The government should approve the postponement of part of the construction law at the beginning of February

Prague – The government is expected to approve the deferral of the effectiveness of part of the building law at the beginning of February, said the Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) to reporters after today’s cabinet meeting. He added that he presented the ministers with a plan for the deferral so that the amendment could be discussed in an expedited process. After government approval, the material will be addressed by the Chamber of Deputies.

According to Bartoš, the purpose of the deferral is to gain time to prepare a substantive amendment. The basis will be the version of the building law prepared by the opposition before last year's autumn elections. Bartoš wants to maintain the current jurisdiction of building authorities. The amendment to the building law approved last year anticipates that authorities will operate at the regional level, with the central administrative authority being the Supreme Building Authority (NSÚ).

Bartoš also intends to eliminate the so-called institutional integration. He disagrees with the idea that building authority staff should take over decision-making related to the protection of water, monuments, or forests. "It is convenient in a certain way, but it is risky. We want to replace it with so-called procedural integration," Bartoš stated.

In connection with a greater emphasis on digitalization, the system should remain in place where an applicant for a building permit will only need to submit or upload one piece of documentation through an online portal to the building authority, and will not have to worry about anything else.

Bartoš also intends to maintain a specialized building authority, which will be responsible for large constructions and thus significantly speed up their construction. According to Bartoš, this authority could have an expanded jurisdiction, which is currently under discussion.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the new building law in July, which is set to come into full effect on July 1, 2023. Deputies discussed the coalition's proposal to defer part of the building law on Friday, when the item was postponed until March 1 at the request of former Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO). Therefore, Bartoš decided to choose the path of a brief government bill, which will be presented to the deputies at the beginning of February.