Bartoš discussed the building permit system with the town hall secretaries and promised to provide additional templates

Prague – The Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) promised to add more than a hundred templates and mass data input into the building permit system following today's meeting with the Association of Secretaries of Municipal and City Offices. Bartoš stated this on the social network X. The chairman of the association and secretary of Prague 6, Jan Holický, told ČTK after the meeting that the Information System for Building Permits (ISSŘ) is still not fully functional for officials. The ISSŘ was launched by the ministry along with the Builder's Portal for the public on July 1. Since then, employees of building authorities as well as designers and architects have criticized both systems.

The Ministry for Regional Development (MMR) previously stated that the building permit systems are gradually being supplemented with additional functions and shortcomings are being addressed. "The ministry promises further significant improvements during August, when a considerable number of templates, which are currently only a small part, should be added. These should also be partially automated. An enhancement is also expected that would speed up the loading of information about participants, individuals, and land into the new system," said Holický.

"In mid-August, we will expand it (ISSŘ) to include mass input of participants and verification of individuals. We will also add approximately 130 templates for various decisions in weekly intervals," Bartoš stated on X. Once these important adjustments are made, as Holický mentioned, the association has agreed on another meeting with the MMR. This should take place on August 20.

According to the association of secretaries, the ISSŘ currently continues to suffer from a number of serious deficiencies, making it more of a burden than relief compared to the original system. According to the chairman of the association, the discussions with the MMR will help eliminate errors. Today’s meeting was already the second gathering over the summer, correcting the insufficient preparation that should have been dedicated to the system, Holický added. "The preparation should have been of higher quality and longer. The common goal is for the system to be as good as possible, however, we are in the second month of its operation, and the fact that it is not in better shape is considered a mistake," he said.

At the meeting, the association discussed with the MMR issues such as the lack of connection between the ISSŘ and the economic system or other partial adjustments. According to Holický, the ministry has promised to address these problems as well, although they will primarily be discussed at the next meeting.

At the end of July, the association of secretaries stated that the digitalization system for building permits shows fundamental deficiencies that significantly complicate the work of building authorities across the Czech Republic. For example, it is not fully connected with economic systems and filing services. At the same time, parts of the ISSŘ are also legally problematic and may be in conflict with GDPR rules, according to the association. However, the ministry denies any possible legal issues.

After a series of criticisms from involved authorities, professional associations, and construction firms, Bartoš defended the digitalization of building permits at the beginning of August and rejected claims that he had not communicated about its issues. He had previously also apologized for the problems. He called the change necessary and stated that it would bring benefits. According to representatives of the government coalition, there is time to correct the errors in the digitalized building permit procedures by the end of August.