Complications should be anticipated

The adoption and entry into force of the Act is complex. This act, the Act No. 283/2021 Coll., was adopted on July 13, 2021, but has since been amended twice.

New Construction Act comes into effect gradually, in several phases. For the so called “designated constructions” (see explanation below), the Act is applicable from January 1, 2024. However, the Act as a whole will be applicable only from July 1, 2024.

Along with the new Construction Act, a so-called amendment law was adopted, changing up to 60 regulations, including implementing decrees, which are not yet completed.

It is clear that even for specialized lawyers and professional designers, it is and will be problematic to navigate this chaos and clarify how to prepare for the changes. Not to mention the construction office administrative officers responsible for taking decisions. It is well known that there is a shortage of them, and they are not adequately compensated.

It therefore can be assumed that in the beginning, the construction offices will be completely overwhelmed by the new requirements and will postpone decision-making. The newly defined "fixed" legal 30-day deadline for decision-making will not help either, because for even minor administrative errors in the submission, proceedings can be restarted from the beginning.

Simply put, patience will be necessary!

Permitting of ordinary (so called “non-designated”) constructions projects

For permitting constructions other than designated ones, the old Construction Act and related legal regulations will be followed until July 1, 2024.

Proceedings and procedures initiated before July 1, 2024, will be completed according to the current legal regulations by the competent construction office according to the current regulations. That is, until June 30, 2024, it will be possible to submit an application for a construction permit according to the old Construction Act to the original construction office. The application can be incomplete and can be supplemented subsequently.

But an application for a change of the project before completion and an application for final approval submitted after July 1, 2024, will be already processed by the newly competent construction office, which will take over the jurisdiction for permitting the project according to the new Construction Act.

For non-designated constructions, the new Construction Act will fully apply only to new applications submitted from July 1, 2024.

Proceedings and procedures initiated before July 1, 2024, relating to projects for which the new Construction Act no longer requires a permit, will be discontinued by the construction office by resolution.

From July 1, 2024, for example, it will no longer be possible to apply for an area-zoning decision at all. This possibility ceases to exist with the new Construction Act. However, area-zoning decisions as well as all binding regulatory opinions issued until July 1, 2024, according to the old Construction Act, will be used as documents for the proceedings on the construction permit according to the new Construction Act.

In such a case, the construction office will only supplement the application for the project permit submitted from July 1, 2024, in the subsequent proceedings with the issued permit, without initiating the permit proceedings from the beginning. A single permit will be issued, which is the construction permit.

Proceedings on an area-zoning decision initiated before July 1, 2024, will be completed according to the old Construction Act. The same applies to the opinions of the concerned authorities.

This means that if a builder applied for the issuance of a binding opinion or statement on a non-designated construction before July 1, 2024, the concerned authority will process this request according to the old Construction Act. The issuance of binding opinions or statements will be conducted according to the new Construction Act for non-designated constructions only for requests submitted to the concerned authorities after July 1, 2024.

The same adjustment is contained in the separate Act on the Unified Environmental Statement – so called “JES” – jednotné enviromentální stanovisko (Act No. 148/2023 Coll.). For permitting non-designated constructions, the JES will not be issued during the transitional period until July 1, 2024, so the procedure fully follows the old Construction Act. For the non-designated constructions, the JES can be applied for only after July 1, 2024.

Area-zoning planing

In the field of area-zoning planning, the old Contruction Act, including its implementing legal regulations, will continue to be applied until July 1, 2024.

Only area-zoning plans initiated from July 1, 2024, onwards will be developed under the new Building Act.

However, beware! The current assignments for new area-zoning plans must already comply with the new Construction Act. For approved assignments, requirements that are in conflict with the new Construction Act will not be applied. Therefore, an approved draft of a new area-zoning plan cannot fundamentally contradict the provisions of the new Construction Act.

Regarding already valid area-zoning plans, according to the new Construction Act, parts of the area-zoning planning documentation issued under the old Construction Act, which cannot be part of it according to the new Construction Act, will not be applied and must be omitted in the nearest amendment. The specifics of what this entails will need further clarification.

Designated constructions and the jurisdiction of the Transport and Energy Building Authority (“DESÚ”)

Conversely, the part of the new Construction Act concerning significant, so-called designated constructions, has already come into effect as of January 1, 2024.

Designated constructions include, for example:

• - Highways;
• - Railways;
• - Airports;
• - Manufacturing and logistics areas over 100 hectares;
• - Electricity production facilities with a capacity of over 100 MW;
• - PV installations over 5 MW, other renewable energy plants over 1 MW;
• - Transmission systems and pipelines;

and other significant technical infrastructure constructions.

Designated constructions, according to the new legal framework, are now permitted by the newly established Transport and Energy Building Authority ( “DESÚ” - Dopravní a energetický stavební úřad), located in the Ministry of Transport building in Prague 1, with its website at the new domain desu.gov.cz.

DESÚ has nationwide jurisdiction, meaning it will decide on all designated constructions (and related structures) throughout the Czech Republic. In a single proceeding, constructions related to the designated ones can also be assessed, meaning constructions built as part of one project, on a contiguous area, or for a common purpose.

If the builder applies for permission for a set of related constructions, a single building authority, designated by the main construction, will decide on all these constructions.

For a designated construction project proceeded at DESÚ after January 1, 2024, issuing a area-zoning decision for its location will no longer be required. Thus, the permitting process for these constructions as of January 1, 2024, operates entirely under the new Building Act, except for digitalization, which will also come into effect on July 1, 2024.

Do you have any further questions? Do you need help or advice?

Please do not hesitate to contact us!

Mgr. Beata Sabolová, LL.M., Attorney - contact: sabolova@chslegal.eu

Mgr. David Cigánek, Attorney and Partner - contact: ciganek@chslegal.eu