Building Permits for Renovation and Alteration under Bulgarian Planning Law

BUILDING PERMIT FOR RENOVATION AND ALTERATION

The Spatial Development Act (ZUT, promulgated in State Gazette No. 1 of 2 January 2001, amended and supplemented in State Gazette No. 63 of 4 August 2017) treats renovation as a type of construction work. This underlies the legislative rule that, in most cases of renovation and/or alteration, a building permit must be obtained under the Spatial Development Act and, depending on the nature and scope of the renovation and alteration works, design documentation must be prepared.

The cases in which a building permit is not required are exhaustively listed in Article 151 of the Spatial Development Act.

To determine whether a building permit is required, the following questions should be considered:

– do the planned renovation works require changes to the structural elements of the building;

– do they require changes to the boundaries of areas intended for common use by all occupants;

– does the designated use of any premises or parts of them change;

– do the loads within the premises change;

– is sufficiently detailed technical documentation available concerning the location of load-bearing structural elements, installations and so forth.

Depending on the nature and scope of the works, an assessment must be made as to whether design documentation is required to establish that the renovation ensures:

• the stability and load-bearing capacity of the building structures during use and under seismic effects;
• the safe operation of the constructed or renovated site;
• the protection of people’s lives, health and property;
• fire safety;
• heat and energy savings.

The definitions of “construction works”, “major renovation”, “current repair” and “reconstruction” of construction works are laid down by the legislature in § 5, points 38, 42, 43 and 44 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Spatial Development Act.

Where renovation has commenced on the basis of a building permit and approved designs, commissioning is required after completion.

If you are planning renovation and/or alteration, it is best to contact a qualified lawyer who can advise you on the steps required to comply with all legal requirements before construction work begins.