Neither developers, nor investors, nor the public were satisfied with the state’s architectural and construction control. How can open data help overcome this problem? A story in three cases
In December 2019, information from the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate register was published in open data format on data.gov.ua. Although this information was incomplete and imperfect, the open dataset was widely used among users.
As part of the reform of the urban development sector, a new improved Register of Construction Activities came into effect in July 2020, and data on declarative and permitting documents were subsequently published.
According to the government, every year in Ukraine, 70-90 thousand real estate purchase agreements are approved on the primary market and up to 115 thousand permits for the start of construction are registered.
Often, due to the lack of complete information about the construction site and customers, real estate investors transfer money to companies that build without a full package of documents or have a negative history of court cases.
For the developers themselves, the problem is obtaining permits, approving documentation for putting the facility into operation, and the difficulties in tracking the start of the procedure for canceling the permit document.
At the same time, city residents, activists, and journalists are tired of the arbitrariness of developers who violate the intended purpose of land plots and the number of storeys of buildings.
How can open data and construction industry reform help address these issues?
Case No. 1. Construction without necessary permits
Problem: Starting construction without a complete package of documents is a common example of violating urban planning legislation. According to a study by Monitor.Estate, 27% of new buildings in Kyiv are being built without the appropriate permits.
Investors often lack complete information about the risks that may arise during construction.
The situation is complicated by the fact that identifying specific violations requires analyzing a significant amount of information, as well as expertise in the fields of construction and urban planning legislation.
Companies affiliated with Anatoly Voitsekhovskyi are the record holders for non-compliance with urban planning legislation. According to the Kyiv City State Administration, all residential complexes to which Voitsekhovskyi is related are illegal.
One of these – the Sovski Stavky residential complex – was built on an illegally occupied plot, without undergoing a project examination, without proper permits and technical conditions for connection to city communications.
The declaration on the start of construction work underestimated the complexity category. Moreover, the residential complex “Sovskie Stavki” is being built on a landslide-prone area. Before starting construction, the developer was supposed to strengthen the slope, which was not done.
DABI annulled the declaration on the start of construction work, and the Supreme Court confirmed the legality of this decision. Now the construction site is under arrest, and a criminal case has been initiated against the developer.
Other common violations are a smaller permitted number of floors of the construction object or a mismatch between the stage of work for which the permit was issued. For example, a permit was issued for the start of preparatory work, but in fact the main construction work is underway.
Developers often build objects that do not correspond to the intended purpose of the land plots.
Problem solving before opening DABI registry data
Previously, to check out a developer, potential investors looked for information on online forums, in specialized groups, monitored the company’s image in media publications, or studied documents provided by the developer himself in the sales department.
Solving the problem after opening the DABI registry data
The published data of the DABI register helps to check the availability of a construction permit: find a new building by address or land plot cadastral number. If there is no permit, most likely, the construction is illegal.
With the help of open registers, an investor can find out the status of construction permit documentation, the presence of licenses from the contractor, violations in the intended use of the land plot, court cases against construction participants and information about other constructions of the developer.
The availability of complete information about new buildings allows investors and buyers to make informed decisions in favor of real estate objects with the lowest risks and those that meet all the requirements of good urban planning practice.
Greater awareness of the population will help reduce the demand for risky investments, which will force construction customers to comply with the requirements of urban planning legislation and contribute to reducing the level of corruption in the urban planning industry.
Where to find information
You can find DABI data on the Unified State Open Data Portal or using convenient services created based on DABI open data: Urbandata, Monitor.Estate, Bild.ua, «Суд на долоні«, NORA, Lun.ua, Clarity Project, Ring, CityScale, YouControl, «Нерухомі».
Case No. 2. Legalization of illegal constructions post factum
Problem: It is a common practice for developers to obtain permits not before the start of work, but after the start of work or even before commissioning.
The most recent and striking example is the residential complex “Akademkvartal” from the large developer “Intergal-Bud”.
In June 2020, the construction customer received urban planning conditions and restrictions on the design of the development of the site. Everything would be fine, but the construction of the first two buildings is almost completed. Investors are promised to start issuing keys this fall.
The site on which the complex is being built is not intended for the placement of residential real estate on it. The intended purpose of the site is “For the placement and operation of main, auxiliary and auxiliary buildings and structures of enterprises of the processing, machine-building and other industries for the operation and maintenance of administrative, production and economic buildings and structures”.
Of course, at that time there was no data in the DABI database on the issuance of a permit for the construction of this residential complex.
Problem solving before opening DABI registry data
The process of obtaining information about the construction was lengthy and required sending official requests. In addition, it was necessary to involve the media and local authorities in order to create publicity for the process.
Real estate investors took on high risks – purchasing a home turned into a casino game for them. In the event of refusal to obtain the necessary permits, the developer legalized the building through corrupt means.
Solving the problem after opening the DABI registry data
The data from the DABI register allows you to analyze the interval between the formal start of work and the commissioning of the facility. As a result, you can see that the facility was built in a suspiciously short time.
Open data allows you to find construction permits for any facility by address, cadastral number of the plot, permit number and other parameters. This will help activists and journalists more effectively identify violations and prevent conflicts with the public.
Where to find information
You can find DABI data at Єдиному державному порталі відкритих даних or using convenient services created based on DABI open data: Urbandata, Monitor.Estate, Bild.ua, «Суд на долоні«, NORA, Lun.ua, Clarity Project, Ring, CityScale, YouControl, «Нерухомі«.
Case No. 3. Numerous refusals from DABI to developers
Problem: Data disclosure clearly showed the level of corruption in the state permitting system. In 2019, DABI significantly reduced the volume of documentation approvals for the start of construction work and artificially delayed the issuance of permits for commissioning.
If in 2018 the share of DABI refusals among the total number of documents was 6%, then in 2019 it increased to 8.6%. In January 2020, the inspection “turned back” 11.6% of documents.
According to market participants, DABI’s actions negatively affected the attraction of investments in the industry and restrained the growth of gross domestic product.
Problem solving before opening DABI registry data
It was impossible to fight abuses in DABI. Market participants admit that they were forced to “accept the rules of the game” established for everyone. Corruption in the supervisory and control bodies began with inspectors and ended with the head of the department.
As People’s Deputy Ivan Yunakov said in an interview with the EP, during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, a corruption vertical was formed in the construction sector, headed by the first figures of the state, and the amount of corruption reached 8-10 billion UAH per year.
Solving the problem after opening the DABI registry data
The single state electronic system in the construction sector is designed to streamline the construction process in Ukraine and, through maximum publicity of information, make it transparent and free from corruption.
The single system implements the entire life cycle of a facility’s construction, starting from obtaining urban planning conditions and restrictions and ending with its commissioning.
It is assumed that most of the information and documentation necessary for construction will be created in the system by the relevant entities, which will allow centralizing and standardizing data from many disparate sources of information.
Opening data from the new register of construction activities will make the market more transparent and help fight corruption. In addition, products will be created on the basis of open data that will help solve social problems, do business, and facilitate the work of urban planning bodies.
Changes in the industry have accelerated the process of its reform. Developers note that in recent months the activities of this body have become much more transparent.
The material is based on the analytical report “The Impact of Open Data of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine”, prepared by the Office of Effective Regulation (BRDO) within the framework of the USAID/UK aid project “Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TARAS” and with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
