Legal Alert: Amendment to Law No. 21,718, the General Urban Planning and Construction Law, and Law No. 21,473

Authors: Alejandro Álvarez and Blanca Oddo – Alvarez Abogados

The bill amending Law No. 21,718, on the streamlining of construction permits; the General Urban Planning and Construction Law (Ley General de Urbanismo y Construcciones, “LGUC”); and Law No. 21,473, which regulates the installation, design and maintenance of advertising elements, was approved by the Chilean National Congress and submitted to the Executive Branch through Official Letter No. 21,260, dated June 2, 2026.

The only pending step is presidential enactment and subsequent publication in the Official Gazette. Considering the date on which the Official Letter was submitted, the presidential term would expire, at the latest, on July 2, 2026. Unless the President of the Republic submits observations to the bill — which, in principle, appears unlikely — the law will enter into force in actum and will not include retroactive provisions.

Main amendments

1. Formal admissibility review

A new article 118 is incorporated into the LGUC, establishing a formal admissibility review of applications. For this purpose, the Municipal Works Directorate (Dirección de Obras Municipales, “DOM”) will have a term of five business days from the filing of the application.

If the DOM does not declare the application inadmissible within such term, the application will be deemed automatically admitted for processing.

Any declaration of inadmissibility must be duly reasoned and will be subject to challenge.

2. DOM response deadlines

The deadlines for the DOM to issue its decision are amended as follows:

• For the ordinary regime, the previous term of 30 calendar days is replaced by a term of 25 business days.
• In cases where there is a favorable report issued by an independent reviewer, the term will be 15 business days.
• In the case of projects with high occupancy load — that is, equal to or greater than 1,000 people — the general term will be 50 business days. If there is an independent reviewer, such term will be 30 business days.
• For minor works and mergers of lots, the term will be 15 business days.

3. Claims before the SEREMI MINVU

Regarding claims filed before the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Housing and Urban Development (Secretaría Regional Ministerial de Vivienda y Urbanismo, “SEREMI MINVU”), a new article 118 bis is incorporated into the LGUC, regulating standing to file a claim, which will correspond to the interested party or the owner of the property.

The SEREMI MINVU must issue a reasoned decision within 40 business days, counted from the expiration of the applicable response periods. If the claim is upheld, the SEREMI MINVU may directly order the DOM to grant the permit, with a reduction in municipal fees.

The review will be limited to the specific petitions submitted and to the alleged infringed provisions. The decision of the SEREMI MINVU may only be challenged through a motion for reconsideration, in accordance with Law No. 19,880, within a term of 30 days.

4. Claim before the Court of Appeals

A new article 118 ter is incorporated into the LGUC, regulating claims before the Court of Appeals. The term to file such claim will be counted from the notification of the SEREMI MINVU’s decision or from the expiration of the term to issue a decision without any decision having been rendered, a circumstance that may be digitally certified.

If the claim is upheld, the Court may:

• Order the issuance of a decision.
• Declare the right to compensation.
• Enable the corresponding criminal prosecution.

The illegality declared by the Court will constitute a non-disputable premise in the subsequent summary compensation proceeding.

5. Final approvals

Article 144 of the LGUC is amended, establishing that partial and total final approvals will be governed by the regime set forth in such provision, including its deadlines and admissibility system.

6. Traffic Impact Mitigation Reports

Article 172 of the LGUC is amended, regulating the general, basic and intermediate Traffic Impact Mitigation Report (Informe de Mitigación de Impacto Vial, “IMIV”).

The general IMIV will have the following characteristics:

• Its approval will be a requirement to obtain the permit.
• It will be valid for three years from its notification.
• It may be reviewed in the event of project modifications.

The basic or intermediate IMIV will have the following characteristics:

• Its approval will be a requirement for final approval, and not for the permit.
• It will be valid for ten years.

7. Liability of specialty designers

Article 18 of the LGUC is amended to include express liability for the professional or technician who develops specialty projects, regarding compliance with applicable regulations and any errors committed in the performance of their duties.

8. Administrative publicity

Articles 116 and 116 bis C of the LGUC are amended, replacing the 60-day list with a new resolution. In addition, the obligation to inform the Municipal Council and neighborhood associations is eliminated, moving toward a digital publicity system.

For more information on the amendments to Law No. 21,718, the LGUC and Law No. 21,473, and their effects, please contact Alejandro Álvarez at aalvarez@alvareza.cl or Blanca Oddo at boddo@alvareza.cl.

Alvarez Abogados