Novela stavebního zákonu pro rok 2023

What is good to know about the amendment to the Building Act?

On July 15, 2021, the President of the Republic signed a new building law thanks to the fact that the Chamber of Deputies outvoted the Senate. This law will enter into force on July 1, 2023, there are a few exceptions to some provisions with earlier effect. These are the only facts that politicians, experts, and officials agree on. Then two camps are divided here. The Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová promises simpler and faster management from the law, while municipalities, on the other hand, are concerned that they will lose control over what will be built on their territory.

So what changes should we expect?

First of all, there will be a significant acceleration in the area of ​​obtaining a building permit. The building authority should decide within 30 days of the start of the procedure in the case of a simple construction. In other cases, it should decide within 60 days. These deadlines must be met or the regional state building authority, which is its superior, will take over the procedure.

Another point is complete digitalization. Thanks to the amendment, all actions between the builder, the building authority, the affected authorities, etc. will be carried out electronically. An online system is to be created, where there will be two basic records - records of construction procedures and records of electronic documents. People will not have to carry stacks of paper files and everything will be searchable after a few clicks. At the same time, users will find information on the status of the proceedings or actions performed, etc. on the portal.

The construction agenda will no longer be in charge of municipalities or regions, but a unified system of building authorities will be created. The Supreme Building Authority will be at the head, and this unification is intended to solve problems with the risks of local governments interfering in decision-making on building permits. Thanks to the creation of a pure state building administration, it should enable better communication between officials and at the same time help to meet deadlines.

Will just one stamp be enough for me?

Yes, only one stamp will really be enough. Nowadays, a builder goes through a number of authorities and obtains several stamps (e.g. from environmental protection authorities, monument preservation authorities and others). Most of these authorities will be transferred to state building authorities, with some exceptions that will remain independent. These include the fire brigade and the Nature and Landscape Conservation Agency - they will now express themselves with only one document.

And last but not least, there is a point about stricter removal and additional permitting of buildings. Here, the law focused on so-called "black buildings", which were built without a permit or in violation of its conditions. Currently, when it is found that a building was built "black" and for its legalization, it is sufficient for the builder to provide the necessary documents additionally.

With the amendment to the law, this construction will only be allowed to be additionally permitted on the condition that the builder acted in good faith, i.e. that he did not knowingly violate the law. Among other things, the additional permit will be subject to payment of a fine. More lenient conditions will then apply if the construction was legally permitted according to the law, but the permit was subsequently revoked, or the building authority provided the builder with incorrect information that a permit was not needed at all.