The Chamber of Deputies will meet exceptionally on November 6 for the digitalization of the building regulation

Prague – Members of Parliament will meet on November 6 at 18:00 to discuss the proposed amendment to the Building Act, which aims to help address issues with the digitization of the building approval process. The extraordinary meeting on this single agenda item was convened today by the Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. Her spokesperson, Martin Churavý, informed ČTK about this. The request to convene the meeting is also signed by members of the opposition parties ANO and SPD, but not by members of the Pirates party. The amendment, which is on the agenda, has been signed by representatives of most parliamentary parties except the Pirates. The originally signed chairman of the Pirates club, Jakub Michálek, has reportedly retracted his signature according to the parliamentary website.

Since the launch of the digitized building approval systems on July 1, builders and officials have faced issues. Former Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) previously stated that he would sort out the systems, but he was ultimately dismissed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) at the beginning of September. The Pirates subsequently left the government.

The proposed amendment will allow for the simultaneous use of both new and original building approval systems. "The proposed law is a response to current problems associated with ensuring the digitization of the building approval process and aims to mitigate potential damages that could reach hundreds of millions of crowns in the event of dysfunction or unreliability of the information systems of the building authority," states the explanatory memorandum.

The amendment establishes two transitional periods. The first is to last until the middle of next year and will apply to purposes of spatial planning and the national geoportal for spatial planning. The second period will last until the end of 2027 and applies to the digitization of the building approval process. From January 1, 2028, a completely new system is intended to be put into operation according to the government's plans. During the transitional period, officials from building authorities will be able to process applications in both the new building approval information system and in the systems they were using until June 30, 2024.

The proposing members of Parliament suggest that the Chamber approve the draft in an expedited first reading. If the Chamber approves it, it will be sent to the Senate for discussion. The change to the law is intended to come into effect the day after it is published in the collection.