On 30 November the city council of rebel-held Idlib issued real estate circulars on land demarcation, excavation, and construction in the city. 

The council said in a circular addressed to all construction traders that the Idlib municipality will not allow the demarcation of any properties unless there is a building permit granted by the municipality’s technical office. 

The technical office added that it will supervise the construction work with a licensed general contractor and a construction engineer monitoring all construction from foundation to roof. 

The demarcation procedure is one of the technical services. It intends to divide the property into multiple sections or deduct a section of it to unify it with an adjacent property. 

Once the regulatory procedures are completed, the property cannot be divided into parcels with an area of less than four thousand square meters. 

Read more: What are the legal procedures to submit a property demarcation application?

In a separate circular directed to the construction engineers and construction traders, the council barred construction and excavation for projects that do not provide a site plan and demarcation certificate from the city council’s technical services department.

The council strictly prohibited the occupation of sidewalks, streets, squares, and ferries with air markets, sidewalk booths, or stalls. The council also called for removing roadblocks and checkpoints that prevent pedestrians from walking comfortably with the right of way for over five days, starting on 30 November. 

The council warned that the business owners will have to demolish unlicensed portions of structures at their own expense.  They will also have to pay a fine of 155 Turkish Lira (TL- 20 USD).

Last September, the so-called Syria’s Salvation Government (SSG) operating in the Idlib governorate in northern Syria prohibited the construction of any residential or commercial buildings. The SSG also banned carrying out any infrastructure project, such as water network,  sanitation, etc., or any utilities of any kind for these properties, without a construction license.

The Department of Local Administration and Services in the Sarmada district must be consulted to obtain a construction permit, written construction approval, or license after all the necessary documents are provided to start the construction work.

Read also: Salvation Government issues three circulars within three weeks to regulate real estate transactions.

The SSG stressed that violators of the construction licensing decision will be liable to legal prosecution. In addition, financial, administrative, and legal deterrent measures will be taken against violators, including landlords, the lessor, or the seller.

The SSG justified its decision by pointing out that there are numerous violations of private and public property rights; several buildings were found to have been constructed illegally outside the executive master plans of cities and towns.

The  SSG established the real estate documentation office affiliated with the SSG’s local administration and services ministry to work as a civil authority to document and archive property transactions in the area.

The department of organizing real estate offices in the general directorate of real estate was established six months ago, and it has been recently activated by the real estate documentation office in all directorate branches in the opposition-held areas