Act No. 283/2021 Coll., Building Act (hereinafter "new construction law“) is not even effective yet and has already undergone extensive amendments (specifically Act No. 152/2023 Coll., amending Act No. 283/2021 Coll., the Building Act, as amended by Act No. 195/2022 Coll., and some other related laws) that happened effective July 1, 2023. What changes does the amendment to the new Building Act bring and what to watch out for?
The aim of the new building law was to improve and streamline the method of building permits. According to the law, building authorities were supposed to have such a degree of expertise that they could be competent to make decisions on the greatest possible number of matters. The whole process was supposed to be faster and simpler. But the question is whether the amendment discussed in this article does not stand in the way of achieving these goals. Among other things, the amendment postponed the effectiveness of the Building Act to January 1, 2024. From this date, the new Building Act will apply to so-called reserved buildings, and it will enter into force in its entirety for all other buildings half a year later, i.e. on July 1, 2024. It was also accepted along with the amendment Act No. 148/2023 Coll., on a unified environmental opinion a Act No. 149/2023 Coll., which amends certain laws in connection with the adoption of the Act on the Uniform Environmental Statement.
This article serves as an overview, in our opinion, of the most significant changes brought about by the amendment to the new Building Act.
Reduction in the number of building authorities
Originally, there was supposed to be a reduction in the number of building authorities. The reason was primarily personnel, as some construction authorities only have one or two officials and it is practically impossible to represent them in the absence of one of them. In the end, however, the amendment keeps all construction authorities still in operation with the possibility of reducing their number according to construction activity.[1] The amendment therefore cancels the intended new system of building authorities, including the Supreme Building Authority. But we will see one new office. This is an exception Transport and Energy Building Office (hereinafter "DESÚ"). This new unit will decide on reserved buildings, which are defined in Annex No. 3 of the new Construction Act and are, for example, highways, aviation structures or nuclear facilities. DESÚ will be involved in the appeal subordinate to the Ministry of Transport (for transport structures) a Ministry of Industry and Trade (for industrial buildings). DESÚ would also be the only office to have the place of regional hygiene stations assess public health issues, as far as building permits are concerned.
Unified environmental positions according to the amendment of the new construction act
The amendment also comes with a unified environmental opinion (hereinafter "JES"). The JES should represent a unified opinion that will replace opinions, statements or decisions on the evaluation of environmental effects issued so far under nine different laws. JES will be issued outside the construction permit procedure itself a general authority for environmental protection, which is most often the municipal office of a municipality with extended powers or a regional office. But it is important to mention that the JES will not replace the underlying environmental opinions in all cases. Exceptions they will concern, for example, specially protected areas or locations of European importance.
Participation of associations in construction permit proceedings according to the amendment of the new construction act
Furthermore, the amendment also provides for the possibility of participation of ecological associations in the permit procedure. Although the government amendment initially rejected their participation, eventually there will be associations participants in the proceedings, but only in cases where permits felling of trees or grants exemption from prohibitions for memorial trees or specially protected species of plants and animals.
Changes in spatial planning
According to the amendment, territorial planning documentation will be obtained in a uniformly modified process. It will also be mandatory electronic in a machine-readable format and certain parts will be unified into a so-called unified standard. Prague, Brno and Ostrava in addition, they will have the opportunity to publish own building regulations, in which conditions may be set differently with regard to the new construction law.
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The changes brought about by this amendment to the new Building Act are largely procedural in nature. The goal is to simplify and unify the current legislation is noticeable in most parts, although in some cases it will mean the necessity of spending considerable costs for implementation for many municipalities. Whether the construction procedure will really become clearer and simpler with the entry into force of the new Building Act will be seen only next year, when the new rules will be put into practice.
Source: construction.cz
Are you planning to build a house or an entire development project and don't know how to deal with the new building law? Or do you need any other advice regarding construction law? Contact us!
Mgr. Lucie Špičková, Attorney
