Almaty has tightened control over illegal construction, including housing built on land not zoned for individual residential development — such as plots designated for gardening or personal subsidiary farming — on the orders of city akim Darhan Satybaldy. This is reported by infohub.kz.
According to the press service of the Almaty akimat, oversight will be carried out at every stage — from the start of construction work to the commissioning of a facility.
Data from the city's urban planning control department shows that 52 illegally built structures have been fully or partially demolished in the city since the start of the year.
The department noted that the entry into force of Kazakhstan's new Construction Code on July 1, 2026 has changed approaches to state architectural and construction control and supervision. Whereas individual residential construction previously followed a simplified procedure and was effectively not covered by construction control to the same extent as other facilities, the new legislation has changed those conditions. To date, the legislation has updated requirements for permitting procedures and for pre-design and design preparation of construction.
This is particularly important for Almaty, where cases have been recorded of individual residential houses being built on land plots not zoned for individual residential construction.
"The mere ownership of a land plot does not in itself give the right to build a facility on it with any parameters and purpose. Construction must comply with the designated purpose of the land plot, urban planning regulations and legal requirements," stressed Olzhas Tulebaev, head of the urban planning control department.