Proposal to abolish construction permits for houses under 7 floors, what does the Minister of Construction say?

On the morning of November 14, discussing the revised Construction Law at the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly, delegate Ta Van Ha ( Da Nang delegation) said that the "progressive step" in the law is to remove the regulation on granting construction permits to people.

Specifically, the draft law expands the scope of not having to apply for a construction permit for houses in rural areas (single-family houses, under 7 floors). However, Mr. Ha also worries that this provision "is not abolished but considered not abolished" because it was already in the old law. He believes that "we should not worry that people will build haphazardly", but should abolish the general construction permit for single-family houses, under 7 floors.

Delegate Ta Van Ha (Da Nang City delegation)

PHOTO: GIA HAN

“Abolish licensing procedures, not state management. Those two things need to be clearly distinguished. Every year, big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have hundreds of thousands of construction projects that need licensing. We have seen clearly how licensing is done, but there are still many violations. Licensing is still done wrongly,” said Mr. Ha.

Saying he is "very allergic to these licensing procedures", delegate Ha worries that this will increase unofficial costs for people, prolong time, and even cause negative consequences.

Construction projects have construction standards, red lines, density, height, setbacks, etc., which are all public and transparent. Therefore, instead of issuing licenses, it is necessary to strengthen post-inspection, increase file management, and increase management by applying technology. Regarding safety concerns, there are mandatory criteria and standards, and design consultants must be responsible and have supervision and inspection at the site.

“People only need to submit an online registration and commit to implementation. Second, increase post-inspection and handle it strictly. Third, publicize planning and ensure transparency of data,” delegate Ha proposed.

"It is absolutely unreasonable to have to apply for a building permit."

Sharing this view, Professor Hoang Van Cuong, a delegate from Hanoi, expressed his support for the draft law's idea of reducing pre-inspection and shifting to post-inspection, especially for individual construction projects. These projects, if they are in accordance with planning and standards, "will naturally be built, so there is no need to go through the licensing stage."

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Asking the question "if this construction project has an accident, collapses, causes accidents, damages, will the government ignore it or not?", according to Mr. Cuong, the government still has to investigate, still has to find the cause, still has to handle it.

In other words, regardless of whether the project is for the people or anyone else, the state must pay attention and manage to ensure technical safety and safety of life. Therefore, he proposed that except for level four houses, all high-rise construction projects need a technical drawing to ensure sufficient technical safety conditions.

“When the design consultant unit has taken over and is responsible, the project is naturally put into construction and does not need to ask for permission. But before construction, this design must be sent to the state management agency for inspection. If it is sufficient, it will be allowed to build normally. If it is not sufficient, then the whistle will be blown, and blowing the whistle here means dealing with the design consultant unit because they made a mistake,” said Professor Hoang Van Cuong.

Explaining and receiving opinions on construction permits at the end of the discussion session, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said "it's very difficult". According to Mr. Minh, the steps from detailed planning, establishing pre-feasibility study projects, feasibility studies to technical design and construction drawings are all regulated. However, when people and businesses want to build something, "having to apply for a permit is completely unreasonable".

Therefore, the Minister of Construction said that the amended law requires only one of these steps to be appraised. For example, if the project is appraised, it does not need to be licensed.

"But there are still constructions that are not in the planning and are larger than 7 floors, so they still need a building permit," Mr. Minh said, adding that he has instructed localities to implement it.

For special projects and works, simplify the licensing procedures for people. Specifically, design consulting is still required, wards and communes do not have to issue licenses, but in the commitment of the people, they still have to perform the function of ensuring safety in terms of structure, architecture, fire prevention, electricity and water...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-xuat-bo-giay-phep-xay-dung-nha-duoi-7-tang-bo-truong-xay-dung-noi-gi-185251114104953551.htm