Praha has rules for building private apartments

Prague – Prague has rules that the city council is to follow in the future when constructing its own apartments. Their wording was approved by the councilors today. The document includes requirements for construction, such as the cost of construction work, apartment standards and their size, energy standards, parking, and the architectural appearance of the buildings. The rules are binding for the city council and its organizations, while for the city districts they serve as recommendations.

Some time ago, the city established its own Prague Development Company (PDS), which, together with the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), prepared the rules. "They emphasize not only architectural and urban quality but also efficiency and a certain reasonableness in construction, so that in a hundred-year cycle of construction the city does not waste unnecessary funds, and so that the system can actually operate not as a profit-making endeavor, but without losses," said Deputy Mayor for Spatial Development Petr Hlaváček.

According to Prague's councilor for housing Adam Zábranský (Pirates), the city will not have to start from scratch with each new project regarding the layout and composition of apartments because of the rules, which will speed up project preparation. "Standards may change over time, but at this moment it is crucial that the city knows what kind of housing it wants to build," he stated. IPR head Ondřej Boháč added that the city took inspiration from similar standards in Munich, Brussels, and Glasgow during its preparation.

Prague and its districts currently have about 31,000 apartments. After the Velvet Revolution, nearly 200,000 apartments transitioned into city ownership, but most were sold off in privatizations. The current leadership of Prague aims to gradually increase the housing stock designated for people in difficult social situations or representatives of essential professions, such as teachers, healthcare workers, police officers, or firefighters. To this end, PDS was established to prepare housing projects on city-owned land. According to city information, the company is responsible for about 400,000 square meters of land, where 6,000 to 8,000 apartments are expected to be built within the next ten years.