The construction of single-family houses without a building permit, and only by notification, is only the beginning of the revolutionary changes that await us from January 2023. Experts are sounding the alarm that the industry has not consulted on the upcoming changes, and their implementation could lead to a lack of proper oversight. “A legal experiment awaits us, which will show whether the industry is ready to take such responsibility to avoid functional and urban chaos,” says Iwona Huryn, Counsel and team member in the real estate and construction practice at the Warsaw office of the Wolf Theiss law firm.
Amendments to the Construction Law, which came into force on January 1, 2023, included a number of reforms, including, among others, a new procedure for building single-family houses without a building permit, but only by notification. There is also an expansion of the list of investments carried out under the so-called simplified rules, including micro wind turbines (3-12 meters high) or zero-drainage tanks for rainwater or snowmelt, among others. In the case of facilities up to 5 m3 in capacity, this is done without notification and permission, while for capacities from 5 to 15 m3, only a notification is required.
The commissioning of single-family residential buildings and category III structures will take place only after notification of the completion of construction, so a decision on a permit for use will not be necessary. However, this does not mean the complete abandonment of use permits. An occupancy permit will be issued if the commencement of use of a building is to take place before all construction work has been carried out, and if the investor himself voluntarily requests it, even though an occupancy permit decision is not required.
“Certainly, the expansion of the list of investments carried out under simplified rules to include micro wind power plants or water storage tanks can be perceived as supporting the idea of zero-emission of buildings, which should please environmentally-minded circles,” says Iwona Huryn of Wolf Theiss.
Without a building permit, it will be possible to build any house – regardless of the square footage, provided, however, that it is built for personal use and has a maximum of two stories. The legislator indicates that applications are to be implemented on the basis of a project drawn up with a construction manager. It is the construction manager who is to confirm that the building is ready for habitation.
“The purpose of the change is theoretically to facilitate as well as to seek to simplify procedures. Only that it becomes a legitimate question whether the loss of an important stage of preliminary and follow-up control carried out so far by the public administration will not result in some chaos? Will there not be a lack of proper supervision, which would be a kind of guarantor of compliance with the law – both construction law and local law, i.e. local zoning plans? Is the industry ready for this?” wonders Iwona Huryn.
Representatives of the construction industry indicated in the course of the work that they learned about the changes from a press conference of government representatives.
According to one expert, “A legal experiment awaits us, which will show whether the industry is ready to take responsibility to avoid functional and urban chaos. There is another important aspect of these changes. The responsibility for construction is shifted to the developer, designer and construction manager. This is a potential risk of litigation between them, which will burden the courts and investors’ time. This is what raises the biggest doubt, namely – building by notification, we do not receive any decision from the office, so we are left alone with any problem, so to speak.”
Without the involvement of a construction manager and without a building permit, houses under 70 sqm are still to be built. The amendments to the Construction Law, introduced in the amendment, are also not insignificant, as they concern electronic authorizations:
– The Electronic Building Log (EBD system) is to record the progress of all construction work.
– The Electronic Book of the Construction Object is to collect information about the construction object, its owners and managers, inspections carried out, expert opinions and technical opinions.
– A new electronic Construction Product Market Surveillance System is to be established.
The system was developed at the General Office of Construction Supervision. In its concept, the system is intended to enable online execution of activities. The above solution represents a deepening of the digitization process. The Electronic Construction Log is to be made available in the EDB system on the website of the Chief Inspector of Construction Supervision in the Public Information Bulletin.
“Building electronic access systems is, of course, a big challenge. So one should keep one’s fingers crossed for the success of this project. We also see an opportunity to speed up the construction of new homes, including demolition of existing homes, as under the changes coming in, the regulations impose penalties for failure to issue demolition permits in a timely manner,” concludes attorney Huryn.
Industry representatives believe that the role of technical appraisal experts will increase. Starting this year, appraisers are to be authorized to prepare technical studies of buildings.
