The Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan has made a number of amendments to the procedures governing construction activities¹, which become effective on May 29, 2022. Below, we highlight the key amendments that affect a wide range of players in the construction market.

1. The structural departments of the local executive bodies (akimats) responsible for performing the functions in architecture and urban planning are now required to maintain an operational topographic plan (which records, in particular, utilities, topographic surveys, buildings, and structures) concerning the development area of all localities. Previously, the obligation to maintain such plans existed only for the capital and cities deemed having republican and regional significance.
   
   The amendments oblige the structural departments of akimats to transfer the particulars from the topographic plan to the State Town Planning Cadaster (Cadaster). Developers, in turn, will be able to request such particulars directly from the Cadaster (rather than from the akimat’s structural departments). It is worth reminding that Cadaster maintenance activities are classified as a state monopoly, and are now carried out by the Republican State Enterprise (Republican Center for the State Town Planning and Cadaster—aisggk.kz).
   
   
2. The grounds have been expanded for refusing to provide public services including “Provision of initial data for the development of construction and reconstruction projects (replanning, re-equipping)” (State Service-1) or “Approval of a sketch (sketch design)” (State Service-2).
   
   As for State Service-1, where development of new construction projects is concerned (but excluding projects for reconstruction, redevelopment or re-equipment), the absence of an approved master plan, a detailed planning project, or a scheme for the development and building of localities will serve as grounds for refusal. As for State Service-2, the grounds for refusal will be inconsistency of a sketch with requirements of the state standards on architecture, town planning and construction.
   
   
3. To obtain state registration of a constructed facility by the authorized body, it will also be mandatory to enter the information about the facility-commissioning certificate into the Cadaster’s automatic information system (CAIS). This obligation is introduced on top of the existing requirement to record this certificate with the relevant akimat’s structural subdivision.
   
   That requirement, however, is currently missing in the sectoral laws governing construction activities and state registration of rights to immovable property. Given this legislative hole, until the appropriate amendments are made to the sectoral laws we can’t exclude the possibility of complications in practice, once the rules are applied.

1. Order of the Minister of National Economy dated 20 November 2015 No. 750 “On approval of the Rules for the building management and passing through the authorization procedures in construction industry.↩