Amendments to the law on technical regulation
Pepeliaev Group advises that the system of technical regulation in construction has been amended.
Federal Law No. 652-FZ “On amending the Federal Law “Technical regulations on the safety of buildings and structures” and specific legislative instruments of the Russian Federation” dated 25 December 2023 (the “Technical Regulations”) Most of the amendments come into force from 1 September 2024.
The area of regulation
The Technical Regulations establish the minimum necessary requirements for buildings and structures, as well as processes carried out at all stages of their life cycle. The above requirements relate to, among other things:
-
mechanical safety;
-
fire safety;
-
safety in the case of hazardous natural processes and phenomena and/or man-made impacts;
-
conditions that are safe for human health of living and staying in buildings and structures.
Requirements of the Technical Regulations are complied by performing instructions contained in lists of regulatory technical documents.
Currently the Technical Regulations contain references to two lists of standardisation documents, as a result of the application of which its requirements are met. The Russian Government is approving a list of documents that must be applied in constructionThe Russian Government's Resolution No. 815 “On approving the list of national standards and sets of rules (parts of such standards and sets of rules) whose mandatory application ensures the observance of the requirements of the Federal law “Technical regulations on the safety of building and structures” and on repealing the Russian Government's Resolution No. 985 dated 4 July 2020 ” dated 28 May 2021.
. The Russian Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) is determining the contents of the second list of documentsOrder No. 687 of Rosstandart “On approving the list of standardisation documents whose voluntary application ensures compliance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 384-FZ “Technical regulations on the safety of buildings and structures” dated 30 December 2009” dated 2 April 2020.
to be complied with on a voluntary basis.
Comment
The voluntary nature of the technical standards contained in the list of the Rosstandart consists in the possibility to choose (if possible) the applicable document, including those not provided for in Rosstandart’s list. For example, the Russian Government’s list contains no document regulating the level of natural and artificial lighting in premises in the list of the Russian Government, but several documents regulating this area are in the list of Rosstandart. This means that, in terms of determining indoor lighting indicators, the design documentation must comply with one such document at the discretion of the developerLetters of the Russian Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities No. 32309-VК/08 dated 3 August and No. 40060-АS/08 dated 23 October 2019.. The developer is also entitled to apply its own solutions having provided their justification.
New rules of regulation in standardisation
Amendments to the rules on technical regulation have been drafted to eliminate duplicates in the contents of technical standards and discrepancies between technical regulatory documents.
From 1 September 2024:
-
the list of mandatory requirements will be repealed, with such requirements being contained in the Technical Regulations;Articles 1(3) and 1(4) of Federal Law No. 653-FZ “On amending the Federal Law “Technical regulations on the safety of buildings and structures” and certain items of Russian legislation” dated 25 December 2023.
-
requirements applied voluntarily will be entered into a separate register and information funds.
The new developments provide for an electronic register of requirements to be created that must be applied during engineering surveys, architectural and construction design, expert examination of design documentation, expert examination of engineering survey results, construction of capital construction facilities (CCFs), as well as their reconstruction, overhaul, operation and demolition (the “Register of Requirements”).
Comment
With the abolition of the list of mandatory requirements, special technical conditions (STC) will no longer be agreed upon. If the design documentation contains solutions not provided for in the documents of the Register of Requirements, applying them will have to be justified in one of the ways provided for in article 15(6) of the Technical Regulations. Currently such justification is possible in respect of deviation from regulatory documents ensuring voluntary compliance with the Technical Regulations.
The application of the following documents ensures compliance with the Technical Regulations:
-
national standards of the Russian Federation, sets of rules (parts of them);
-
international standards, regional standards and regional sets of rules, standards and sets of rules of foreign states;
-
standards of organisations;
-
the results of the practical application of methods to confirm the compliance of technical solutions ensuring the safety of CCFs with the requirements of the Technical Regulations on the safety of buildings and structures.
Comment
The law provides for the expansion of the evidence base of the Technical Regulations at the expense of the standards of organisations and standards of foreign states. Previously, the use of such documents was possible only if their compliance with the Technical Regulations was substantiated by means provided for in the law.
National standards and sets of rules will apply from the date when they are included in the Register of Requirements.
International standards, regional standards and regional sets of rules, standards and sets of rules of foreign states will apply from the date when they are registered in the Federal Information Fund of Technical Regulations and standards.
Standards of organisations come into force from the date when they are registered with the Federal Information Fund of Standards.
Transitional provisions of the law
When carrying out an expert examination of the design documentation of a CCF that is not a linear facility, its compliance with the requirements included in the Register of Requirements as of the date when an urban development plan of a land plot (UDPLP) is issued will be assessed from 1 March 2026. Until then, the expert examination of design documentation will be carried out according to the old rules.
If the preparation of design documentation and/or the performance of engineering surveys are carried out on the basis of the UDPLP, or documentation on territory planning issued (approved) before 1 September 2024, then during the expert examination of design documentation and/or the results of engineering surveys, it is not the content of the Register of Requirements that is taken into account, but the rules and requirements in force on the date when the relevant documents were issued (approved).
What to think about and what to do
The new regulation is expected to bring clarity to the system of regulatory technical documents, to simplify and speed up the construction procedure, and to make it cheaper.
Of particular interest is the possibility of using foreign experience in the construction sector, including the experience of the People's Republic of China and other foreign countries.
We do not rule out that during design and construction it will be possible to apply less stringent requirements to natural and artificial lighting in premises, which will allow the density of land plots to be increased.
Help from your adviser
The lawyers of Pepeliaev Group are ready to provide the necessary legal assistance to companies on any matters of obtaining construction permission documents.
Translated by the Translation Department of Pepeliaev Group.