Kupka: Old and new building systems will operate concurrently from the end of November

Prague - Authorities and builders could begin to use the new and original building permit systems simultaneously at the turn of November and December. The prepared draft amendment to the building law will ensure legal certainty so that users proceed correctly despite poorly functioning digitization. This was stated today by Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) at the Prague conference "Meeting of Development Leaders."

Kupka was appointed coordinator for the development of the building permit system following the dismissal of Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) from the government at the end of September. He will present specific solutions together with other ministers on Wednesday, October 16.

Currently, teams dealing with the development of the building permit system are analyzing the state of the systems, but also the history of the contracts awarded for their establishment. According to the minister, it has been shown that many mistakes were made in this process, as pointed out by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) and court decisions.

"It is absolutely necessary to evaluate this so that we proceed in a safe way. We want to proceed based on the assessment of individual circumstances and variants so that it is as fast and safe as possible, ultimately leading to well-managed digital management as a whole," said Kupka.

The government is expected to decide next Wednesday on how to proceed further in the development of the building permit system. There is also the possibility that systems will have to be developed entirely anew. Kupka did not want to comment on which step he is leaning toward for now.

At today's conference, however, he stated that the so-called agile development has specific limits, particularly in the case of developing the digitization of the building permit system. The agile method was chosen for development by former Minister for Regional Development Bartoš. It is intended to allow for rapid software development and the ability to respond to changing requirements during system development.

Digitalization is currently a significant problem according to the newly appointed Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček (STAN). Today, he told reporters that he first needs to familiarize himself with Kupka's proposal. "We will evaluate both approaches, whether to start from scratch or to build on what has been done, but we do not currently have the analysis completed," said Vlček.

According to Vlček, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will try to help Czech construction by simplifying some building standards. These should primarily simplify residential construction, but changes will also concern fire standards and the use of wood in construction. He hopes to present specific changes by the end of this year.

The newly appointed Minister for Regional Development Petr Kulhánek (for STAN), who is expected to take over the development of the digitization of the building permit system from Kupka next week, previously stated that the transitional period during which both new and original building permit systems could be used simultaneously would last no less than 12 months. Applications will be submitted electronically, and it will not be possible to return to paper forms.