The Czech Republic’s revised construction law came into effect at the beginning of January amid a flourish of promises from its backers that it would speed up the process of issuing construction permits. Czech investors have to endure one of the longest waits in Europe before they’re allowed to go ahead with their projects. At the heart of the change is a system of so-called coordinated management, which would allow for an EIA to be carried out at the same time as zoning and construction permit procedures are carried out. There were also changes implemented in related rules, including the law on integrated prevention which governs permits for major sources of pollution. The amendment would also make it possible to build a house without going through the approval process on land that has nothing built on it. This has been possible until 2018 only on family homes of less than 150 sqm.
While a great deal of hope has been invested in the amendment, it’s unclear whether developers and investors will see a significant improvement in the approval process. “For small developers the amendment is a step in the right direction. However, developers of the large-scale projects still may not apply for the coordinated proceeding as it requires very detailed project documentation already at the beginning of the approval process, which is costly and creates administrative burden for the applicant,” commented Daniel Navrátil from the law firm Wilsons. “The importance of the amendment will be also affected by the opinion of the Czech constitutional court on certain controversial provisions such as limitation of the rights of various associations to participate in the permitting process.”
