Owner's representative in Latvia: your team on the ground

Yes. Construction applications are filed in the Construction Information System (BIS). A foreign person can be registered in BIS through the building authority and can then authorise others. In practice most of our clients authorise us for a defined scope and period, because that is faster.

Not always, but it often makes financial sense, mainly because of VAT (see the next question). A Latvian company or branch is also required to apply for the Green Corridor fast-track. We raise this in the Entry Check; your tax adviser or our partners decide and handle the registration.

When both parties are VAT-registered in Latvia, construction services fall under the domestic reverse charge: the customer accounts for the VAT. A foreign client without Latvian VAT registration is charged Latvian VAT, and VAT on construction and renovation of real estate is excluded from the refund procedure for non-established businesses. That is why many investors register for VAT in Latvia before works start. Please confirm your case with your tax adviser.

Possibly. Companies registered in Latvia, including branches of foreign companies, can apply to LIAA if they invest at least EUR 5 million (EUR 10 million in Riga) in a priority area and create at least 20 new jobs within three years. Approved projects receive public services in construction, spatial planning and migration at least twice as fast. Military production projects approved by the Ministry of Defence can also qualify. We check eligibility in the Entry Check and prepare the construction side of the application.

The supervisor protects the owner's interests on site. Latvian law does not allow the supervisor to be a related party of the contractor. Supervision is mandatory for many types of buildings, and we recommend it on every project. That is why, in Design & Build, we propose candidates and you choose and contract the supervisor directly.

It depends on the route. Some interior works need no approval. Smaller works can be done with a construction notification or an explanatory note. A new building or major reconstruction needs a building permit with design and construction-start conditions. Since 2026 the rules for smaller works have been simplified, and the construction application in BIS also starts the registration of the building in the cadastre and the Land Register. In the Entry Check we confirm which route applies to you and how long it will realistically take.

It would be if both roles sat in one contract without safeguards. That is why we offer two separate models. In model A we never bid for the works. In model B we are your contractor, and you keep an independent supervisor, open books and the right to an independent cost review.

We speak with you in English, Latvian or Russian and with Latvian institutions in Latvian. Written reports are in English and in your language.

Yes. We sign your NDA before any documents are exchanged, and we use a project as a reference only with your written consent. On security-sensitive sites we work within our industrial security clearance.

The Entry Check has a fixed fee agreed before we start, credited against a later contract. For models A and B the fee depends on size and scope (see "How we charge"). After a first call, we send a written cooperation proposal within 3–5 working days.