The Chamber confirmed lower payments for land exemption for family homes

Prague - Individual builders will pay less money for the exclusion of land from the agricultural land fund for the construction of family houses than they have so far. Today, the Chamber of Deputies decided on this when it confirmed the amendment to the law on the protection of the agricultural land fund and rejected the proposal of the Senate, which wanted to abolish the consent of authorities with the exclusion of land within built-up areas of municipalities for family houses and public beneficial constructions. This would mean that fees in these cases would not even be determined. The amendment will now be sent to the President for signature.

The original proposal by the deputies from TOP 09 and Mayors envisioned that there would be no fee for land exclusion where construction is allowed by the zoning plan. They pointed out that the fee for exclusion can sometimes exceed the price for the land itself. However, the Chamber accepted the amendment to the law in a form that provided for lower fees, based on the proposal of the agricultural committee.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee for the environment, Robin Böhnisch (ČSSD), stated that he feared a potential developers' gold rush in the open countryside under the pretext of public benefit if the Senate version were adopted. According to him, the Chamber's version meets the essential requirements of the proposers. Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO) also disagreed with the Senate version, stating that the Senate proposal threatens the land fund.

Senators, among other things, recommended that the consent of the municipality or region as the authority protecting the agricultural land fund should not be required for the exclusion of land in built-up areas for the construction of public benefit buildings. It should not be required for individual construction of family houses either. However, the Chamber rejected this proposal today and pushed through its version of the amendment.

"Families will have an easier path to their own housing," said co-author of the proposal Věra Kovářová (TOP 09 and Mayors). "While today they must pay the state high amounts for the exclusion of land from the agricultural land fund if they want to build a house, this fee will be radically reduced. The law will also bring positive things to municipalities and regions, who will not have to pay the state a fee for land exclusion for the construction of roads," she added.

According to the adopted amendment, builders will pay a fee determined only by the quality of the land, and the ecological weight of the environment where construction is planned will not be taken into account. According to earlier information from the Ministry of the Environment, people should pay a maximum of 36,000 crowns for a house with an area of 200 square meters. The maximum payment per square meter should be 180 crowns. For public benefit buildings in built-up areas in gaps of up to half a hectare, consent from the authorities for exclusion is not expected to be necessary anymore.