If you own a land plot and want to have your own home built, then you are the investor funding the building up of this home. You should be aware of the fact that the planning of territories of the municipalities is carried out by the Local Council and Mayors according to Territories Planning Law (TPL) of 2002. TPL defines building up as laying, erection and construction of buildings, premises, networks and equipment on the land plots.
The chief architect of the municipality is authorized to control these activities.
The first things you will need are:
1. A sketch/visa to design, requested in writing by the person who has the right to build on their land property. With this application filed, the chief architect of the municipality then issues a visa to design within 14 days of date of application filed. The visa to design is an identical copy of the current Detailed Town and Country Plan (DTCP) where layout, method of building, intended purpose of use, size, measurements, and distances of the project building are designated. It also states a number of requirements to be met, such as architectural and territorial, environmental, infrastructure, water and electric supply and other resources, as well as the complete set of papers, which the investor must file.
2. A shop-drawing which may be drawn by the construction company or another designer team. It has to include the architectural part along with structural, electrical, water supply and sewerage, and heating and ventilation parts. Each part must be accompanied with explanatory notes, drawings, and calculations.
3. Approval of the shop-drawing is given by the chief architect of the municipality. His task is to approve the architectural part, following prior approval of the other parts by experts of the municipality. Other authorized bodies review the compliance of the project building with regulations and standards related to:
- environmental restrictions enforceable on buildings;
- sanitary control;
- fire and accident hazards;
- technical safety and reliability of potentially hazardous equipment;
- landslide restrictions;
- and restrictions on certain kinds of buildings.
Approval or refusal is given within one month from date of submission. Pursuant to the Government Taxes Law and Local Taxes Law, the authorized bodies engaged in the review  and approval collect taxes.
When the set of papers has been completed with:
- ownership deed,
- visa to design,
- approved shop-drawing in 3 copies,
- and all other binding permits issued by the specialized bodies,
then the next step is to file
4. An application for building (planning) permission
This permission is issued within 7 days from the date the application was filed and it states all factual and legal grounds for the permission to be granted, as well as terms and conditions for the execution of construction. The permission issued or refusal to issue permission may be appealed against within 14 days from the date of issue of the corresponding act.
The permission to build is considered null and void, if construction has not started within 3 years from date of permission issuance, or if the rough structure construction, roof inclusive, has not been completed within 5 years from date of issue of permission.
The next stage is:
5. Commencement of construction. Building work actually begins with the drawing up of the Protocol, which permits opening of the building site along with the building line and level. To have such a protocol signed, investors need to file an application with the Mayor’s Office. The main participants in the building process are the investor, the designer, and the builder, and they may freely enter contractual relationships abiding the law. Contracts should provide for legal obligations considering terms of time, quantity and quality of construction, assembly, erection, and mounting works to be done by the builder in conformity with the building code and norms. When the building has been finally completed, the investor and the builder draft a
6. Findings statement in which they certify that all building works have been executed in accordance with all approved plans, drawings, technical prescriptions, and contractual provisions.  This statement is the actual conveyance of the building from the builder to the investor.
With thorough and appropriate organization of the entire process, the overall project completion could be carried out within several months.
Our company has gained considerable experience over the years in designing of both solid and wooden buildings of one or two floors, so we are capable of performing construction of single-family houses, buildings for public use, shops, restaurants, academic and medical centres, etc.
We will guide and give advice to investors and we can offer them a full package of services to help their dreams come true. For more information, you can inquire at info@bulgarianrealestate.net.