MMR proposes to increase the price of building permits

Prague - The proposal to increase building permit fees is being prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR), according to today’s Mladá fronta Dnes. The fees are to be differentiated based on the estimated value of the building for which the permit is issued, it writes.
    For example, a permit for a house with an estimated value between one and five million crowns could cost 5000 CZK instead of the current 300 CZK, while an extensive residence costing more than ten million would require a document priced at 20,000 crowns, according to the newspaper.
    "The amendment must be submitted for discussion within the ministry by September 30. It will then go to the government," said MMR spokesperson Martin Ayrer to the newspaper.
    An increase in the fees paid by builders to the building authority is also supported by cities and municipalities, which are significantly losing money on the operation of these authorities. For example, the mayor of Kladno, Dan Jiránek, would prefer to differentiate fees not by price but by building size. "For houses, it would be based on cubic meters, and for structures such as highways, it would be based on square meters," he told MfD.
    Municipalities have been struggling with unprofitable building authorities for many years. They have at least negotiated a promise of a two billion crown subsidy from Finance Minister Eduard Janota for next year, which should partially cover their costs associated with the bureaucratic tasks performed by municipalities on behalf of the state.
    Finance Minister Eduard Janota does not oppose discussions about increasing building permit fees but told MfD that this issue will only be addressed by the government that emerges from the autumn elections.
    Even after a possible increase, revenue from fees will not be a significant item in municipal budgets. While municipalities received almost 155 billion crowns from taxes last year, administrative fees (which include building permits) only brought in 3.8 billion crowns, writes Mladá fronta Dnes.