Dealing with Construction Permits in
Norway
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:
NOK 6,832,000
- City: Oslo
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Advance Conference with the Municipal Building Authorities
The advance conference is optional, but often necessary to clarify the prerequisites for the project, such as infrastructure, various laws and regulations, and coordination and the approvals from other authorities. The time to complete this procedure may vary. In Oslo, the normal waiting time is approximately 3 weeks. These conferences are not binding for the final result of the approval process.
Agency: Municipal Building Authorities
|
14 days
|
no charge
|
| 2 |
Obtain the Consent of Health Authorities
Generally, the building permit is not issued if the applicant has not obtained all necessary approvals. In such cases, the municipal building authority points out the missing approvals and orders the applicant to submit them before further progress can be made.
Agency: Health Authorities
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 3 |
Obtain the Approval of Environmental Authorities
Agency: Environmental Authorities
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 4 |
Obtain the Approval of Road Authorities
Agency: Road Authorities
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 5 |
Obtain approval from the water company prior to building
Approval from the electricity company is not necessary. Only an authorization for water and sewage is required.
Agency: Water Authority
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 6 |
Obtain approval from the sewage company prior to building
Agency: Sewage Authority
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| 7 |
Obtain the Frame Permit (First Step of the Building Permit)
The frame permit is the first step toward obtaining the building permit. It grants only the right to build the project as designed; it does not authorize construction. The permit ensures that the project meets all relevant regulations and is valid for 3 years. The application for a frame permit must contain all relevant information on the project, architectural drawings, and other requirements, according to the Planning and Building Act and other relevant regulations. The legal maximum time to complete this procedure is 84 days. In practice, obtaining the frame permit in Oslo currently takes about 7 months (the time estimated by the building authorities themselves). The reasons for the delayed executive work are: - High building activity. - A corresponding increase in building applications. - A shortage of manpower in the building authorities. The cost of obtaining a frame permit is calculated as follows: - For areas up to 200 sq. m., the total cost is NOK 22,100. - For areas exceeding 200 sq. m., the cost is NOK 5,300 per 100 sq. m. In the case considered here, the cost is 22,100 + (1,300 - 200) x 53 = NOK 80,400.
Agency: Municipal Building Authorities
|
210 days
|
NOK 50,470
|
| * 8 |
Obtain the Start-Up Permit and Present a Control Registration Form
The start-up permit authorizes the start of construction activities. This permit contains the authorization (construction license) of the companies responsible for the coordination, design, construction, and monitoring of the project. The company must in this respect either present its qualifications to the municipal building authorities or present a license from the central register. The company must also present all the consents/approvals obtained through the previous procedures. The applicant should ensure that a construction oversight plan is drawn up. Such a plan should appear in the application or be submitted while the application for a start-up permit is being reviewed, at the latest. The construction may be monitored by means of documented self-inspections or by an independent enterprise. The developer, the applicant, the designer, and the contractor in charge must provide the information necessary to monitor the construction. The latter is normally executed through self-inspection. The legal maximum time to complete this stage is 84 days. Obtaining a start-up permit in Oslo currently takes 3 weeks.
|
21 days
|
NOK 31,200
|
| 9 |
Obtain an Approval from the Municipal Building Authorities upon completion of the project
The company must obtain an approval from the municipality upon completion of the project. Where completion is not issued within the deadline, the structure may be used.
Agency: Municipal Building Authorities
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| 10 |
Obtain water and sewage connection
The water and sewage authorities must be present when the connection is installed, and the applicant must send a request form determining the time for the connection. Such a request must be received by the authorities, at the latest, at 10 a.m. the day before the connection is to take place. The receipt for the paid connection fee must be attached to the request form where the connection time and place are determined. For 2010, the City Parliament of Oslo has established that the taxes to be paid for water and sewage connection are NOK 37,84 per sq.m for water and NOK 56.73 per sq.m for sewage (in 2008, the total cost was NOK 73.1 per sq.m). The cost is NOK 87,855. The connection fee is a nonrecurrent one and covers the costs of building and maintaining the public pipelines (both water and sewage pipelines—that is, the water supply from purification plant to the consumer, and sewage transport from the consumer to waste water plant). A reduction is given when the land plot is larger than 3,000 square meters and utilization is less than 12.5% (not applicable in this case).
Agency: Water and Sewage Authorities
|
1 day
|
NOK 87,856
|
| 11 |
Obtain telephone connection
Due to market fluctuations the connection fee was increased in 2008 to NOK 990.
Agency: Telenor
|
1 day
|
NOK 990
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.