The new government wants to change the building law or introduce favorable loans for housing

Prague - The new government composed of ANO, SPD, and Motorists plans to amend the building law, aiming to establish housing as a public interest, support young families with preferential loans for acquiring housing, and revise the housing support law. At the same time, it intends to limit certain energy standards and environmental requirements for construction. This comes from the draft of the government's program statement, which CTK has available. The emerging coalition sent it to the Castle today. The trio of parties plans to publish the program document and sign the coalition agreement on Monday.

In connection with the amendment to the building law, according to the statement, the building authority will not replace the obligations of builders and designers. ANO representatives stated before the elections that the building law should take the form of the original proposal from 2021. This proposal, among other things, establishes the Supreme Building Authority and therefore centralizes building administration. Establishing housing as a public interest would subsequently allow some residential complexes to be classified as strategic state constructions, thereby speeding up their approval.

With the change in the building law, the future government would also like to ensure effective digitization of the construction process. This should be built on a modular solution and therefore delivered in parts, according to the program declaration. A modular solution for digitization was also proposed by the former Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartoš (Pirates). However, his digitization system caused problems for officials and builders since its launch, which ultimately led to his dismissal and the end of the Pirates in the current government. The future government wants to ensure enough people who will work on the digitization and to properly test the systems before launch.

Subsidized loans for young families should be supported by the state and intended for purchasing first housing. At the same time, the emerging government wants to ensure a bonus for each newborn child. "In connection with the acceleration of construction and the current interest rate level of mortgages, we will ensure state support for mortgage interest when acquiring the first apartment for young families caring for a child under six years and for key professions," the parties stated in a declaration. They plan to prepare a system of advantageous tax depreciation for the construction of service and corporate apartments for employees.

The State Investment Support Fund (SFPI), which currently manages the grant program for the construction of affordable rental housing, will newly be more active in housing consulting. The housing support law will then be amended to better meet the needs of cities and municipalities in ensuring affordable rental housing. At the same time, state guarantees for cooperatives and investment incentives for investments in cooperative housing will also be created. The private sector should have a greater share in construction. Among other things, it would also cooperate on the creation of new dormitories for students.

On the contrary, the parties want to abolish what they describe as non-functional regulations, standards, and environmental requirements for construction, which according to the future cabinet increase the cost of construction. The program statement also confirms the rejection of the new ETS2 emissions permits, which could, according to some experts, also increase housing costs.