Building design in minimum scope in Latvia: what it contains and when you need it

A building design in minimum scope (būvprojekts minimālā sastāvā) is the set of drawings and text that shows the basic idea of a building and on which the Latvian building authority issues a building permit. For a new private house it is the first official step: you cannot get a permit without it, but you may not build from it yet.

This article covers when it is needed, what it contains, how it differs from the full building design and what it costs.

When a minimum-scope design is needed

Buildings in Latvia fall into three groups by complexity. Group one covers single-storey buildings with a footprint of up to 60 m²; group three covers large and complex buildings, for example those with more than six storeys. Everything else is group two, which includes an ordinary one- or two-storey private house (General Construction Regulations, Annex 1).

The Building Regulations set out four routes: works that need no documents, a building notification, an explanatory report, and a building permit. If a project fits none of the first three, it needs a permit, and the permit application is submitted together with the design in minimum scope (Building Regulations, points 7 and 26). A new private house is usually exactly this case.

For the lighter routes, see Building notification or explanatory report?

What the minimum-scope design contains

For a new building, point 26 of the Building Regulations requires:

an explanatory description of the planned construction;
a site plan showing the building's position on the plot;
floor and roof plans with a room schedule;
elevations with height marks;
characteristic sections.

For a reconstruction, drawings showing the planned changes replace the plans, elevations and sections.

In practice this means the position, massing, layout and appearance of the house are already decided at this stage. Structural calculations and engineering systems are not yet required in this set.

How it differs from the full building design

The minimum-scope design answers "what will we build"; the full design answers "how to build it".

Once the permit is issued, the design conditions written into it have to be met. For a group-two building the design then includes a general part, an architectural part, a structural part, an engineering part and a work organisation project (Building Regulations, points 62, 64 and 71).

Only when the design conditions are met and the documents needed to start works have been submitted does the building authority mark the permit accordingly, and construction may begin (points 92, 93 and 108).

The process step by step

Plot review: what the municipal spatial plan and building rules allow.
Concept: the layout and massing agreed with the client.
Minimum-scope design and permit application in the Construction Information System (BIS).
Building permit with design conditions.
Full design and fulfilment of the design conditions.
Fulfilment of the conditions for starting works and the mark in the permit.

What the design costs

LINE 78 prices the whole design by floor area rather than the minimum scope separately. Architecture and site layout cost 55 €/m²; the full design with structures and engineering systems costs 75 €/m². For a 150 m² house that is 8 250 € or 11 250 €. Design work usually takes 3–5 months.

More: House design prices and Private house design.

Common mistakes

Buying a plot without checking the building rules. The permitted number of storeys, building density and distances from boundaries decide what house can be built there at all.
Treating the minimum-scope design as a formality. Changing the massing or appearance after the permit means getting the changes approved.
Starting to build right after the permit is issued. A permit does not allow construction until it carries the mark that the conditions for starting works are met.

Requirements checked on likumi.lv on 11 November 2026. The regulations change, so check the current version before you apply or contact us.