Professional associations welcome the proposal for amendments to the building law and changes in digitization

Prague - Representatives of municipalities, officials, and expert working groups welcome the current form of the preliminary draft amendment to the building law, which is intended to temporarily allow the use of the original building regulation systems alongside the new ones that were launched on July 1. This was communicated to ČTK today by representatives of professional unions, who are scheduled to meet with Minister of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS) on Monday to discuss legislative changes regarding the digitalization of building regulation. They will propose basically only partial adjustments. The law, however, does not yet specify the deadline for the transitional period during which systems can be used concurrently. Some representatives interviewed, however, initially estimate that it could last until 2027.

For the Association of Towns and Municipalities, according to its executive director Radka Vladyková, it is important that existing electronic systems and systems enabling remote access, such as electronic official boards, can be utilized according to the amendment. At the same time, she emphasizes that it is necessary to mention in the proposal that applications processed in systems other than those launched since July 1 will be considered legally concluded.

"It is important that the incorrect official procedures, which unfortunately had to occur, are legalized and that it is possible to provisionally use other electronic public administration systems until a certain established date,” Vladyková told ČTK. At the same time, she pointed out that it is also necessary to state in the proposal that if the digitalized systems do not fulfill functionalities in accordance with the legal order during the specified period, then the deadline for the temporary solution will be postponed further.

According to the proposal, it will also not temporarily be necessary to publish spatial documentation through the National Geoportal of Spatial Planning (NGÚP). However, besides it, principles of territorial development, regulatory plans, planning contracts, or records of authorized investors must also currently be published there. According to Ondřej Boháč, the director of the Institute of Planning of the Capital City of Prague (IPR), the draft does not yet account for which part of the information must still be on the geoportal and which does not.

"We would rather have everything on one official board, which we will get used to visiting for two years, and then we can use the geoportal," he added. Boháč stated that the very intention to establish the NGÚP is good, and the project is well developed. However, he believes that the geoportal is currently not completed and does not meet several legally mandated requirements.

According to Jan Holický, the chairman of the Association of City and Municipal Secretaries, the presented proposal corresponds to what was previously presented by the team responsible for the digitalization of building regulation under Kupka's leadership. Given the temporary nature of the solution, he does not have significant objections to the proposal. "At this moment, this is probably the only sufficiently rapid procedure for building authorities to function properly,” Holický said. Also, according to Jan Kasl, the chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects, the amendment simply allows for the parallel use of existing systems without having to shut down any others.

Kupka was tasked with managing the work on the digitalization of building regulation by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) after Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) was dismissed from the Ministry of Regional Development. Currently, the Ministry of Regional Development is temporarily led by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka (KDÚ-ČSL), who has assigned the current deputy minister Karel Trpkoš to deal with the digitalization. Petr Kulhánek (STAN) will be appointed as the new Minister of Regional Development next week. According to Fiala, his main task will be to resolve the issues with the digitalization of building regulation.