Building authorities in the Czech Republic are now receiving many times more applications than usual and the number of telephone inquiries is also increasing. The reason for this is a change in the building law, which from July introduces, among other things, the digitisation of proceedings and significantly increases the fees for some buildings, for example for a well from CZK 300 to CZK 10,000. The authorities are expecting the biggest rush this week. Queues are mostly not forming, people often communicate with the office via data boxes or submit documents at the filing office, but some offices have problems with administration. In addition to the concerns of builders, officials are also concerned about whether the new system will be functional, as they do not yet have full access to the new system.
The authorities say that the error rate or incompleteness of applications has also increased recently. It is essential to submit an application by the end of June, even if the authorities return it. Then, although the applicant will have to meet the deadline for corrections imposed by the authority, it will not be processed according to the rules of the new building law, said Jitka Doležalová, head of the Tábor town building authority department. She added that the number of submissions has increased three to four times more than on a normal office day, with staff already working overtime.
“Not only us, but also builders are looking at the introduction of the new system with apprehension, which is why they are massively using the submission of applications before 1 July,” said Michal Jarco, head of the building office in Jihlava. He added that there are no queues, most applications are received by the office in writing. However, he also confirmed that the vast majority of applications are incomplete. According to him, builders send them deliberately because they want to be able to submit them in June.
Prague building authorities are also registering increased interest in building permits. According to the spokespersons of the town halls, the increased interest of people started already at the beginning of spring. The Pilsen municipality is also registering a surge. “We estimate a 1,000 percent increase in the agenda,” said Eva Barborková, a spokesperson for the municipality. In particular, well permits are being dealt with, as are applications for zoning permits and joint permits. In regional Liberec, the number of applications has increased by 350 to 400 per cent compared to the current situation. “However, I don’t think the main reason is the increase in fees. It is mostly due to the uncertainty of what will happen after 1 July,” says Miroslav Šimek, the head of the Liberec Construction Office.
He himself does not know how it will work from July. “The seminar on the application took place on 17 June, it was a thorough interpretation of the law, about the digitalization of the builder’s portal in theoretical terms. However, we have not yet tested how it will work in reality,” Šimek said. According to him, they only have the new construction law at their disposal, but not the implementing regulations. “There are a lot of uncertainties, for example, it is not clear what the application will look like if the builder submits it in written form rather than through a portal. How it will be entered into the system and so on,” Šimek added.
By the end of June, the city of Pardubice was also trying to obtain building permits for as many repairs and reconstructions as possible. Politicians expect chaos. “There is a fear that this will be a huge problem and that construction procedures may be halted for several months because it will be a complete paralysis,” said Mayor Jan Nadrchal (ANO). His deputy, Jan Hrabal (ANO), added that officials from the construction office had only given a two-hour presentation and did not have access to the builder’s portal to learn it.
“We don’t know how to work in the builder’s portal, we don’t have the technology (new PCs). There are more applications and they are submitted incomplete. We don’t even manage to open them, so we can’t tell what is being asked for to a greater extent. The applicants are nervous and want to solve their issues preferably immediately, the technicians are overloaded and do not keep up with the regular agenda because they are constantly answering questions,” said Petr Skácel, head of the Zlín Department of Construction and Transport Procedures.
The Hradec Králové municipality is expecting the biggest workload this week. “The number of telephone enquiries has also been increasing significantly in recent times, where colleagues are already hitting their limits in places. It is not possible to focus on processing the agenda, personal visits and at the same time deal with a high number of telephone enquiries,” said Kateřina Rohlíčková, spokesperson for the municipality.
There are also problems with administration in southern Moravia. “The documents that arrive at the construction office every day measure one metre in height. We are not able to administer such a volume,” said Ivana Solaříková, spokeswoman for the Breclav municipal authority.
On Monday morning, staff at the construction office of the Prostejov municipality were also in a flurry, receiving about five dozen applications from builders in the morning alone, which is many times more than usual. “The interest of builders is great, and it is only Monday. We’ll see what happens next. We are going without a break and we will accept applications from everyone who comes,” said Jan Košt’ál, head of the Prostějov construction office. According to him, the officials have so far managed their work in the context of a significant increase in the number of submitted applications and the operation of the construction office has not had to be adjusted.
The increase in the agenda is also being managed in Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary, said Miloš Studenovský, secretary of the Ústí municipality. In Karlovy Vary, the volume of the agenda carried out by the construction office officials has almost doubled in the last month or so. “This does not entail queues or higher attendance at the department, as most applicants communicate with the office via data boxes or submit documents at the municipality’s mailroom,” said Helena Kyselá, spokeswoman for the Carlsbad municipality. The situation is different in Sokolov, where the construction office has long been understaffed by three employees. To increase the likelihood of hiring new building officials, it offers a recruitment allowance of CZK 100,000, among other benefits, said Michal Švarc, a spokesman for the Sokolov municipal office.
Due to a large increase in applications processed under the old building law and a number of new regulations that officials have to study at the last minute, there may be a collapse of the building permit system or workers, concluded Michal Jarco, head of the building office in Jihlava.
Source: CTK
