< p>The more, the more! That's what Winnie the Pooh says. We all know the story. But do we know how a property can increase in value? The price of a property, apart from the location, also depends on what can be built on it. And if we can't move a property to a better location, we can increase what is allowed to be built. For example, from the 3,000 square meters allowed for construction, the built-up area (FFA) in a given property should become 6,000 or 7,500 square meters.
There is a difference, right? It's one thing to sell 3,000 square meters, and quite another to sell 7,500. What property owner would refuse such an offer? And how does this happen, to what extent is it legal and at whose expense. Engineer Ivan Kirmin reveals this to FACTS.
What is extremely important for a construction - the location
That's right. When the location is in Sofia - the same applies. The more, the more. The more expensive the properties in the area, the more is earned from the “additional“ area.
After the approval of the PUP for a 50-meter high building on the site of Banya Sitnyakovo – the price of a property bought at an auction for 1.5 million BGN jumps to at least 24 million BGN. Profit over BGN 22 million.
A building permit in a property opposite block 18 in Zone B5 gives an investor the opportunity to realize a profit of the order of BGN 12 million... There are also examples like the ones we are going to look at in the “Reduta“ and probably many, many more places.
As they say, God bless everyone, but not when the profit is due to breaking laws and at the expense of other property owners. Not when, contrary to laws and regulations, the permitted stagnation of property is increased in the face of the already enormous problem of redevelopment. Not when the municipality is being damaged in the amount of millions and no one is holding the culprits accountable.
What is common and how the scheme works
A proposal for a PUP is made, which means that the permitted height, distances from neighboring properties, including across the street of the future building in a given property, are specified. It is approved, and the order states that the only interested party is the owner of the property, because the law regarding distances between buildings has been complied with.
For this reason, this PUP is not announced to the neighbors. There is a 14-day period in which to object. The probability that a neighbor will find out and object within this period is practically zero. PUP enters into force. No one understands about him. The Municipal Council does not understand either, which must approve if there are reduced distances. Still, there are dozens of people in the City Council – it would be hard to keep it a secret if they informed him. After that, designs are drawn up and a building permit is issued. Again, it is not announced to the neighbors, only DNSK is notified. There is no point in overloading the courts with pointless cases. It makes no sense to increase the administrative burden on investors. A 14-day period passes and if no one objects, it enters into force.
We have the cherished permit for construction with a project in deviation from the laws, norms and standards. A building will be built that does not comply with ZUT, in which we have no guarantee that if they violate one law, they have not violated others as well – for example, the requirements of fire prevention, sanitary, anti-seismic norms. Regarding the latter - prohibited for construction zones of active faults, shown on the maps to the OUP, are built up with new buildings. One of these areas is the ring road opposite the Business Park.
Everything happens in the dark and quietly. Money loves darkness and silence.
What happens if someone does get triggered. Well, in the considered cases – nothing. The court considers that a construction permit issued once cannot be revoked.
Korav does not play cards.
In another case – the prosecutor's office, following a signal from engineer Boyan Deribeev, proved that he did not sign act 14 for the acceptance of the construction and act 15 for the acceptance of the building. The signatures in the opinion that the construction was completed according to the project were also forged. The court does not cancel the permission to use, DNSK has no intention of punishing the supervisory company that committed the crime by revoking the license. Everything should be dimmed and muted. Money loves darkness and silence.
Here are specific cases.
On 21.09.2023, the chief architect of Sofia, with Order No. САГ23-РА-19-06/21.09.2023, stopped construction in Zone B5 and reasoned that art. 32, paragraph 1 and 3 of the ZUT. (Art. 32. (1) (Amended - SG No. 65 of 2003, amended - SG No. 61 of 2007, in force from 27.07.2007) The distance between residential buildings of the main development across the street is greater than or equal to the height of the residential buildings.
(2) (Amended - SG No. 65 of 2003, amended - SG No. 61 of 2007, in force from 27.07.2007) The distance between the residential buildings of the main development through the bottom of the regulated land property is at least one and a half times the height of the building located on the more favorable direction for insolation. In the case of sloping terrain, depending on the direction of the slope relative to the more favorable direction, the distance is increased or decreased by the difference between the average levels of the adjacent terrain for the two buildings.
(3) (Amended - SG No. 61 of 2007, in force from 27.07.2007) When determining the distance between buildings under para. 1 and 2 the height of the building from the more favorable direction is reduced by the height of the first and subsequent non-residential floors of the shaded building.)
On 3.07.2024 The Supreme Administrative Court annuls this order on the grounds that once a building permit has been issued, which has not been appealed by DNSK within 14 days, it cannot be revoked. Kyorav does not play cards - DNSK must have been watching.
But this does not negate the fact that the ZUT is violated and some apartments in this building may not meet the requirements for sunlight. The victims will be the investors who will buy these properties. An interesting fact is that 15 days later the same chief architect approved the PUP according to the same scheme, and in February 2024 issued a construction permit with the same violations for a building with 13,000 sq.m. RZP on “Kutlovitsa“ and “Maragidik“ street. A building, 30 meters high in its highest part, 11 meters from the properties on “Kutlovitsa” street. For two weeks, a completely opposite interpretation of the ZUT.
The same violation occurred at a building on “V. Atanasov“ 41-43. Thus, opposite the neighbors across the street at a distance of about 15 meters, 9 floors are being erected. And the neighbors from No. 39 are literally walled up. Of course, the value of a house where the sun does not enter and the view is a wall is lower. The new investor has reached into the pockets of the people in the existing housing with both hands. It is unlikely that investors willing to harm neighbors in this way will follow the rules and will not harm future homeowners in their buildings as well.
In June 2024, the chief architect approves the same scheme in the dark and quietly PUP for a 50-meter high building on the site of Banya Sitnyakovo (it was discussed at the beginning). Citizens intuitively sense that something is wrong and protest. In some cases, the Metropolitan Municipality decides to replace the property subject to the protests. There is such a proposal for the property in Zone B5. With an equal. If the project had complied with the ZUT, the building's gross floor area would have been at least 2 times smaller. Since the relationship between the possible ROI and the price of the property is direct, the property will cost twice as cheap. And it will be replaced by twice cheaper property.
of the participants in the scheme - the chief architect of the Vazrazhdane region, the supervisor, the designer.
The scheme, unfortunately, continues to operate even under the new chief architect, according to media publications of similar and other violations in the approval of the PUP. The procedures shrouded in secrecy, in which an external entity such as the owner of a neighboring real estate property is deprived of the opportunity to object, lead to null and void judicial practice as to whether the application of the ZUT by the NAG is lawful.
The isolation of the Metropolitan Municipal Council means that control by people in elected positions has been avoided. Good or bad, municipal councilors are the representatives of the citizens. Based on the responses and actions of DNSK, it appears that they do not exercise control over the construction process, nor over the persons exercising control. They are not punished for violations. ID Sofia's chief architect stated that the Sofia Municipality should not exercise control over the projects, as they have a conformity assessment.
No public, state or municipal organization or administration wants to control either the projects or the construction, of course, if it is a question of serious projects. It does not apply if you are building a single-family house or, God forbid, you want to change the purpose of a shop. Then it's back – walking on torment. No public, state or municipal organization punishes the guilty upon proof of guilt. We are returning to the dark years of the 90s, when the market was free and there was no state and no regulations. You know how that ended.
In order to respect the observance of the laws, the prosecutor's office should investigate state, municipal officials, designers and supervisors in the cited cases. Because this all looks a lot like an organized crime group. It is necessary for the Metropolitan Municipality - in the person of the mayor and the Municipal Council, to regain control over the construction, the NAG and the chief architect, who have been practically without any control for years. To carry out a large-scale inspection of construction, projects and PUP and to carry out prevention so that there is no more “the more, the more”.