UZBEKISTAN LEGAL NEWSLETTER: JUNE 2026

On 4 June 2026, Presidential Decree No. UP-104 was adopted, introducing measures to improve public administration in the construction sector, simplify public services for citizens and businesses, and further digitalise construction permitting, utility connections, and regulatory oversight. The Decree entered into force on 5 June 2026. Among other things, the Decree provides for the following key changes:

• from 1 July 2026, facilities will be connected to utility networks through an integrated single-window service based on the principle of “one application – one payment – all connection points”;
  
  
• from 1 July 2026, the existing practice of parallel design and construction for new facilities will be abolished. Instead, an experimental staged-construction procedure will be introduced, allowing construction to proceed on the basis of design documentation prepared, approved, and reviewed in stages. Construction works may commence only after the design documentation for the relevant stage has passed the required state expertise and the project has been registered with the Construction Inspectorate in accordance with the approved implementation schedule. Construction progress will be monitored by the Construction Inspectorate through the State Construction Control electronic platform. The procedure will apply to projects financed from businesses’ own funds or foreign direct investment (other than apartment buildings). For budget-funded projects, its application will require a decision of the President or the Cabinet of Ministers;
  
  
• from 1 September 2026, a unified public service will be introduced nationwide for issuing architectural and urban planning requirements in connection with change of use, redevelopment, reconstruction, and additional construction, replacing the existing separate services for design permits and architectural-planning assignments. For settlements whose master plans have been digitised, such requirements will be generated automatically without human intervention;
  
  
• from 1 September 2026, mandatory executive (as-built) documentation during construction will be maintained electronically, and the requirement to submit paper copies will be abolished;
  
  
• approval by territorial architectural and urban planning councils will no longer be required for layout changes that do not affect a building’s structural integrity, stability, fire safety, capacity or designated use and otherwise comply with applicable urban planning requirements;
  
  
• data on electricity, gas, water and other utility network loads, available capacity and connection points will be integrated into the Government’s Interagency Geographic Information System (GIS). The integration is to be completed by the end of 2026 for Tashkent and by the end of 2027 for all other regions. This will enable the automatic issuance of technical conditions for utility connections in settlements with digitised master plans; and
  
  
• artificial intelligence technologies will be introduced on a phased basis to support the review of applications for construction permits and the commissioning of completed facilities.

Presidential Decree No. UP-104 of 4 June 2026

 2.  STREAMLINING LAND RIGHTS RECOGNITION

On 15 June 2026, a Law introducing amendments to the 2024 Law on the Recognition of Rights over Illegally Occupied Lands and over Buildings and Structures Constructed on Them, which we covered in our August 2024 newsletter, was adopted. As previously reported, the 2024 Law allows individuals and legal entities to formalise lease rights over certain illegally occupied land plots and ownership of the buildings and structures constructed on them, subject to the statutory conditions. The amendments are intended to simplify and expedite this process. Among other things, the Law provides for the following:

• the statutory periods for reviewing applications and supporting documents are reduced to 20 calendar days by the competent organisations and 20 business days by the justice authorities;
  
  
• the recognised lease term is clarified as 99 years for land plots occupied by individual housing and 49 years for all other land plots, commencing on the date of the competent authority’s decision recognising the relevant rights;
  
  
• tax arrears preventing recognition are clarified to mean outstanding land and property tax exceeding 30 times the base calculation value (approximately USD 1,000);
  
  
• the one-time payment for the recognition of lease rights may be made either in full or in instalments. Where payment is made by instalments, the recognised buildings and structures will serve as security for the outstanding amount. If 50% of the payment is made within 20 business days, the remaining amount will be waived;
  
  
• the decision recognising the relevant lease and ownership rights is expressly confirmed as a basis for their state registration; and
  
  
• the period for interested parties to submit claims in relation to the published information on the relevant land plot and the buildings and structures on it is reduced from one month to 10 calendar days.

Law No. ZRU-1153 of 15 June 2026