Real Estate Coordination Window, a New Mechanism to Speed Up Real Estate Procedures in Mexico City

Executive Summary:

• On January 22, 2025, the Agreement establishing the Real Estate Coordination Window in Mexico City was published, a new mechanism to streamline procedures related to real estate development. Its objective is to simplify procedures, increase transparency and provide greater certainty to the sector through coordination between various government agencies, such as the Ministries of Government, Environment and Mobility, among others.
• This system will focus on large-scale projects and will begin operating by March 6, 2025 at the latest, seeking to improve administrative efficiency and reduce bureaucracy in key permits for urban development.

On January 22, 2025, the Agreement establishing the mechanism to facilitate the management of procedures called the Mexico City Real Estate Coordination Window (the “Agreement”) was published in the Official Gazette of Mexico City.

With this Agreement, the Government of Mexico City recognizes the construction sector as a key pillar of the economy and fundamental to the country’s development, highlighting the importance of providing greater certainty to the sector through transparent and efficient administrative mechanisms that facilitate the simplification of procedures in real estate development.

The creation of the Mexico City Real Estate Coordination Window (the “Window”) is established, which will be operated by the Ministry of Planning, Land Management and Metropolitan Coordination of Mexico City (the “Ministry”).

RELATED PROCEDURES

The Window will act as a key tool to speed up procedures related to Real Estate Projects that require the application to the Secretariat of any of the following procedures:

1. Establishment of the Area of Action.
2. Application of the Urban Development Potential Transfer System (Recipient Property).
3. Opinion on the Application of the Land Use Regulations or the General Planning Regulations.
4. Single Land Use Zoning Certificate with the application of Management Standard 26 for the Ministry of Housing and SERVIMET.
5. Single Impact.

PROJECT CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA

• Real Estate Projects classified for processing through the Window include:
• Housing projects with more than 10,000 m² of construction: Including those intended for social or low-income housing, with low-impact commerce or services included in the type C registration.
  Non-residential projects with more than 5,000 m² of construction: Including offices, shops, services, industry or equipment.
• Mixed-use projects with more than 5,000 m² of construction: Except for those intended for social or low-income housing or developed within the framework of Federal or Local Government programs, which include low-impact commerce or services, registered in the type B manifestation.

DEPENDENCIES INVOLVED

The Secretariat will work closely with the relevant municipal authorities, according to the characteristics and needs of each real estate project, and with the following entities in Mexico City:

1. Secretariat of the Interior;
2. Secretariat of Administration and Finance;
3. Secretariat of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection;
4. Secretariat of Integrated Water Management;
5. Secretariat of the Environment;
6. Secretariat of Mobility; and
7. Institute for Construction Safety

IMPLEMENTATION AND BEGINNING OF OPERATIONS

The Agreement entered into force on January 23, 2025, and the Window must begin operating no later than March 6, 2025. Procedures initiated before the entry into force will continue according to the traditional procedure in force, in accordance with applicable legislation.

There are several aspects of the Agreement that still need to be clarified. The Secretariat shall issue the corresponding guidelines for the operation of the Window and the working group by February 13, 2025, at the latest. Likewise, the Single Impact Commission shall publish the guidelines for the analysis of the projects on the same date.

Furthermore, as a consequence of the application of the Agreement, the competent bodies of the Public Administration of Mexico City must review and adjust their procedures by March 6, 2025.