed by the owner to guarantee the payment of water, electricity, or telephone service).
Agency: Municipality of Quito (Municipio de Quito, Administración Zonal)
|
21 days
|
USD 25
|
| 2 |
Obtain proof of compliance with 1/1000 contribution to Professional Association of Architects
The proof of payment for the construction contribution is one of the documents required for the approval of the layout plans and the building permit application. The cost is 0.1% of the warehouse value.
Agency: Association of Architects of Ecuador (Colegio de Arquitectos del Ecuador –CAE) and/or Association of Civil Engineers of Pichincha (Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles de Pichincha)
|
1 day
|
USD 429
|
| 3 |
Request and obtain permit from the Fire Department
Apart from the aforementioned uses, the fire department report is also required for buildings hosting more than 25 persons or with more than four stories.
Agency: Fire Department
|
5 days
|
USD 200
|
| 4 |
Request approval for the plans
To request approval for the plans, the following documents must be submitted to the Subdivision Administration (Administración Zonal):
- Plan approval form for buildings, with data record and stamps.
- Metropolitan Regulation Report (Informe de Regulación Metropolitana, IRM), updated.
- Two sets of architectural drawings (scale, 1:100 to 1:50), with an area map, plotted on the first sheet of the project. The drawings must contain the plot area, (COS) percentage; (CUS) percentage; construction area at ground level; total building floor area; and total gross construction area, including housing area, business store and office area, parking area, community area, number of dwelling units, and number of parking lots.
- If the construction is financed with a mortgage loan, three additional sets must be attached.
- Proof of payment of 1 x 1,000 to professional associations
- Proof of payment of property tax (impuesto predial) corresponding to the current year (simple copy of receipt).
- Real estate deed or purchase option agreement duly notarized and registered at the Property Registry
- Copies of the municipal registration and professional registration identification cards.
- Copy of the citizenship card and updated voting voucher or owner’s exemption certificate (Los Chillos deemed unnecessary).
- Certificates granted by the Metropolitan Water and Sewage Utility Company (EMAAP), stating utility service provision (potable water and sewage) (Los Chillos Administration).
The company may request the approval of the draft project (for consultation before final plan approval). The plans also must be approved by the fire department and the professional associations for architects and engineers. The approval of the draft project is valid for 2 years and is informative in nature.
1.5 x 1,000 of total project cost. Cost/sq. m.. = ca. USD 180 (USD 120 - 250).
Agency: Municipality of Quito (Municipio de Quito, Administración Zonal)
|
20 days
|
USD 6,435
|
| 5 |
Verify structure plan with Professional Association of Engineers
Agency: Municipality of Quito (Municipio de Quito, Administración Zonal)
|
10 days
|
USD 429
|
| 6 |
Obtain construction guarantee and deposit it afterwards with the Municipality
Proof of the guarantee deposit is a required document for the building permit application. Once the land plans have been registered for zoning and before their approval, the municipality notifies the applicant the amount to be guaranteed (fondo de garantia). The applicant can deposit the guarantee in cash or certified check or in the form of an insurance policy. The insurance policy is purchased in 2 days from a local insurance company. The fee to purchase the guarantee depends on the value to be guaranteed. After construction is finalized, the municipality will return the guarantee upon inspecting the construction. The guarantee will be returned in full only if the actual construction conforms to the plans approved by the municipality. The transaction fee for the guarantee amounts to 0.05% of the guarantee itself. The guarantee amount is determined by the municipality and depends on the type of construction, the size, the sector, and the relevant zone. For construction under 600 sq. m., the guarantee will range between 1.5% and 3% of the warehouse value. For construction over 600 sq. m., the guarantee with be about 4% of the warehouse value. As a reference, the municipality would assume a warehouse value of USD 200 per square meter.
Agency: Municipality of Quito (Municipio de Quito)
|
2 days
|
USD 9
|
| 7 |
Obtain the final building permit
The documents required to obtain the construction work execution clearance are the following:
- Building permit application form, with stamps and data record.
- Architectural drawing approval report (original or certified copy).
- Set of approved architectural drawings (original or certified copy).
- Sets (two) of structural maps, with the professional signature registration.
- Sets (two) of electrical and hydro sanitary installation plans, with the professional signature registration.
- Proof of payment for building work to professional associations.
- Proof of the guarantee fund deposit.
- Proof of payment for plan and drawing approval.
- Proof of payment to the Metropolitan Water and Sewage Utility Company (EMAAP) for service installation.
- Construction statistical sheet.
- Copy of municipal and professional registration cards for the builder and designer (Los Chillos).
- Copy of the citizenship card and updated voting voucher or owner’s exemption certificate.
- For four stories or more, survey report for soil and subsoil of more than 2.5 mh and structural calculation report.
- Proof of payment received of the corresponding property tax for the current year (La Delicia).
This procedure does not entail any charges. However, the scanner services fee is 20% of the current minimum wage for each sheet, and a form must be purchased with the required stamps. The form fee is USD 0.40, which is the same as the cost of the stamps. These fees are on a per-filing basis, and more than one filing is normally necessary.
Agency: Municipality of Quito/ Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Públicas (EMOP-Q)
|
16 days
|
USD 595
|
| 8 |
Request and obtain foundation inspection
Agency: Municipality of Quito/ Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Públicas (EMOP-Q)
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1 day
|
no charge
|
| 9 |
Request and obtain structure inspection
Agency: Municipality of Quito/ Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Públicas (EMOP-Q)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 10 |
Request and obtain telephone connection
Not all areas are covered by a phone network. The telephone connection is not a prerequisite for the occupancy permit. Hence, the occupancy permit can be requested in parallel with the telephone connection.
Agency: Andinatel
|
20 days
|
USD 77
|
| 11 |
Request potable water and drainage hook-up
The proof of payment for service installation is one of the documents required for the approval of the layout plans and the building permit application.
Agency: Empresa Metropolitana de Alcantarillado y Agua Potable (EMAAP)
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1 day
|
no charge
|
| 12 |
Receive water and sewage inspection
Depending on whether a meter is already available, an inspection may be conducted before BuildCo obtains its water connection. Given that the project considered here is a new construction, it is assumed that BuildCo must obtain the meter with the new electricity connection. Hence, an inspection also takes place to evaluate the cost of new service.
Agency: Empresa Metropolitana de Alcantarillado y Agua Potable (EMAAP)
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1 day
|
no charge
|
| 13 |
Obtain potable water and drainage hook-up
Agency: Empresa Metropolitana de Alcantarillado y Agua Potable (EMAAP)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 14 |
Request and obtain final inspection
Agency: Municipality of Quito/ Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Públicas (EMOP-Q)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 15 |
Obtain habitability permit and guarantee retrieval
The habitability permit authorizes BuildCo to bring the building into service and enables retrieval of the guarantee fund. To this end, BuildCo must present the following documents at the respective Subdivision Administration (Administración Zonal):
- Inhabitability permit application form, with stamps and data record.
- Approved architectural drawings (one copy).
- Plan and drawing approval report.
- Building permit.
- Original proof of guarantee fund receipt.
- Citizenship card and updated voting voucher or owner exemption certificate (copy).
- For guarantee fund retrieval in cash, an application form must be filed with the General Financial Department (Dirección General Financiera), with the respective stamps.
Agency: Municipality of Quito (Municipio de Quito)
|
20 days
|
no charge
|
| 16 |
Register the building at the Property Registry
The following fees apply for the payment of the property registration fee for the qualification and registration of acts implying the incorporation, amendment, title transfer, awards, and extinction of real or personal title over movable or immovable property, as well as for tax assessments or title restrictions, and any similar act.
Initial value Final value Total registration fee
1 01 1.60 1.40
2 1.61 3.00 1.80
3 3.01 4.00 2.25
4 4.01 6.00 2.80
5 6.01 10.00 3.75
6 10.01 14.00 4.50
7 14.01 20.00 5.25
8 20.01 30.00 6.50
9 30.01 40.00 8.20
10 40.01 80.00 11.25
11 80.01 120.00 12.50
12 120.01 200.00 17.25
13 200.01 280.00 22.30
14 280.01 400.00 26.00
15 400.01 600.00 33.70
16 600.01 800.00 37.00
17 800.01 1200.00 44.25
18 1200.01 1600.00 58.90
19 1600.01 2000.00 74.55
20 2000.01 2400.00 80.00
21 2400.01 2800.00 85.00
22 2800.01 3200.00 90.00
23 3200.01 3600.00 95.00
24 3600.01 10000.00 100.00
If the value of the property exceeds the amount specified in row 24, the builder will pay a flat fee of USD 100 (plus VAT) for property registration.
Agency: Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad)
|
7 days
|
USD 100
|