How long does it take to process the building permit?|Finance.cz

The Czech Republic ranks among developing countries in the length of time it takes to process a building permit (we were last ranked 157th out of 190 countries), in the Czech Republic it took an average of 246 days to obtain all permits in 2019.

At the same time, we could learn from our neighbors, where the whole procedure is fast and convenient (Austria, Germany, Poland).

Building a house can be painfully expensive

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What is the duration of the building procedure?

The building authority must assess your application without unnecessary delays within 60 days from the date of initiation of the procedure.

In complex situations, the building authority has up to 90 days to make a decision.

In practice, however, these deadlines are extended, for example due to waiting for binding opinions, which are not included in this deadline.

Furthermore, the building authority may ask you to complete the application for additional documents, which will interrupt the procedure.

Probably the worst case scenario is that one of the affected parties disagrees with your project. You must modify the project based on comments or convince the affected party of the correctness of your project.

For the construction of a family house, prepare for approximately 6 to 9 months, for more complex or problematic projects for 1 year or more.

The new construction law is supposed to help speed up and make the construction process more pleasant, but it is criticized for the fact that it imposes too much on developers and denies public interests in the protection of nature and the landscape. Furthermore, according to its critics, the new construction law opens up much more room for corruption than has been the case so far.

Tip: How to obtain an additional construction permit?

The building authority approves the project, what next?

If your application is approved by the building authority, then an oral hearing is ordered, which must be notified to the participants at least 10 days before the oral hearing.

Objections to the application must be submitted at the oral hearing at the latest. In the event that an oral hearing does not have to take place, the building authority sets a deadline for submitting objections, namely at least 10 days.

The authorities concerned (hygiene, fire brigade, etc.) also submit their binding opinions within this period.

The oral hearing is closed to the public and only those persons invited by the building authority may participate.

If the building authority is well aware of the conditions of the construction site and the application represents a sufficient basis for issuing a permit, the oral hearing may be waived.

Tip: When do you need a building permit?

How long is a building permit issued for?

Construction must begin within 2 years of the issuance of the building permit. If construction is not started, the building permit becomes invalid.

The building authority can extend the building permit upon justified request.

In the application for a building permit, you indicate the start and completion of the building project.

So the construction completion date is usually set by the builder. However, if the construction authority finds the completion date unreasonable, the building authority can change the deadline and set a new construction completion date.

Tip: How to obtain an additional construction permit?

How much will a building permit cost you?

The price for the actual decision on the application for a building permit is different, you can find it in the price list of the relevant building authority or it will be communicated to you directly at the building authority.

Administrative fees for the issuance of a zoning decision, building permit and related actions will cost from approximately CZK 500 to CZK 10,000.

Furthermore, you have to take into account other fees - for example, for an extract from the real estate register (in the order of hundred crowns), a deposit to the real estate register (as of January 1, 2020, it has increased to CZK 2,000).

The building permit fee is only paid for one building separately, so if you are waiting for a building permit for several buildings, you will pay more of these fees, which will then be added up and you will pay them.

You can make the payment in a number of ways - directly at the building office, by transfer or postal order. You will only have to pay the fee if the building permit application is approved.

Other costs can be geodetic surveying, which costs several thousand crowns. Furthermore, radon measurement costs around 2,500 to 5,000 CZK.

So prepare an amount of around 15,000 to 30,000 CZK, for larger buildings even much more.

How to avoid going around the authorities, institutions and neighbors?

To save nerves, we recommend asking your designer to go around the authorities (or he will offer it to you personally), however, he will charge several thousand to tens of thousands for this service.

But in most cases, this will save you a lot of time and, above all, nerves, because an experienced designer knows what to look out for in the application, which door to knock on, so that your building permit is approved as quickly and successfully as possible by all relevant authorities.

I hope one day we will see a time when it will be enough to send all the necessary plans electronically to the building authority and wait 30 days for approval from all institutions.

Tip: When to submit a property tax return?