The Law No. 21,814, published in the Official Gazette on April 21, 2026, modernizes the sanctions regime of the Superintendence of Sanitary Services (SISS) and introduces structural changes in how sector fines are classified, graded, and challenged. For sanitation operators and their supplier chains, the reform reorganizes patrimonial exposure and shifts the legal debate from the formal validity of the sanction to the substance of the infringing conduct.
What changed
For decades, the SISS sanctions regime rested on dispersed and sublegal rules. The most visible piece was Exempt Resolution No. 2,085 of 2020, an internal procedural manual that regulated substantive aspects of the exercise of sanctioning power. That precarious setup coexisted with a legal text that did not define infringing conduct with sufficient precision or establish grading criteria. Law 21,814 replaces that scheme by amending Law No. 18,902, which creates the SISS, and DFL No. 382 of 1988. The central changes are four. An express classification of infringements: very serious, serious, and minor, each with its own list. Fine caps are set by law: 10,000 UTA for very serious infringements, 5,000 UTA for serious ones, and 500 UTA for minor ones. Grading criteria with mitigating and aggravating factors. The SISS must weigh specific circumstances when setting the sanction within the statutory range. The problem: the law does not establish objective parameters for that weighing, which gives the regulator broad discretion. Compliance plans. Following the model of the Superintendence of the Environment, the law incorporates this figure as an alternative to or complement for the sanction. The regulation that sets the specific conditions must be issued within six months from publication. Judicial challenge before the Santiago Court of Appeals. The challenge to sanctions is expressly vested there, and the point from which fines begin to accrue interest is established. These new rules apply only to sanctioning procedures initiated after the law enters into force.
What it may mean for your company
If you are an operator or concessionaire of sanitary services, the impact is direct. The new catalog of very serious infringements —with fines of up to 10,000 UTA— materially increases patrimonial exposure in the event of continuity, quality, or safety failures. Before, the definition of the offense rested on sublegal rules whose validity could be challenged. Now it is in the law. That provides greater certainty about what is sanctioned, but it also consolidates the legal basis for imposing higher sanctions. The point is not minor: the SISS obtains a stronger legal framework to exercise its powers. The focus of litigation shifts to the substance: whether the conduct is in fact very serious, serious, or minor, and how aggravating and mitigating factors were weighed in the specific case. There is another angle. The discretion that the law grants the SISS to weigh those circumstances without objective criteria generates significant legal uncertainty. In practice, this may translate into different sanctions for similar cases, opening room for challenges in court. The Santiago Court of Appeals becomes the strategic stage for sanction-related litigation in the sector. For infrastructure, technology, or service companies that supply sanitary concessionaires, the reform acts as an indirect signal: the regulator has more tools to pressure operators, and that pressure may be passed downstream in supply contracts. The reference to future regulations —especially regarding compliance plans— also creates a transitional gray area. The conditions under which a compliance plan may suspend or replace a sanction are not defined today. Designing strategies on that point before the regulation is issued means working on assumptions. Even so, waiting for the regulation to react also has a cost.
What you can do
If you are a concessionaire or a company regulated by the SISS, three concrete actions:
- Audit the infringement risk map against the new catalog. The classification into very serious, serious, and minor does not necessarily match your company’s internal reading of its risks. Review which operational conduct falls within the highest exposure bracket and prioritize controls before the first proceeding under the new law begins.
- Design the compliance plan framework before the regulation is issued. Good compliance practices do not wait for the Ministry of Public Works regulation to be published. Building the draft now allows you to adapt it to the regulatory text instead of starting from scratch.
- Review contracts with key suppliers under the new patrimonial exposure. If the fines applicable to your company increase at the upper end, the distribution of contractual responsibilities with infrastructure, operations, and technology suppliers should be revisited. Liability and indemnity clauses calibrated under the previous regime may be insufficient in the face of fines of up to 10,000 UTA.
If you need to assess the impact of Law 21,814 on your operating model or review your exposure under the new SISS sanctions regime, schedule a meeting with our team. This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice for a specific case. Law No. 21,814 — National Congress Library