The draft of the building law should go to the government in mid-April

Prague - The Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) wants to submit its proposal for the construction act, with incorporated comments, for discussion by the government in mid-April. Deputy Minister Marcela Pavlová said this at today's conference of the Association for Architecture and Development. The proposal received over 1,600 comments. According to the capital city, the so-called fiction of decision could be problematic, whereby, after the deadline, an official would not issue a permit, but it would be generated automatically by a computer. The law is expected to come into effect in 2021.

According to the ministry, the aim of the amendment is to simplify and speed up the approval process for construction from the current average of 5.4 years to one year. According to the deputy minister, the comments received during the inter-ministerial procedure often overlapped. Some of them concerned the fiction of decision or changes in the structure of building authorities. Currently, these are organizationally under local governments, which is set to change. The proposal includes the establishment of one supreme building authority that would oversee 14 regional offices and local offices.

In her contribution, Prague's councilor for legislation Hana Marvanová (for STAN) summarized the capital's comments on the proposal. She pointed out that the transfer of building authorities from municipal jurisdictions would diminish the influence of local self-governments in the approval process. Therefore, according to her, they should have the opportunity to participate in every proceeding as representatives of the public interest.

According to Marvanová, a contentious point is also the proposed fiction of decision. This means that after the relevant deadline, a positive or negative decision based on provided documents would be generated by a computer system, not a public official. "This could encounter issues in an administrative court," said the councilor. She also warned that the proposal does not adequately address the communication between officials and applicants, according to the representatives of the capital city.

In addition to the new construction act, the MMR is also preparing an amendment to the existing one, introducing the so-called fiction of consent. For the approval of a construction project, a binding opinion from dozens of institutions is required, and the new regulation should prevent permissions from being stalled due to the lethargic approach of some of them, which builders report is a common occurrence. According to the amendment, authorities should have 30 days for approval, and 60 days in more complicated cases. If the authorities do not respond within the deadline, the building proceedings would continue on the assumption that a positive opinion has been issued. The amendment, which includes other adjustments, is scheduled to go to the government's legislative council on Thursday, April 4.