Developers are not interested in authorized inspectors

Prague - Developer companies to date hardly utilize the services of authorized inspectors in practice. They are still solving building permits the traditional way through building authorities. This follows from findings by ČTK among developers. The institution of authorized inspectors was introduced by the new building law effective from January 2007. Its purpose was primarily to expedite the building permit process.
    The chairman of the Coordination Council for Authorized Inspectors and Vice-Rector of the Czech Technical University Miloslav Pavlík originally anticipated that, for example, for developers who repeatedly build the same structures, it would be advantageous to have "their own" specialized inspector. A similar opinion was shared by Markéta Pražanová, spokesperson for the Czech Chamber of Architects. "For simpler buildings like small family houses, they will most likely not order the inspector's services, as it is economically more demanding," she said previously.
    However, none of the developers contacted by ČTK confirmed the use of inspector services. "So far we are not utilizing them," said Michal Martínek, production director of Finep, to ČTK. The same experience was confirmed by Karel Zeman, spokesperson for Ekospol.
    Moreover, investors are skeptical about the actual effect of this institution. "In my opinion, it has not brought any significant acceleration to the permitting process. The number of authorities involved in this approval process is essentially the same," stated project manager of Central Park Prague Josef Raboch. "It seems to be more of a change in terminology than practical changes," he added.
    Contrary to initial assumptions, Raboch believes that the role of inspectors may be more meaningful for small buildings than for large projects.
    An authorized inspector has, for example, to technically verify the project documentation, its completeness and correctness, technical feasibility, compliance with general technical requirements for construction, and other parameters.
    In these aspects, according to Pavlík, there is no activity different from the practice of building authorities. "Unlike a clerk, however, upon detecting inconsistencies, they do not have to halt the proceedings, but will make efforts to rectify any errors and continue smoothly with the approval process," he added in an interview for the Czech Chamber of Architects.
    The hourly rate for an authorized inspector’s work is 1000 crowns. It is the investor’s choice whether they turn to the building authority or utilize the inspector’s services. They can use them for constructions that have an issued zoning decision, resolved objections, and all necessary documentation provided. According to the statement from the Construction Law Department of the Ministry for Regional Development, there are currently 68 authorized inspectors in the Czech Republic.