The government approved the draft of the new building law

Prague - The framework of the new building law, which aims to speed up and simplify the permitting of constructions, was approved by the government today. CTK was informed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR), Vilém Frček. The timeline anticipates the law to be effective from 2021. According to MMR, which presents the law, the permitting process for construction should be shortened from the current average of 5.4 years to one year. However, critics argue that the law favors developers, disregards public interests, such as nature protection, and opens avenues for corruption.

The proposal anticipates that zoning procedures, building permit processes, and environmental impact assessments (EIA) will be merged into a unified permitting process. The establishment of a Supreme Building Authority, which will be part of the state administration, is proposed. An important component is, according to MMR, the digitalization of construction administration, from spatial planning documents to a digital technical map, project documentation for buildings, and the electronic files of building authorities.

In addition to the new building law, MMR is preparing an amendment to the existing law that introduces a so-called fiction of consent. This means that if the authority does not express an opinion within a thirty-day period (sixty days in more complex cases), the application will be considered resolved. Some critics see this as a potential for corruption, as they believe officials might not act intentionally.

This was rejected by the president of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Vladimír Dlouhý. "We are talking about the fiction of delivery. In the case of the law aimed at accelerating the construction of transportation infrastructure, it has been functioning for a year and has proven to be effective. Moreover, officials will be accountable for their decisions. If officials intentionally create a file and neglect it, it will mean they will be held accountable for such actions," he stated.

The Chamber of Commerce assisted in the preparation of the law for the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR). This has drawn criticism from some organizations. For instance, the Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites claims that the proposal favors the interests of developers at the expense of heritage protection, does not address the acceleration of construction for small builders, and creates an expensive integrated building authority system that represents a highly corrupt environment. Dlouhý labeled the assertion that the law favors large developers as a lie.

According to the association of ecological organizations, the Green Circle, the proposal is not in compliance with EU legislation, has not resolved hundreds of substantive disputes, and could worsen the current state of construction permitting.

On the other hand, representatives of construction firms and developers welcome the proposal. They consider the current situation, where approval for a larger project can sometimes take over ten years, as unsustainable. They believe this is one of the main causes of the current sharp rise in apartment prices. According to World Bank data, the Czech Republic ranks 156th out of 190 assessed countries in terms of the speed of construction permitting.

According to MMR, important points in the prepared law include the preservation of all participatory rights of municipalities, neighbors, affected persons, and the general public, including the right to appeal and judicial review.

The timeline anticipates that the detailed text of the laws should be drafted by the end of October this year. After accommodating comments during inter-ministerial review and discussing the draft law with the Legislative Council, the government should approve the draft law by the end of June 2020. After being examined by both chambers of Parliament, it should be approved by the president in November 2020. It is expected to be effective from 2021. However, some experts believe that such a plan is not realistic.