Major amendment to the Czech Building Act: what will it bring businesses and developers?

Editorial note: this article describes the bill as debated in the Chamber of Deputies in May 2026. The final wording and effective dates may differ from those described below.

On 27 May 2026, the Czech Chamber of Deputies began the second reading of an extensive amendment to the Building Act, which aims to redraw the map of Czech construction law from the ground up. For anyone who has ever made their way through the labyrinth of building permits, binding opinions and zoning plans, this news is crucial. The changes the amendment brings will affect practically every phase of a development project — from initial planning to final approval for use.

The main aim of the amendment is to return to the idea of a unified system of state building authorities and to significantly simplify permitting procedures. In practice, this means that the current system, in which the builder had to go round dozens of affected authorities for individual binding opinions, should be replaced by integrated assessment directly at the building authority. An entirely new Territorial Development Office of the Czech Republic will be created as a central administrative authority, absorbing the powers of several ministries, including the Ministry for Regional Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport. It will oversee regional territorial development offices with local branches in the seats of municipalities with extended powers.

Integration of public interests and the end of running from office to office

For developers and builders, the key change is in the area of integrated protection of public interests. The new building authorities will assess and protect interests in public health, the environment, heritage protection and transport directly in the proceedings on permitting a project. There will thus be no need to obtain separate binding opinions from a number of affected authorities. For example, permits to fell trees, exemptions from prohibitions for specially protected species and consent to the removal of land from the agricultural land fund will be integrated directly into the proceedings.

If there is a conflict between protected interests, the building authority is itself to weigh their significance and decide in favour of the prevailing public interest. Instead of rejecting a project, setting conditions or compensatory measures is also preferred. This is a fundamental shift from current practice, where one negative position of an affected authority could block an entire project.

Binding opinions are retained only for cultural monuments, specially protected areas and the EIA process. Also important is the new fiction of a confirming review binding opinion — if the superior administrative authority does not issue a review opinion within 30 days, it is deemed to have confirmed the original opinion. This eliminates the risk of endless waiting for the superior authority's decision.

Practical impact on development projects

The amendment brings several changes that will directly affect the economics of construction projects. It introduces the concept of a building for collective housing for buildings whose predominant function is housing and whose floor area exceeds 10,000 m²; these are classified as reserved buildings. Such projects will be decided at first instance directly by the Territorial Development Office of the Czech Republic, which should ensure a uniform approach and greater expertise in assessing large residential projects.

Also significant is the easing of construction requirements. These requirements are to be applied with regard to their technical, functional and economic feasibility so that their interpretation is not manifestly disproportionate to the benefits. For alterations to buildings, cultural monuments and minor structures, the requirements are to be applied proportionately. The requirements can even be met by contributing to a joint solution on the basis of a planning agreement concluded with the municipality.

For investors, a change in the assessment of the conditions for issuing a permit is also important — these conditions are to be assessed as at the date the application is filed, not as at the date of the decision. The builder thus gains certainty that a change in legislation during the proceedings will not jeopardise the project, unless the builder itself asks for assessment as at the date of the decision.

In appeal proceedings, the second-instance building authority must decide the matter itself, eliminating the practice of repeatedly returning cases for a new hearing. For unauthorised buildings, retrospective approval will be possible even where ordering removal would be a manifestly disproportionate interference compared with the benefits.

Municipalities and regions will newly procure zoning planning documentation within their independent competence, which will unify the procurement and approval process. All regional capitals will be allowed to issue a generally binding ordinance with different construction requirements, opening up room for local specifics.

The changes will also affect judicial review. A court will not set aside a decision merely for lack of reasoning if the matter can be reviewed on the basis of the administrative file. The possibility of extending an action within two months of notification of the decision is removed.

The basic effective date of the act is proposed for 1 July 2026, with the Territorial Development Office of the Czech Republic to be established on 1 January 2027 and the regional territorial development offices only on 1 January 2028. Until then, the existing regional and municipal building authorities will continue to conduct proceedings. The transitional period for using information systems is extended until the end of 2030.

The amendment is the most fundamental change to construction law in recent years, and its impact will be felt by anyone planning to build or invest in real estate. We recommend following the legislative process and preparing for the new rules in good time.

Source: Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, parliamentary print, second reading opened on 27 May 2026

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