Prague did not approve the amendment to the Prague building regulations

Prague - The councilors of the capital city today did not approve the amendment to the Prague Building Regulations (PSP), which aimed to remove the requirement for sunlight in apartments and replace it with a requirement for daylight. The Triple Coalition (SZ, KDU-ČSL, and STAN), which governs with ANO and ČSSD, requested more time for study. This was stated to journalists by the deputy mayors of the mayor, Eva Kislingerová (ANO) and Petr Dolínek (ČSSD). Deputy Petra Kolínská (SZ/Triple Coalition) told ČTK that the material was not presented to the councilors according to the rules for submitting documents for discussion.

The requirement for sunlight means that on March 1, direct sunlight must hit the apartment for one-third of the floor area for 90 minutes. The amendment was supposed to come into effect in October 2018.

"One of the partners in the coalition requested an extension of time for study. I can say for ČSSD that we were ready to approve the amendment. It is not ideal, but we believe that the steps proposed would help construction in Prague to proceed," said Dolínek. Kislingerová stated that councilors from ANO would also vote for the amendment.

"In this city we have rules for submitting documents to the council. The Triple Coalition just wanted to ensure they were followed," said Kolínská. She added that due to "the procedural disorder of Ms. Mayor (Adriana Krnáčová)" the councilors did not have enough time to study the document. She claimed to have received the material only on Friday. According to her, the document will be submitted for discussion next week.

Krnáčová rejected Kolínská's statement. "I find these personal attacks quite comical. I spoke with the deputy about this material a month ago, and moreover, it was prepared by the Institute of Planning and Development, which falls under her jurisdiction. This morning, the chairman of the Greens, Mr. (Petr) Štěpánek, simply called me and requested that they are still unclear and would need more time. I accommodated him, and Ms. Kolínská's reaction is yet another personal attack," stated Krnáčová.

According to the director of IPR Ondřej Boháč, the sunlight regulation is absurd, and architects must design houses of various shapes to meet the standards. Apartments that do not comply with the regulation are reportedly approved and sold as studios, yet serve as residences. According to IPR, with the exception of Slovakia, the requirement for sunlight does not exist anywhere abroad in the same form as in the Czech Republic.

Sunlight was supposed to be replaced by the already effective regulation on daylight. This means that all living rooms would have to have windows. According to the proposed amendment, the total area of all windows must not be smaller than one-tenth of the floor area of the room. The daylight requirement will also be supplemented by the requirement for sufficient spacing between buildings.

The PSP came into effect on August 1, 2016, and define the requirements for land use and technical requirements for buildings. The PSP enable the construction of a so-called sustainable city with trees in the streets and new buildings that respect the character of the surroundings. Each new or reconstructed street wider than 12 meters is to have a row of trees. Unnecessary underpasses and overpasses should not be created, and priority should be given to barrier-free crossings. It also establishes height regulations for new buildings.