2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART I - Public Planning (§§ 1 — 229ccc) › Chapter 1 - Miscellaneous Provisions (§§ 1 — 61a) › § 42a - Certification of plans—Regulation; authority to adopt it

The Permit Management Office is authorized to adopt, and amend, as it may deem necessary, a regulation in accordance with the provisions of §§ 71—72i of this title to implement a system of certification of plans for projects of construction, reconstruction, alteration or enlargement of works required in § 72b of this title, as well as to regulate the certifications necessary for the issuance of use permits upon completion of the works. For purposes of §§ 42a—42i of this title the word “work” is understood as defined in §§ 71—72i of this title. The regulations to be adopted by the Office or any amendment thereto shall become effective fifteen (15) days after approval by the Puerto Rico Planning Board. In case the Planning Board does not take any action, approving, amending or disapproving the regulation, or any amendment thereto, within the thirty (30) days following the date of receipt, the same shall be considered approved by the Board for all purposes of §§ 42a—42i of this title.
The inspection of the work under construction, for purposes of §§ 42a—42i of this title, is the periodical surveillance of the construction performed by the architect or engineer who designs the work, or by the architect or engineer that, for such purposes, the owner has designated. The architect or engineer who inspects the work or the construction officer or his representative may reject works which are not in conformity with the construction permit granted and may file complaints as provided in § 42d of this title. This inspection work does not substitute the builder certificate under the requirements of §§ 42a—42i of this title, nor relieves the contractor from liability for construction defects or noncompliance with the requirements of the plans, specifications and construction permit.
Said regulation shall include, among others, provisions relative to:
(a) Proof of the ownership title of the lot or property and any other document showing that its segregation has been duly authorized.
(b) Construction plans, specifications and itemized budget and report on the conditions of the subsoil.
(c) Authorization and other documents relative to the compliance with requirements of other government organizations.
(d) Consultation as to conformity with the Integral Development Plan, Land Use Plans, Four-Year Investment Program, Official Highways and Streets Map and other requirements imposed by §§ 71—72i of this title, or by any other applicable law.
(e) Contents and language of the blank forms to be used in the certificates upon the initial filing of the plans or the project, when completing the work; and to amend the plans or the project, whether it be before the work has been started or during the process of construction.
(f) Certificates and contracts of the technical personnel in any of the engineering or architectural specialties, who may have worked in the preparation or in the making of the plan or project.
(g) Nature and intensity of the supervision to be required in harmony with the size and complexity of each project, or under what conditions exemption from this requirement may be granted.
(h) Procedure for the processing of consultations or drafts submitted prior to the certification of projects.
(i) Provide for the action to follow in case of substitution of the inspector, or of the contractor or builder.
(j) Establish that category of work for which permit shall not be issued through the mere presentation of the certification provided in § 42c of this title.
History —June 15, 1967, No. 135, p. 437, § 1; June 27, 1968, No. 144, p. 416, § 1; Oct. 26, 1973, No. 5, p. 861, § 3; Oct. 6, 1975, No. 1, p. 707, § 3.