Puerto Rico’s Permitting Reform Roadmap: What It Means for Builders and Investors

Puerto Rico is trying to fix permit delays

Construction permits can take 9 to 18 months in Puerto Rico in some cases. Some environmental assessments can take up to 577 days. 

These timelines affect carrying costs, tenant delivery dates, and financing schedules. Puerto Rico’s latest permitting reform roadmap aims to reduce delays. This post explains what the roadmap includes and what investors should do now.

Key takeaways

• Permits can take 9–18 months in some cases.
• The roadmap proposes changes to code, process, and the SBP portal.
• Investors should plan for today’s timelines while tracking reforms.

DEV Builders Group is a family-owned commercial builder in Puerto Rico with 20+ years of experience. We provide a high-end, premium, concierge, and white-glove service. 



We track permitting changes because they affect start dates, cash flow timing, and opening deadlines.

What the Task Force released

The Task Force was created under Executive Order 2025-002. The roadmap includes 17 recommendations to change the legal, operational, and technology parts of the permitting system.

The report focuses on the Puerto Rico permitting system, including how agencies review plans, issue approvals, and manage timelines.

If you plan a commercial project in Puerto Rico, this roadmap matters because it signals where the rules and processes may change next.

Why this roadmap matters to investors

Investors feel permit delays through:

• longer holding costs
• later openings and revenue start dates
• slower tenant delivery schedules
• higher change-order risk when revisions repeat

A builder who tracks permitting reform helps you plan for today’s reality while preparing for what may change.

What the roadmap targets

The Task Force described five issues that slow approvals:

1. rules spread across many laws and agencies
2. processes that add complexity
3. technology fragmentation between agencies
4. staffing and capacity limits
5. preventive controls that add burden without improving oversight



These issues often lead to repeated submissions, unclear handoffs, and inconsistent review cycles.

Proposed changes investors should watch

A new Permitting Code

The roadmap proposes a consolidated Permitting Code. It would combine requirements now spread across 45+ laws and 46 administrative instruments. The goal is to reduce overlap and contradictions.

This can reduce conflicting requirements that cause redesigns and resubmittals.

A new Joint Regulation

The roadmap recommends a new Joint Regulation to reduce burdens and standardize processes.

This can make review steps more consistent between agencies.

A Consolidated Construction Permit

The roadmap recommends a Consolidated Construction Permit that supports:

• simultaneous review
• digital validation of plans and certifications

This can reduce time lost to back-and-forth sequencing between reviews.

More delegation to Authorized Professionals

The roadmap calls for a stronger role for Authorized Professionals for certain low-discretion steps, such as document validation and standard approvals. The approach depends on:

• permit type
• risk level
• discretion level

The report also calls for traceability, validation controls, and automated payments inside the Single Business Portal (SBP).

This can reduce status uncertainty and shorten response loops.

SBP modernization and integration

The roadmap calls for full modernization of the SBP and better integration across agency systems.

This can reduce manual handoffs and improve visibility into permit status.

Land-use and zoning updates

The report recommends simpler zoning criteria based on intensity of use and rural-urban transects. It also supports more self-certification for low-risk processes.

This can reduce review time for lower-risk items and routine submissions.

What changes now

These are early signals of what may speed up first, even before larger code changes take effect. These include:

• eliminating the backlog of Single Permits
• reducing interagency response times
• automating notifications to businesses
• using AI to validate structured and unstructured documents
• issuing a new regulation for professional oversight
• removing inspections for low-risk home-based offices
• using interagency agreements that place Permit Officers with decision authority inside OGPe

These steps suggest what the government is prioritizing and where faster processing may appear first.

Do this now before you buy land or sign a lease

• Before site selection: Confirm intended use, zoning limits, and agency touchpoints.
• Before design starts: Align your architect, engineer, and builder on revision control.
• Before submission: Prepare a submission-ready document set and map the permit timeline into your construction schedule.
  

How DEV Builders supports permitting for commercial builds

We support owners through:

• mapping the permit path by scope, risk, and location
• building a document checklist for clean submissions
• coordinating with architects and engineers to keep plan sets consistent
• tracking agency requests and responding with organized documentation
• protecting schedule milestones through pre-construction planning



Owners hire DEV Builders Group because they want a builder who protects timelines and manages the permit path with a high-end, premium, white glove service.

Contact Us to review early budgets or value‑engineer a 2026 package.

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