Dealing with Construction Permits in
Haiti
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:
HTG 10,709,400
- City: Port au Prince
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Request building permit
The Ministry of Public Works does not deliver directly the building permit, but studies the file and provides technical advice/approval of the plans. The engineering department will merely give its advice on the feasibility of this project and nothing else. The building permit will be delivered by the Municipality. According to the law, a commercial warehouse should be charged at 75 gourdes for the length of the building facing the road, and multiply by the number of floors. And if the building has 2 sides facing the road, then both sides will be counted and charged accordingly. However, in practice, this is not done. The Municipality charges between 125 – 175 gourdes per square meter.
For a warehouse as the one being constructed by BuildCo it will be around 150 gourdes X 1300 square meters for the building permit – this is called “le droit d’alignement”.
The company requesting the permit must submit the following documents:
a. Plan and acte d’arpentage, titre de propriete (3 copies)
b. Plan de localisation (3 copies)
c. Plan d’ensemble, plan de la facade (3 copies)
d. Plan de construction (fondation, electricite, plomberie) (3 copies)
e. Cahier de charge
f. Pantente de l’ingenieur ou le Quittus fiscale de l’entreprise (1 copie) ; this basically shows that the engineer or the construction company has no pending tax obligations
g. Lettre de demande d’autorisation (1 copie)
Agency: Municipality and the Ministry of Public Works
|
30 days
|
HTG 195,090
|
| 2 |
Obtain site inspection by engineer from the municipality
A request is made for a site inspection. The owner or the engineer must be at the site for the inspection. After this inspection and within 15 days, the Municipality will issue a “Bordereau de paiement” to be paid at the DGI. If the amount is over 15 000 gourdes, it must be by certified Check to the order of the DGI.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Obtain and pay to the Direction Generale des Impots
Payment is made at the DGI and proof of payment is delivered back to the Municipality.
Agency: Direction Generale des Impots
|
15 days
|
no charge
|
| 4 |
Obtain building permit
A building permit is delivered to the party.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 5 |
Receive municipal inspection
Municipal inspections at the completion of construction are rare, though they are authorized by law.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 6 |
Request phone connection from TELECO
Telephone connections over the network of Haiti’s public telephone company, TELECO, are poor. The application form can be filled out and submitted within a day, but it takes longer in practice to obtain the connection. A wireless telephone connection from a private company such as HAITEL can be obtained immediately upon presentation of personal identification documents by the user.
Agency: TELECO
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 7 |
Obtain phone connection from TELECO
It may take 3–4 years to obtain a new telephone line; at present, none are available, and they do not function.
Agency: TELECO
|
1080 days
|
HTG 5,000
|
| * 8 |
Request water connection from the National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA)
The water connection is requested directly by the owner as the contract must be made in his name. It is quite easy to get a water connection.
Agency: National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA)
|
14 days
|
HTG 5,570
|
| * 9 |
Obtain water connection from the National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA)
Agency: National Direction of Potable Water and Sewage (Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement- DINEPA)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.