The Association of Local Authorities will call for a postponement of the effectiveness of the building law

Prague – The Association of Local Governments (SMS) will turn to the newly elected MPs with a call to delay the effectiveness of the new construction law. The SMS presidency made this decision on Wednesday, announced the association's media representative Lukáš Novák today. The amendment to the law was approved by MPs in July this year despite the Senate's veto, at which time the law was also signed by President Miloš Zeman. The law shifts construction offices under the state and includes the establishment of a Supreme Construction Office. Under it, individual construction offices will be organized similarly to those of the Financial Administration. The wording of the law has many critics, who gained strength after the weekend elections in the Chamber. Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) told ČTK that delaying the law's effectiveness during a housing crisis would be irresponsible.

The elections were won by the coalition Together (ODS, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09), which, together with the coalition of Pirates and Mayors, will have a majority of 108 seats in the Chamber. Both coalitions had already announced before the elections that if they govern after the October elections, they would change the construction law.

According to the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), the new amendment to the law is intended to speed up construction proceedings and ensure compliance with established deadlines. However, opponents of the law argue that state administration will distance itself from citizens and the construction process will become more complicated. The law will come into effect in the middle of 2023, and some changes will start to apply from January 1 of the following year. However, several paragraphs of the law were to take effect the day after its announcement in the Collection of Laws. This includes provisions on construction bans issued under older construction legislation.

"We will strive for the law's effectiveness to be delayed by at least eighteen months. This is the minimum time necessary for the current version of the construction law to be amended and to take into account proposals made in previous months. These aim to mitigate the negative impacts of the construction law on the functionality of the construction process, on people in the regions, and on the state budget, which we have long warned about," said SMS chairman Stanislav Polčák.

The association commissioned its vice-chair and re-elected MP Věra Kovářová (STAN) to initiate the aforementioned steps in cooperation with other MPs who have long been dealing with construction legislation. Kovářová stated that critics do not intend to change the plan to simplify and speed up the construction process. "However, we will strive for the amendment to the construction legislation not to harm the legitimate interests of local governments or the smooth running of the construction process," she said. She believes that in the new Chamber they will find understanding for the changes. "The Senate made its opinion on the current construction law very clear when it unanimously rejected it in July," she reminded.

According to Minister Dostálová, a delay in the law's effectiveness by 18 months would not resolve anything and would cause problems. "If there were to be changes to the structure of construction offices and further amendments, including a new amendment law, we estimate the process at least two to four years," she said about possible amendments to the law. "The most important strategic infrastructure projects in the country are currently blocked by what is called systemic bias, and the country is suffering from a crisis in affordable housing. And that simply cannot be resolved without the new construction law," she added.

According to the minister, the delay would also have serious financial impacts. "It would primarily be about lost profits, both on the side of the private sector and the public, for example in the form of unbuilt highways and increasing construction costs over time, which every citizen will feel," she stated.

In September, the Council of the Association of Regions demanded the delay of the law's effectiveness. It joined the initiative of the Pardubice Region. "We support the delay of the construction law's effectiveness, because we are convinced that the process at this moment is definitely not ready to function within the timeframes that the new legislative framework provides," said the chairman of the council and South Bohemian governor Martin Kuba (ODS) at that time.