Procedure for installing individual antennas and other structures on the roofs and facades of apartment buildings

The Regulation on the conditions and procedure for installing individual antennas and other structures on the roofs and facades of apartment buildings was approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated 16.05.2013 № 384.

Clause 3 of the Regulation stipulates that the installation of individual antennas and other structures on the roofs and facades of apartment buildings, with the exception of laundry drying structures, shall be carried out after obtaining approval from the territorial unit of architecture and urban planning. The approval is granted not by the individual, but by its structural unit – the territorial unit of architecture and urban planning.

Approval is not required for the installation of laundry drying structures; however, it is specified that these structures may only be installed within the internal space of a balcony and/or loggia.

Terminology

Individual antennas and other structures – means any types of individual antenna equipment, including that used for receiving terrestrial and satellite television programs, equipment used for air conditioning, and other structures.

Initiator of the installation of individual antennas and other structures (hereinafter referred to as the initiator) – a citizen (owner of residential and (or) non-residential premises, tenant of residential premises), a citizen who is a member of a developer organisation (hereinafter referred to as the citizen), as well as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur who initiates the installation of individual antennas and other structures on the roofs and facades of apartment buildings.

Unauthorised installation of individual antennas and other structures – means the installation of individual antennas and other structures on the roofs and facades of apartment buildings, with the exception of laundry drying structures, carried out without the approval of the structural unit of the local executive and administrative body exercising state-power functions in the field of architectural, urban planning and construction activities within the territory of the administrative-territorial unit (hereinafter referred to as the territorial unit of architecture and urban planning).

Procedure for Obtaining Approval

According to clause 4 of the Regulation, to obtain approval for the installation of individual antennas and other structures, a citizen, the initiator of this action, shall submit an application to the territorial department of architecture and urban planning and present the documents listed in clause 1.15.1 of the list of administrative procedures for citizens.

- technical passport and document confirming ownership, economic management or operational management rights to the premises – for the owner, holder of economic management or operational management rights to the premises.

The administrative procedure, as in the case of citizens, is also carried out within 15 days from the date of application submission and is also free of charge.

The Regulation defines that based on the documents submitted by the initiator, the territorial department of architecture and urban planning approves the installation of individual antennas and other structures or refuses to

— submission by the initiator of documents and (or) information that do not comply with the requirements of the legislation, including forged, falsified or invalid documents;

— deterioration of the suitability of a multi-apartment residential building for operation and the emergence of a threat of collapse of its structures as a result of the installation of individual antennas and other structures;

— prohibition by the local executive and administrative body of the installation of individual antennas and other structures on the facades of multi-apartment residential buildings included in the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus, as well as on the facades of multi-apartment residential buildings facing main streets and squares, the list of which is determined by the local executive and administrative body.

Without going into details that are no longer relevant, we will only note that this list has also been reduced.

As before, the Regulation grants the initiator the right to appeal the refusal of the territorial department of architecture and urban planning to approve the installation of individual antennas and other structures to the higher authority and (or) to the court in accordance with the legislation (para. 7).

Procedure for Carrying Out Works

According to para. 8 of the Regulation, based on the obtained approval, the initiator concludes an agreement with a legal entity or individual entrepreneur carrying out the installation of individual antennas and other structures.

It is established that in case of damage to the engineering systems of a multi-apartment residential building, the appearance of deformations, cracks and other changes in the load-bearing and enclosing structures of a multi-apartment residential building, works on the installation of individual antennas and other structures are suspended, and measures are taken to prevent the intensification of these deformations and changes, and the organization carrying out the operation of the housing stock and (or) providing housing and communal services is immediately informed. The revealed damages and their consequences are eliminated at the expense of the persons who caused such damages.

Paragraph 10 of the Regulation establishes that the initiator is obliged to:

- maintain the installed individual antennas and other structures in technically sound condition and carry out timely repairs. Defective individual antennas and other structures are subject to dismantling;

- upon detection during operation of violations of the requirements of technical regulatory legal acts committed during the installation of individual antennas and

and other structures, take measures to eliminate the identified violations or dismantle these antennas and structures.

It was also established that when an organisation carrying out housing stock operation and (or) providing housing and communal services performs repair work on the roof or facade of a multi-apartment residential building, the initiator shall (if necessary) ensure the dismantling of individual antennas and other structures for the duration of the repair work.

Unauthorized Installation

Clause 12 of the Regulation prohibits the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures. However, for those who consider Clause 12 to be irrelevant, the Regulation provides for Clause 13, according to which a citizen, legal entity, or individual entrepreneur who has carried out the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures is still obliged to obtain the appropriate approval. Such approval is issued if there are no grounds for refusal provided for in Clause 6 of the Regulation.

To obtain it, a citizen shall submit an application to the territorial department of architecture and urban planning and provide the documents listed in Clause 1.15.2 of the list of administrative procedures for citizens. In addition to the application, a technical passport and a document confirming ownership of the premises are required for the owner of the premises. This procedure is also carried out free of charge, but may take up to a month.

In turn, to obtain approval for the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures, a legal entity or individual entrepreneur shall submit an application to the territorial department of architecture and urban planning and provide the documents specified in Clause 8.3.3 of the list of administrative procedures for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, namely:

- a copy of the document confirming the state registration of the legal entity or individual entrepreneur

- a technical passport and a document confirming ownership, the right of economic management or operational management of the premises, for the owner, holder of the right of economic management, operational management of the premises.

In this case, the procedure will also be free of charge.

Based on the documents submitted by the citizen, legal entity, or individual entrepreneur who has carried out the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures, the territorial department of architecture and urban planning shall, no later than one month from the date of

submission of an application approves or refuses to approve the unauthorized installation, indicating the reason for refusal. It is determined that in case of refusal within the period established by the territorial department of architecture and town planning, individual antennas and other structures shall be dismantled, and the roof and facade of a multi-apartment residential building shall be restored to their previous condition by the person who carried out the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures, or at their expense.

In accordance with clause 17 of the Regulation, citizens, legal entities, and individual entrepreneurs who have carried out the unauthorized installation of individual antennas and other structures shall bear responsibility in accordance with legislative acts. This refers to Article 21.13 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences, according to which unauthorized re-equipment, repainting, or other alteration of balconies, loggias, and other architectural and structural elements of the facades of residential buildings, other buildings and structures, installation of satellite and other antennas on facades, balconies, loggias, roofs, as well as failure to take measures to maintain the external appearance of residential buildings, other buildings, structures, and fences in proper condition shall entail a fine ranging from 2 to 15 base units.