Albanian municipalities will no longer have the right to issue building permits for buildings above 6 floors. Through an amendment to the territorial development regulation, the Council of Ministers has further reduced the powers of local units, concentrating building permits on the National Council of Territory and Water, headed by Edi Rama.
According to the existing regulation, local government units had the exclusive right to issue construction permits for buildings up to 14 floors high. But with the latest government decision, from now on they will only have the right to issue construction permits for individual buildings up to 6 floors high.
"The National Council of Territory and Water is the authority responsible for approving construction permits for infrastructure works or/and construction facilities, regardless of development conditions and criteria, when they lie within the coastal belt area, as well as any facility above 6 floors, when they lie outside this area," the government decision states.
This change practically removes all construction permits in urban areas from Albanian municipalities, leaving them only with permits for individual housing, concentrating all decision-making in the hands of the prime minister.
According to the decision, the new regulation will also affect permits that are in the application process, which, although they will be handled by municipalities, must receive approval from the KKTU.
"For all construction permits for which the application fee has been paid before the entry into force of this decision, the procedure will be continued by the local territorial development authorities, subject to obtaining conformity from the technical secretariat of the National Council for Territory and Water," the decision states.