Four steps for changing agricultural land to regulated

The margins and the purpose of agricultural land in the building borders of a settlement are defined by detailed structural plan or the so called PUP.

Adding agricultural piece of land in those plans is possible after a procedure for changing the urban structure. When a parcel is below 50 000 sq m in size, the change of status can be performed by the local Commission of Agriculture and Forests. When the parcel is bigger than 50 000 the decision is made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

1.The procedure starts with a request to the mayor of the municipality (where the property resides). You should also provide a document for ownership (notary deed) or document for yield building rights. If the property is owned by several people then all of the owners should be present. The request also asks for permission for a new PUP to be created. The new PUP will be consistent with the intensions of the builder.

2.In an appendix to the request you should state: name of the project , data about the future activities, exact location, distance to the main road system and other close objects, size and borders of the structures to be built.

The plan must be coordinated with providers of electricity, water and sewage. This will provide appropriate infrastructure in the property.

3.Apart from PUP you need few more documents in order to get building permit:

-sketch of the property

-decision by RIOSV (Regional Inspection of Ecology and Waters).In rare occasions a report on the effect of the ecology is required.

-documents for the category of the agricultural land. This document is issued by the local administration “Agriculture and forests”. There are 10 categories which value the productivity of the land, weather conditions, waters, relief, technological qualities of the land etc.

-certificate for irrigation by “Irrigation systems”

4.This set of documents and the command of the mayor are sent to an expert committee. Their decision is vital to the approval of the building permit. If they vote positively the mayor issues an order and the whole documentation is sent to district administration “Agriculture and Forests”. Decision for the status should be available in 2 months timeframe. Then it is stated in the register of the municipal administration “Agriculture and Forests”.

One of the most important questions is the cost of changing the status of a land.Apart from the price of creation of PUP , you have some local taxes to be paid.

The exact amount depends on the category of the land, the size of the plot, location of the property, type of the building project, irrigation possibilities.

Of great significance is also the type of construction – commercial property , industrial property, storehouse, administrative buildings, resort complex , sport complex or residential / villa property .

Here is an example:

The taxes for category IV land will be 2500-3000 levs per 1000 sq m. There are special consultancy companies that handle and process the set of documents. Their price will vary according to the size of the project – from 2 to 3 euro per sq m.

The whole procedure may take 6 or more months to complete. Moreover there is no 100% guarantee the status will be changed.

The relatively low price of agricultural land hides great potential for profit as once regulated the value can double or triple.