Prague has definitively approved the amendment to the Prague Building Regulations

Prague - The requirement for so-called sunlight exposure will be removed from the Prague Building Regulations (PSP), which stated that as of March 1, direct sunlight must reach one-third of the floor area of every newly constructed apartment for 90 minutes. The amendment to the regulations was definitively approved by the city council today after the European Commission notified its proposal. According to the city leadership, the Commission had no comments on the amendment's form. The Green Party criticized the modification.

The council approved the amendment on a repeated attempt during the summer, and now they have confirmed their decision. The PSP has been in effect since August 1, 2016, and as a regulatory document to the Building Act, it determines the conditions for land use and technical requirements for buildings in the metropolis. According to the city's Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), the sunlight regulation was absurd, and architects had to design buildings in bizarre shapes to meet the standard, or they would have to classify apartments as studios, even if they were intended for living.

The wording of the amendment was criticized by the Greens, who believe it will allow new buildings to be constructed right next to existing ones, especially in housing estates, which will overshadow them. This was rejected by IPR chief Ondřej Boháč. "If someone proposes a new building, it must not reduce the sunlight exposure of existing buildings below the standard," he stated. He added that the PSP includes other rules that prevent overcrowding.

Sunlight exposure for apartments will be replaced by an extended regulation on natural lighting, which states that all living rooms must have windows. According to the amendment, the total area of all windows must not be less than one-tenth of the floor area of the room. The proposal also included the requirement for sufficient spacing between buildings.

The building regulations for Prague began to take shape under Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (independent, formerly of TOP 09). The wording of the regulations sparked a number of disputes, including within the Prague coalition of ANO, ČSSD, and the Three-Coalition (SZ, KDU-ČSL, and STAN). After disputes over their preparation, Prague Mayor Adriana Krnáčová removed their preparation from the competence of her then-deputy Matěj Stropnický (SZ/Three-Coalition) and presented a new version for discussion. The Mayor's amendment was ultimately notified by the European Commission.