Šabatová: Unauthorized houses have emerged in a municipality near Prague, the administration has failed

Brno - In Škvorec in the district of Prague-East, the investor, according to the public defender of rights Anna Šabatová, felled a hundred trees and after unauthorized land modifications built houses that were also illegally connected to the water supply. This is a massive failure of public administration, Šabatová stated today in a press release. She noted that the building authority in Úvaly and the Regional Authority of Central Bohemia were particularly inactive. The regional authority rejects the accusations, and a statement from the building authority is being sought by ČTK.

"There is no doubt that the land modifications and construction works carried out by the investor required permission under the building law, and the investor did not even apply for it. The illegal activities were carried out in the sight of the authorities over a long period, and the authorities did not intervene with sufficient force, nor did they use the legal means available to them. This allowed the investor to continue uninterrupted, realize their plans, and profit from illegal actions. It is absolutely tragic,” stated Šabatová.

The former deputy ombudsman discovered that the building authority learned about the unauthorized land modifications as early as 2015. According to Šabatová, however, they did not act in a timely manner and with sufficient force. Other administrative authorities, such as the water authority, the nature and landscape conservation authority, and the waste management authority, according to Šabatová were not thorough. Although they made an effort to respond to the investor's misconduct, their efforts ultimately came to nothing.

The director of the regional authority, Jiří Holub, stated in a statement sent to ČTK that his authority cannot agree with the conclusions of the ombudsman. According to him, the Central Bohemian Regional Authority decided on submitted appeals and reacted to submitted proposals related to the alleged inactivity of the building authority from the position of an administrative and appeal administrative body. "The regional authority is not authorized to methodically intervene in unfinished administrative proceedings conducted by the first-instance building authority, as suggested by the ombudsman's representative, as this could raise doubts about its impartiality in any subsequent appeal proceedings,” added Holub.

According to the ombudsman, the investor made extensive interventions in the territory of the municipality of Škvorec without permission, felled a hundred trees, filled the protected valley floors of the Škvorec stream with waste, and began construction of family houses on the completed land modifications, which were essentially finished. The unauthorized and unapproved buildings were then improperly connected to the water supply and sewage system on private property, and the subdivided plots and buildings were sold off.

According to Šabatová, the building authority has an obligation to ensure compliance with the law even against new owners if they are using the unauthorized buildings. If the authority discovers through an inspection that the owner-builder is using an unauthorized building, it is obligated to demand the cessation of such use, and if this is not fulfilled, it should prohibit the use of the building through an administrative decision, which it would enforce with fines. However, according to Šabatová, this is not occurring, even though the buildings are in use.