Some building offices are having trouble with the new portal, but the state claims it is functional.

Prague – Some building authorities experienced issues yesterday with the newly launched central portal, but according to the state, it is functioning. For example, in Brno, city officials could not log into the system, citing overload as the reason. Petr Waleczko, a spokesperson for the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR), told ČTK that complications with logging in are due to incorrect procedures followed by officials. However, in Prague, officials also encountered the problem that they could modify submissions from other authorities. According to Waleczko, this is an error that the MMR is addressing with the system supplier. By 11:00, people had submitted 36 construction permit applications through the Builder's Portal and had created 547 applications pending submission and processing. According to the MMR, about 4,000 workers from building authorities and affected bodies logged into the Information System for Building Authorities (ISSŘ) by 15:00.

Today, a new building law came into effect, along with the associated digitization of building procedures for ground constructions, such as apartment and family houses. The process is to be conducted digitally for all participants via the Builder's Portal and other systems, and all documentation will be online. Authorities and builders will communicate in interlinked systems - the Builder's Portal for citizens and the ISSŘ. Since morning, the MMR has been addressing minor issues associated with the launch of the systems, which were anticipated before the launch, according to Waleczko. "From a technical standpoint, the start was successful, and the digitization of building procedures is functioning. We have no information about system outages. Several authorities reported difficulties, but these were not failures of the information systems," stated Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) in a press release.

For instance, city officials in Brno were unable to log into the system at all in the morning. They perceive the problem as possible system overload. "We anticipated that the system would not function immediately," stated Brno councillor for urban planning and development Petr Bořecký (ANO). The same situation occurred in Mladá Boleslav. "Most officials have been unable to log in since morning," said spokesperson for the magistrate Šárka Charousková shortly after noon. "When our clerks tried to launch the new portal in the morning, it didn't work," noted Jablonec nad Nisou spokesperson Jana Fričová.

According to the MMR spokesperson, the issues with logging in relate to officials incorrectly entering their classifications in the login data. Each official can only utilize specific functions in the system, and this role must be set by the local administrator.

In Prague, however, officials faced difficulties not only with logging into the system. The spokesperson for Prague 10, Ján Bruno Tropp, told ČTK that employees of the building authority cannot work in the system at all because user rights cannot be set. Officials from Prague 8, according to the spokesperson for the city district, Martin Šalek, rate the system as the worst they have ever experienced, even those with thirty years of experience. "Employees of the building authority in Prague 8 have been trying to log into the live version of the system since morning. After several attempts, one employee succeeded - the outcome is that the live version works the same as the test version and has access from all over the country. Therefore, building authorities can cancel and modify submissions to each other, etc.," he stated.

"The ability to modify other intentions is an error that we are addressing with the supplier," the MMR spokesperson informed ČTK. However, he added that the system accounts for the possibility of viewing intentions belonging to other building authorities. "This is due to mutual coordination and cooperation," Waleczko added.

Officials in Prague 2 also had negative experiences with the system. The magistrate's spokesperson Andrea Zoulová stated that an address cannot be entered into the ISSŘ, only the cadastral area, and that it is not possible to filter intentions in specific regions, with results showing for the entire country. "The system probably also cannot identify individuals. The address of the participant in the procedure does not automatically complete after verification, as it should," she added. According to her, not all affected bodies are displayed to the office workers.

According to Waleczko, the MMR has set up a call center for building and other authorities that helps officials with the use of the newly implemented system. The call center categorizes inquiries among experts, and the ministry gradually addresses the questions.

Some municipalities have also criticized the inadequate training on the new system. The manual from the MMR arrived at the office via email on Friday in a form that does not contain clearly described procedures, according to the spokesperson for Prague 8. However, the ministry announced today that authorities have access to a "detailed" manual.

The new building law and digitization of building procedures raised concerns among authorities, builders, and professionals even before the launch. The contract for the implementation of part of the system was canceled several times, training for officials was hastily established and incomplete, and authorities did not always receive suitable equipment.

The Association of Secretaries of Municipal and City Authorities stated in a press release today that it has been warning the state about problems with the centrally managed system since last year. Subsequently, based on system testing, it sent the MMR a list of comments, most of which, according to the organization, were not resolved. "Digital building procedures suffer from the absence of key functions that are essential for effective management and administration of building projects. For example, there is no functional connection with financial systems or local filing services," stated the association's chairman, Jan Holický. The system also lacks, for example, searching by cadastre or streets and has legal deficiencies as well. "We therefore call on the MMR to urgently rectify the current situation," he added.