The authorities continue to have problems with the building permit system, Bartoš promises them a manual

Prague - Authorities in the Czech Republic are still struggling with the new online building permit system, which they claim has numerous flaws and rather hinders their work. Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) admitted difficulties with the transition to the new management regime and promised local councils a detailed manual almost a month after the system was launched. According to a survey by ČTK, building offices are also facing an increase in the number of applications for building permits in the original "paper" form for June, prior to the start of the new system on July 1. Municipalities are troubled by a lack of officials and fear their departure due to the overload of building offices.

Local councils complain about problems with the new Building Management Information System (ISSŘ) across the country. "What used to take two hours now takes even two days," said Helena Kyselá, spokesperson for the Karlovy Vary magistrate. "Although we managed to sign and send the document, it is still in the state of not sent in the ISSŘ system, and likewise in the state of not delivered," added Ivana Svobodová, spokesperson for Prague 18. "We could not identify the person, which likely results in the fact that the document cannot be approved, signed, or sent," said Hana Kronďáková, head of the construction department in Prague-Kbely. "There are no available template documents, and the building office has to write and fill everything out again and again," said Petra Haltufová, head of the building office in Jablonec nad Nisou. "I feel like we are returning to the Stone Age. It doesn't work; it's as if it's unfinished," said Hana Vaculová, head of the construction department in Opava.

"There are clearly difficulties with the transition to the new building management regime; no one denies that," said Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization and Minister for Regional Development Bartoš today on social media X. According to him, the ministry is trying to fix the most serious deficiencies as quickly as possible. "There are about 1400 different self-government organizations that need to be set up correctly in the system," he wrote. Initially, the ministry claimed after receiving information from local councils about the problems with the new system that it was mainly caused by officials incorrectly entering their classifications in the login data.

Municipalities complain not only about system errors but also about insufficient training on the new management regime and detailed methodology for it. According to the authorities, training on the new system never took place in a way that guided officials through the entire process. "To date, the entire procedure for solving any type of management has not been demonstrated to the digitalization developers," stated the head of the building office in Jablonec. Mayor of Loune Milan Rychtařík (ANO) stated in a statement available to ČTK that the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR) does not respond to comments, and the provided manual contains functions that are not accessible in the system. "Although (MMR) outwardly tries to organize webinars on service and functions, they simply keep repeating the same basic descriptions, but no one has shown the actual work and procedure in practice yet," said Kristýna Kňákal Brožová, spokesperson for the Czech Lípa municipality.

According to Bartoš, MMR has launched a new series of trainings in the regions; for example, there was one in Jihlava on Tuesday. "We are working on detailed manuals for officials describing various types of processes from A to Z," the minister added.

The new system is also criticized by the Association of Secretaries of Municipal and City Offices (STMOÚ). In a statement on its website, it stated that the ISSŘ is not fully integrated with economic systems and file services, among other issues. At the same time, parts of the system, according to the secretaries, are legally problematic. MMR spokesperson Petr Waleczko told ČTK that the ministry has legal opinions confirming the system's compliance with data protection laws. Regarding the integration of ISSŘ with economic systems, he stated that the large number of local economic systems at offices complicates integration. "In the future, (integration) is certainly possible, but MMR does not plan it in the near term," he added. According to MMR, connection to file services is not necessary.

The Association of Secretaries urged MMR to take urgent steps to ensure the system's full functionality. "Until then, it is objectively impossible to ensure a smooth performance of state administration in the area of building law at municipal offices," it stated. "Minister Bartoš last week received a list of requests for modifications to the information system from representatives of the association of secretaries. The ministry has already met part of these requests together with suppliers and is working on others," said the ministry spokesperson.

Before the July launch of the system, the number of applications for building permits submitted in the original "paper" form significantly increased. "There were many more than in the same period last year; I estimate it at least five times more," said Hana Vaculová, head of the construction department in Opava. According to her, now only those who were previously unaware of the upcoming launch of the new system are applying. For instance, in Rokycany, the local building office is currently dealing with nearly 700 applications submitted before the new system started, while previously it normally processed about 120 applications at once. In the new system, only ten applications have been submitted since the start of July, according to head of the office Radka Janová.

Municipalities are thus facing an overload of building offices and fear the departure of officials. "A lot of old applications have piled up on those people, and new ones are coming in," said Jiří Bouška (ANO), mayor of Mladá Boleslav. A similar situation exists in Sokolov. According to the city spokesperson Michal Švarc, the local building office is also experiencing a long-term shortage of qualified officials.

The new building law came into effect on July 1 for all types of constructions. The regulation, for example, eliminates double permitting of construction and merges territorial and construction procedures into one. Building offices are required to contact other offices and obtain their opinions under a so-called coordinated binding opinion. In the end, there should be a single stamp for the builder. The management should be digital for all participants through the Builder's Portal and other systems, and all documentation should be online. Authorities and builders are to communicate in interconnected systems.