Chile: Summary of Urban Development Division Circulars issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development during February and March 2025
Each month, Chile’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development issues circulars from the Urban Development Division (DDU). Below, we provide a brief summary highlighting the key points from the circulars issued in February and March 2025.
February 6, 2025: DDU 519, "Permits, approvals, and receptions: Edification"
DDU 519 nullifies DDU 490, and introduces several modifications. Previously, DDU 490 had classified border complexes with police facilities as security equipment, exempting them from the building permit requirement of the fifth paragraph of Article 116 of the General Law of Urbanism and Construction (LGUC). These complexes were only required to comply with current urban planning regulations and declare the buildings to the Municipal Building Department before completion.
However, based on opinion E14360/2025 of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, it was determined that border complexes should be regarded as transport infrastructure for urban planning purposes due to their function of transporting people, goods, and vehicles between countries. Therefore, DDU 519 reclassifies the regulations contained in DDU 490 by establishing that border complexes are transportation infrastructure, exempting their construction by the State from requiring permits, as per the fourth paragraph of Article 116 of the LGUC.
March 10, 2025: DDU 520, "National Single Forms"
This circular replaces and distributes the National Single Forms for Minor Works used in the procedures before the Municipal Works Directorates. It is also specifies that a note has been added to these forms to clarify that, in cases where an application is submitted jointly to the Directorate of Works with an application for an alteration or demolition permit, the latter must be signed by an architect.
March 14, 2025: DDU 521, "Regularization Laws"
Following the publication of Law No. 21.725 in the Official Gazette on March 1, 2025, which amends Law No. 20.898 to extend the terms of the simplified procedure for the regularization of self-construction housing, DDU 521 provides guidelines for the correct application of the new legal provisions. It aims to provide information about the modifications introduced by the new regulations and establish uniform criteria for their implementation, consolidating previous instructions on this matter.
March 14, 2025: DDU 522, "Land use, energy infrastructure, urban planning regulations, and building permit requirements"
This circular outlines the urban planning regulations applicable to projects that involve pure or isolated energy storage systems, specifically those using electrochemical batteries.
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