No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Hire a licensed surveyor to visit the property and prepare the survey
plan : Private SurveyorAgency For a private property, BuildCo must hire a private licensed surveyor who will visit the property
in order to prepare the survey plan. On average, it costs around SLL 1 million for the services of a private surveyor, which
includes the cost of submitting the survey plan to the Director of Surveys and Lands.
20 days SLL 1,000,000
2 Licensed
surveyor submits the survey plan to the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment : Ministry of Lands, Country
Planning and the EnvironmentAgency In accordance with Section 15 of the Surveys Act Cap 256 of the Laws of Sierra Leone (as
amended by section 2 of Act No 14 of the Laws of Sierra Leone 1060 ), the licensed surveyor must submit the survey plan to
the Ministry of Lands on behalf of the client.
1 day no charge
3 Obtain results of soil test report : Private FirmAgency
Based on Article 22 section 2 of the Freetown Improvement Law of January 1, 1960, a soil test is required so that all walls
of a building rest on solid rock.
30 days USD 4,750
4 Receive countersignature of the Director of Surveys and Lands
on the survey plan of the property : Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the EnvironmentAgency Section 2 of the Survey
(Amendment) Act, 1950, mandates that each survey plan must be countersigned by the Director of Surveys and Lands.
14
days no charge
5 Register the survey plan with the Land Registry : Land RegistryAgency One copy of the survey plan is
registered with the Land Registry. The Registry will verify the records to ensure that there is not multiple claims to the
land.
1 day SLL 10,000
6 Submit the building permit application to the Office of the Chief Building Inspector (OBI)
: Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency The issuance of the building permits and building inspection functions
have been transferred from the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment to the Ministry of Works, Housing and
Infrastructure. The supervisors at the Ministry Works, Housing and Infrastructure will check all the documents and the plans
and will assess the building fees. A final review is conducted by the Chief Building Inspector.
The law provides the
Ministry one month to issue the building permit. The Ministry will conduct its own search on whether the owner of the land
is accurate.
Two sets of the following documents should be submitted at this stage: • Land survey plan signed by
the Director of Surveys and Lands • Plan of the building 1/8 scale • Floor plan • Section plan • Elevation
The following documents are also submitted for a building permit: • Design plans for the structure (in this case, the
warehouse) • Land tax payment
1 day no charge
Sierra LeoneDoing Business 2019
Page 11
Takes place
simultaneously with previous procedure.
7 Receive inspection from the Ward Building Inspector to verify the land survey
: Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency The Ward Building Inspector conducts an inspection of the topography
of the land and accessibility of the land via a road. They check that the land is free of multiple claims and that it complies
with the survey plan. The Inspector does not check for water and electricity connections.
1 day no charge
8 Receive
signed certificate and pay fees at the NRA desk : Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency The Ministry of Works
assesses and calculates the fees that have to be paid by BuildCo. BuildCo pays the fees at the National Revenue Authority
(NRA). Upon payment, a receipt is obtained as proof of payment.
4 days SLL 2,970,000
9 Obtain building permit :
Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency
14 days no charge
10 File a notice of commencement of construction
: Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency BuildCo must file a notice of commencement of construction to inform
the Chief Inspection Officer and his inspectors. The notice must be stamped and must include a tentative schedule of the different
stages of construction.
1 day no charge
11 Receive inspection of completion of structure : Ministry of Works, Housing
& InfrastructureAgency Previously construction companies would be subject to an inspection from the municipal ward at
least once or twice per week. Although the regulations provided for phased inspections after each stage of construction, they
were never enforced. Starting in 2007 the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment began an active campaign to
streamline its work and provide better services. It recruited a new cadre of professional inspectors and began enforcing the
applicable rules and regulations.
Now inspections are done only at certain stages of construction, most importantly:
structure works and roof works. The schedule of inspections is now issued together with the building permit. There is no need
to request inspections and once the inspectors visit the side, they do not interrupt the works. BuildCo must post the inspections
schedule on the construction site, which is then signed by the inspectors after every inspection.
1 day no charge
12 Receive inspection when roof has been covered : Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency
1 day no charge
13 File a notice of completion with the Ministry of Works and request final inspection : Ministry of Works, Housing &
InfrastructureAgency BuildCo must notify the Ministry of Works at least one week prior to completion of the works. It then
takes the Ministry between 1 -- 2 weeks to visit the site and conduct a final inspection.
14 days no charge
14 Receive
final inspection from Ministry of Works : Ministry of Works, Housing & InfrastructureAgency
1 day no charge
15
Purchase and submit application form for water connection to Guma Valley : Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC)Agency BuildCo
purchases and completes the application form and submits it to Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC).
1 day SLL 10,000
16 Receive inspection from water authorities : Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC)Agency GVWC will conduct a survey to assess
the feasibility of a connection and prepares a cost estimate of materials and work. It takes about a month before the inspection
takes place.
1 day no charge
17 Pay and connect to water : Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC
Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including
obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary
inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building
quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms,
liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was
completed in May 2018.See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure
Procedures to legally
build a warehouse (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates • Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections • Obtaining utility
connections for water and sewerage • Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion • Time required
to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information • Each procedure starts
on a separate day— though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule • Procedure
is considered completed once final document is received • No prior contact with officials• Cost required to complete
each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes• Building quality control index (0-15) Quality
of building regulations (0-2)• Quality control before construction (0-1)• Quality control during construction (0-3)•
Quality control after construction (0-3)• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)• Professional certifications (0-4)•
Case study assumptions
To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company,
the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. The construction company (BuildCo): - Is a limited liability company
(or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected
for the second largest business city. - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal
entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects or engineers.
BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or topographical
experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. The warehouse:
- Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. - Will have two stories, both above
ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters
(9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is
100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. - Will have complete architectural and technical
plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation
or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding
all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements). The water and sewerage connections: - Will be 150 meters (492
feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole
will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built.
- Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons)
a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons)
a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for
the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.
Sierra LeoneDoing
http://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/s/sierra-leone/SLE.pdf
Details – Registering Property in Sierra Leone – Procedure, Time and Cost
Takes place simultaneously with
previous procedure.
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 The buyer verifies the seller’s title
to the property at the Property Registry : Land Registry, Office of the Administrator and Registrar GeneralAgency With a copy
of the abstract of title the buyer then conducts a search in the property register to verify the seller’s title to the
property as well as information regarding the encumbrances on the property.
5 days SLL 20,000
2 A licensed surveyor
visits the property and prepares the survey plan : Licensed surveyorAgency A private, licensed surveyor visits the property
in order to prepare the survey plan. On average, it is expected to pay around SLL 1.5 million for the services of a private
surveyor, which includes as well the cost of submitting the survey plan to the Director of Surveys and Lands • 1,000/00
for one town lot, • 10,000/00 for 1 acre • 500/00 for change of name in a survey plan
20 days SLL 1,000,000
3 A licensed surveyor submit the survey plan to the Ministry of Lands and Housing : Ministry of Lands, Country Planning
and the EnvironmentAgency The buyer should obtain a survey plan of the property duly signed by the Director of Surveys and
Lands.
1 day no charge
4 Countersignature of the Director of Surveys and Lands on the survey plan of the property
: Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the EnvironmentAgency In accordance to Section 15 of the Survey Act, CAP 128 of
the Laws of Sierra Leone provides for the submission of every site plan to be inserted in a document to be registered. Section
2 of the Survey (Amendment) Act, 1950, mandates that each such plan should be countersigned by the Director of Surveys and
Lands. In accordance to Section 15 of the Surveys Act Cap 256 of the Laws of Sierra Leone (as amended by section 2 of Act
No 14 of the Laws of Sierra Leone 1960 ), the licensed surveyor will submit the survey plan to the lands ministry on behalf
of the buyer. The countersigned survey will be returned to the surveyor who submitted the survey plan to the Director of Surveys
and Lands.
14 days no charge
5 Preparation and execution of the sale purchase agreement by a hired lawyer : Lawyer's
officeAgency Registration of Instruments Act, Cap 256 of the Laws of Sierra Leone and the Stamp Duty Act, Cap 274 stipulate
that all registrable instruments have to be prepared and deposited by a legal practitioner.
7 days SLL 17,854,558.6;
(10% of purchase price)
6 Obtain a tax clearance certificate from the National Revenue Authority : National Revenue AuthorityAgency
The tax clearance is applied for after the deed document is prepared . It is submitted to the NRA on application for tax clearance,
and payment of the assessed tax, the deed is stamped on the margin of the front page, and a receipt issued, which is attached
to the document. The seller of the property pays 30% of the profit derived from the sale as capital gains tax, and the above
certificate is issued. Please note that Capital gains tax is not included in the calculation.
2 days SLL 5,000; (SLL
5,000 + 30% capital gains tax (not included in the calculation))
7 Registration of the transfer of instrument by the
Registrar General : Land Registry, Office of the Administrator and Registrar GeneralAgency The transfer of title is registered
by the Registrar General. Companies are registered at the Stamp duty, registration fee, Property fee and local taxes (estimates
based on acreage) are paid at this time. The registration fee is a fixed
