Building law change: We reject the super stamp, developers say
They approved it last year, they are changing it this year. The annual postponement of the effectiveness of some passages of the law recently in the first reading of the new building Chamber of Deputies. The proposal will now be considered by the House Committee on Public Administration. If it was approved, the establishment of regional building authorities was postponed, under which the existing building authorities were to pass in municipalities and cities.
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Construction of new apartments. Illustrative photo.
| Photo: Deník / Petr Turek
From the middle of 2023, in accordance with the new Building Act, only the Specialized and Appellate Building Authority (SOSÚ) would be established. In practice, this would mean that a new “pyramid” of building authorities would not be built and building officials would remain where they are today. According to the Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates), the new system of building offices that was originally to be created would be unnecessarily expensive and impractical. “However, the original plan is still valid, that the builder just submits an application and the building authority takes care of all the matters itself, which will fundamentally affect the digitization,” the minister said at the end of March.
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The amendment submitted by the Ministry maintains, among other things, the Specialized and Appellate Building Authority for strategic and larger line constructions, which will decide on so-called dedicated constructions, ie large infrastructure projects, motorways, power plants, etc. . The institute of a single environmental permit should also be introduced.
Unilateral proposal
According to the Association of Developers, however, the preparation of the assignment and the content of the draft amendment to the Building Act took place in a non-transparent environment and without the necessary discussion with experts or representatives of those affected by the legislation. “We have to get acquainted with the published material in detail, however, we can already state that, for example, the creation of a new super stamp in the form of the so-called environmental permit does not give hope that we will simplify the process,” said Tomáš Kadeřábek, director of the Association of Developers.
“The current political representation basically refuses to communicate with us – our repeated calls for meetings and discussions -” said Hana Landová, Chairwoman of the Territorial and Regional Development Section of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.
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Jiří Nouza, president of the Association of Entrepreneurs in the Construction Industry, speaks in a similar vein. “It is an unpleasant surprise for us that Minister Bartoš did not negotiate with unions and experts and that a proposal was created that is completely detached from practical and needs. All the more so at a time when, due to a lack of materials, rising prices and a lack of manpower persist without a precise crisis in the construction industry. It is completely unacceptable to come up with another stamp in the form of an environmental permit, which will precede the building permit itself and will further prolong the whole process, “added Nouza.
On the other hand, the Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers and Technicians in Construction (ČKAIT) welcomes the preparation of the government’s amendment to the Building Act. Its chairman, Robert Špalek, recently handed over the problems of the new building law to the minister. According to ČKAIT, these include, among other things, reduced protection of the public interest; The Chamber also insists on a unified system of building regulations for the entire Czech Republic.