The presidency of the newly formed Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), headed by its new president Mohammed Al-Bashir, issued Decision No. 37 on March 6, which included reductions and exemptions from various real estate fees in areas controlled by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib. The SSG classified this decision as part of a series of reform decisions that will be issued successively to reduce taxes, stimulate construction activity, and facilitate its procedures, which will create more job opportunities.

Decision No. 37 was based on a statement of the Syrian General Conference in September 2017, that led to the formation of the first Salvation Government. The decision also drew on Decree No. 1 of 2024 from the Shura Council. The Shura Council, acting as a parliament, includes dignitaries and notables from various areas of Idlib appointed in 2019, without elections. The council recently formed a Supreme Electoral Committee to establish an electoral law and elect a new Shura Council. Decision No. 37 also referred to what it described as the “directives of the liberated area’s leadership,” referring to HTS.

Article 1 of Decision No. 37 included the cancellation of all financial fees on residential buildings with an area of less than 50 square metres. These fees were previously USD 0.50 per square metre, collected annually. The decision applies to all existing buildings and those to be constructed after its issuance. Additionally, Article 1 exempts these buildings from the requirement to submit architectural plans, including existing buildings in the process of being licensed and regularised, as well as buildings to be constructed after the decision’s issuance.

Mohammed Ghazal, the Director of Technical Services at the Ministry of Local Administration and Services from the SSG, told The Syria Report‘s correspondent that the cancellation of financial fees and the exemption from preparing architectural plans only apply to non-storeyed buildings with small areas, where the absence of an architectural plan does not affect their structural integrity or pose a risk to their inhabitants. Often, homes with small areas (less than 50 square metres) are those residential blocks that people have increasingly relied on as a more sustainable alternative to tents. These blocks typically consist of two rooms and utilities, with mud walls, and roofs made of cement or insulation.

Architectural plans are still required for licensing any building that exceeds 50 square metres, while buildings consisting of four floors or more must also undergo structural analysis according to the building code and earthquake annex, Mr Ghazal pointed out.

Article 2 included a 75 percent reduction in the financial, technical, and engineering fees collected by the Ministry of Local Administration and Services for all buildings, whether residential, commercial, or service-oriented. The financial and technical fees are fixed charges levied by the ministry for administrative and service works, while engineering fees are charged to pay for engineering procedures such as inspections and plan studies. These fees include licensing fees, settlement fees, and penalties. Settlement fees apply to unlicensed buildings constructed in accordance with the building code, erected on zoned areas. Owners of such buildings can settle their status and obtain a licence according to the current state of the building. Penalty fees apply to buildings that do not comply with the building code in terms of the number of floors, height, facade system, and land area.

Article 3 of the decision reduces by 90 percent the value of the improvement fee levied on properties for licence transactions, settlements, violations, and audits. An improvement fee is imposed on built and unbuilt properties that experience improvement, i.e., an increase in their value, as a result of public utility works. The administrative unit collects this fee within its administrative boundaries. The improvement fee is charged on properties located in areas undergoing zoning, or when a road is constructed nearby or a park is created, which leads to an increase in the property’s value. This fee is paid once with the first improvement and is not imposed for subsequent improvements. Still, the connection between licence transactions, settlements, violations, audits, and the improvement fee is not clear.

Article 4 includes the cancellation of fixed financial fees related to licence transactions and settlements. These are the fees imposed on the execution of licensed construction works, including the service fee due for each concrete pouring permission, which allows the contractor or building owner to start the concrete pouring process after verifying that the reinforcement works meet the required technical conditions. Additionally, the article cancels fees for technical inspections and the monitoring of the implementation of architectural plans, as well as the works fee imposed on works on public roads using construction materials and machinery.

Article 5 stipulates the settlement of buildings constructed before March 1, and treating them as per the current situation. This means licensing the non-compliant buildings constructed before March 1, according to the building code of each area, and in accordance with the zoning plans that the ministry is issuing one after the other. This does not include the removal or demolition of these buildings, but an engineering inspection is conducted on their structural integrity following the same procedures for licensing new buildings.

The package of exemptions and reductions included in Decision No. 37 will effectively reduce the resources of the SSG Ministry of Local Administration and Services collected by the financial department within the ministry, as well as those collected by the associated local councils. Mohammed Ghazal clarified that this decrease in resources will reduce the ministry’s ability to execute some existing projects. However, it will not halt the ministry’s operations entirely, which will continue to oversee other service projects, such as road construction and implementation.

The SSG Ministry of Local Administration also issued Decision No. 89 on March 6, which allows construction within the protection areas of the zoning plans, with the exception of Idlib city. The protection area of a zoning plan separates the zoned areas from the unzoned ones. Parts of the protection area are usually zoned during the expansion of the zoning plan in a routine manner. Municipalities and the executive office prohibit the construction of residential or commercial buildings in the protection areas. The ministry has required anyone wishing to build in these protection areas to comply with the building code system specific to agricultural, rocky, or mountainous areas, depending on the type of land.