Legal Update: The conditions and procedures for granting, suspending and revoking certificate of occupancy
Issue: No. 009P/21-20 January 2021
On 30 December 2020, Royal Government of Cambodia issued a Sub-decree No.226 HNK.BK on the conditions and procedures for granting, suspending and revoking certificate of occupancy which composes of 13 chapters and 55 articles (“Sub-decree No.226 HNK.BK”) under the supervision of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
The purpose of this Sub-Decree aims to establish the conditions and procedures for granting, suspending and revoking certificate of occupancy as well as the use of construction, the change of the use of construction and the inspection of quality and safety of the construction in order to ensure safety and security of construction, protect the property and welfare of construction owners, users and the public. This Sub-decree applies to all types of construction except for the types of construction that are governed by separate legal instruments. The site closing permit granted before Sub-decree No.226 came into force is equal to certificate of occupancy.
The Sub-Decree establishes provisions with main feature as following:
Requirements of certificate of occupancy
- Before using the construction, the construction owner shall apply for certificate of occupancy when construction is completely built or provisional certificate of occupancy in order to use some part of construction that has been built. The provisional certificate of occupancy is valid until the issuance of certification of occupancy of the whole construction. The conditions for granting the certificate of occupancy and provisional certificate of occupancy are clearly mentioned in the Sub-decree.
Changing the use of Construction
- Construction owner shall use the construction in compliance with construction’s function as stated in the certificate of occupancy. Any change related to the use of construction is subject to the approval of the competent authority and the issuance of new certificate of occupancy.
Suspension and revocation
- In case the construction can no longer provide the quality and safety for the use, the competent authority can suspend or revoke the certificate of occupancy. The certificate of occupancy shall be revoked in the following case: 1) the construction is seriously not safe in term of construction structure and impossible to technically repair, modify or demolish 2) The construction is seriously dangerous according to the decision of the competent authority.
Co-owned building and Borey
- Certificate of occupancy shall be provided to each private unit’s owner/property owner. Certificate of occupancy for common area shall be kept with the executive committee/governing board of Borey and the copy of such certificate shall be made for each private unit’s owner/property owner.
Punishment
- Punishments in this Sub-decree include a written warning, suspension or revocation of a certificate of occupancy, prohibit construction occupancy and disposal, transitional penalty, and fine.
In addition, it should also be noted that for the construction built prior to the enforcement of the Construction Law, the formality and procedures on the issuance of the certificate of occupancy are regulated under the Prakas No.177 DNS/BK. This Prakas aims to apply to any illicit construction built without a permit, construction that is not in compliance with a permit and construction having a permit but it has no certificate of compliance or site closing permit.
Disclaimer
The article is merely for general information purposes. It does not constitute a legal advice on the subject matter. If you have any question or need any assistance, please feel free to contact us at contact@sithisak-lawoffice.com or (+855) 23 6373 168.
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