Turkey earthquake puts building permits back on the agenda in Bulgaria

The regulation regarding technical permits of old buildings is to be updated in a more lenient version than the previous one. This is proposed by the Chairman of the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design (KIIP) Eng. Marin Gergov. The proposal will be formally presented to Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov, with the aim of making it clear which buildings are potentially at risk in an earthquake.

"We will suggest to Minister Shishkov considering whether the permit regulation should be revived, but in a more lenient mode," said Gergov, who participated in the second episode of the Economic.bg podcast "One Mind."

We recall that the ordinance that regulated this process of obtaining permits, as well as the building surveys, was last changed in 2021 by former caretaker Regional Minister Violeta Komitova. According to estimates at the time, the issue of technical permits would cost each owner in a residential building between BGN 200 and BGN 1 000. After the negative public reaction at the time, Komitova announced that this was an unnecessary procedure that burdened people's budgets.

But now, in view of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the CIIP chair believes that the surveys could be limited and so the cost would be reduced.

"It may be limited, but we will be able to say for which buildings there is risk in the structure. Even if more detail goes into the surveys, the process will be faster and cheaper," Gergov said.

At the moment, such documents are only required for conversions, as well as for the energy renovation of old buildings.

According to the KIIP chairman, renovation cannot be done without first strengthening the buildings. The moment thermal insulation is done, the problems are hidden.

"That's how we dress a dead man."

He said there are bad practices in these surveys and they cannot be relied upon to show the real condition of the buildings, because if a positive answer is not given, the rehabilitation cannot go ahead.

"We are still a Balkan country. We must not forget that. Colleagues who do not act very professionally might not do the structural survey well, because if it does not come up with a positive answer, rehabilitation cannot go ahead."

You can find out more about when the last time a building survey was done in this country, how reliable the construction of critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and dams is, and what needs to change to stop unauthorised conversions in residential buildings in the follow-up of the conversation on Monday 20 February.