Dostálová will again defend the construction law before legislators

Prague - Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) is preparing to defend the proposed construction law again before the Government Legislative Council in a week. The council returned the draft for revision at the end of June. The council will reconvene on August 6 and 7. According to spokesperson Vilém Frček, the ministry expects the government to discuss the draft law at the end of August. The Chamber of Deputies is expected to discuss the law in its first reading at the turn of September and October, he told ČTK.

"The Ministry of Regional Development has maximally accommodated the comments of the Government Legislative Council; we were not in any fundamental conflict. After the council meeting, once there is a definitive opinion, the public will be thoroughly informed about the form of the construction law," the office stated in response to a query about what changes the authors incorporated into the law.

The law is planned to take effect from spring 2021. The cabinet expects it to significantly accelerate and simplify the approval of constructions. Its effectiveness is to gradually roll out by the middle of 2023. Government legislators returned the proposal to the ministry in June "for refinement primarily of certain institutes and procedural and other adjustments that could not be resolved or specifically formulated directly during discussions."

According to Dostálová, the problem with current construction legislation lies in the fragmentation of regulations and building authorities, with nearly 20 types of construction proceedings and ten types of various approval processes existing. According to the draft law, once approved, there should be a single administrative proceeding, and the entire construction permit process will be led by one building authority. The entire process is to be digitized. Those not integrated into the so-called single stamp system will only partially include heritage protectors, specifically regarding cultural and national monuments and heritage reserves. "However, the final word of the heritage protectors will be decisive there. Likewise, the environment will retain a separate position for the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection, especially in protected areas. For any constructions in national parks and similarly significant areas, the environmental authority must have the final say," Dostálová previously stated.

According to representatives of business chambers and unions, after incorporating the comments, the law has deviated from its original form, and instead of simplifying the situation in construction, it will significantly worsen it. The original proposal had many critics as well. Among the most common criticisms was that it favored developers and did not protect public interests.