Protection against inactivity, or what to do when the building authority fails to decide within the statutory time limit
As is generally known, building authorities are subject to statutory time limits for issuing decisions in various types of proceedings under the Building Act. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the relevant building authorities to fail to reach a decision within the time limits laid down by law (particularly given their heavy workload), and as a result, the entire construction process is often significantly delayed for developers, which usually (and particularly in recent years) leads to inconveniences in the form of increased construction costs and potential penalties arising from contractual relationships concluded, for example, between developers and future property owners due to delays in the construction work. We will therefore discuss below the legal options available in such situations with regard to building permit proceedings and planning permission proceedings.
Key takeaways
What are the deadlines for issuing a decision?
"In simple cases, especially if a decision can be made based on documents submitted by the developer, the Building Authority shall decide without undue delay, but no later than 60 days from the date of commencement of the building permit procedure; in particularly complex cases, the Building Authority shall decide within 90 days at the latest."[2]
A particularly complex case will mainly involve a construction project subject to an environmental impact assessment. For most "common" construction projects, such as family houses, a maximum deadline of 60 days will generally apply.
As for the zoning procedure, the deadline for issuing a decision is set by the Building Act as follows:
"In simple cases, especially if a decision can be made based on documents submitted by the applicant, the Building Authority shall decide without undue delay, but no later than 60 days from the date of commencement of the zoning procedure; in particularly complex cases, especially when proceeding under paragraph 2, the Building Authority shall decide within 90 days at the latest."[3]
In this case as well, a decision on construction subject to an environmental impact assessment will be considered a particularly complex case, and for most "ordinary" construction projects, the rule is that the Building Authority must decide without delay, but within a maximum of 60 days.
What if the Building Authority fails to meet the statutory deadline?
If the Building Authority fails to meet the above deadlines, it is necessary to refer to the Administrative Procedure Code [4], which states that: "The administrative authority shall handle matters without undue delay. If the administrative authority does not take action within the period prescribed by law or within a reasonable period if no statutory period is prescribed, the provisions on protection against inactivity (§ 80) shall be used to remedy the situation[5]".
The Administrative Procedure Code then stipulates in Section 80(1) that: "If the administrative authority does not issue a decision in the matter within the statutory period, the superior administrative authority shall, ex officio, take measures against inactivity as soon as it becomes aware of it." The measures that the superior administrative authority (in this case, usually the competent Regional Authority) can take are then listed in Section 80(4) of the Administrative Procedure Code, with the following options for building and zoning procedures:
ordering the inactive administrative authority (the Building Authority) to take the necessary remedial measures or issue a decision within a specified period,
the superior administrative authority (the competent Regional Authority) taking over the case and issuing a decision in place of the inactive administrative authority (the Building Authority),
entrusting another administrative authority (another Building Authority) within the administrative district of the competent Regional Authority as the superior administrative authority with the conduct of the given procedure (building or zoning),
extending the statutory deadline for issuing the decision, if it can be reasonably assumed that the administrative authority (the Building Authority) will issue a decision in the matter within the extended period and if such a procedure is more advantageous for the parties.
Request for a measure against inactivity
If the Building Authority fails to meet the statutory deadline, you, as the developer, have the option to submit a request to the competent Regional Authority to take a measure against inactivity. Although it is advisable to state in this request which variant of the measure against inactivity the Regional Authority should apply to make the solution effective, it should be noted that the decision on which measure against inactivity the Regional Authority will eventually apply is purely at its discretion.
After the request is submitted, the Regional Authority will first request the case file for the given procedure from the Building Authority to determine whether inactivity has occurred at all. If it concludes that it has, it is up to the Regional Authority to deal with this situation and what measure against inactivity it will apply. If the Building Authority completely resigns from fulfilling its obligations within the building permit procedure, it can be assumed that the Regional Authority will first order the Building Authority to issue a decision within a period set by it.
A request for a measure against inactivity can be submitted repeatedly, so even if, for example, the Building Authority's statutory deadline is extended, or it is ordered to decide in the given procedure within a "new" deadline, and the Building Authority fails to meet this deadline either, one can again turn to the Regional Authority via a request to rectify the situation by taking a measure against inactivity.
How to further defend against inactivity?
Unfortunately, it must be stated that although there is a possibility for the Regional Authority to order the Building Authority to take specific actions in the procedure or to issue a decision directly within a period set by it, if the Building Authority fails to do so, there are no effective tools to enforce such an obligation. The developer is thus left with no choice but to file a new request for a measure against inactivity in the hope that if the Building Authority is completely inactive, the Regional Authority will delegate the matter to another Building Authority.
In conclusion, it can be summarized that if a Building Authority does not fulfill its statutory obligations in the form of set deadlines, there are options to defend one's legal rights in such a situation, but their enforcement is, so to speak, toothless. However, even if the inactivity of the Building Authority is repeated or continuous, one should not give up and, for example, through repeated requests, achieve the delegation of the procedure to another Building Authority, which will hopefully properly fulfill its statutory obligations.
Are you currently dealing with a problem related to the inactivity of a Building Authority? Do not hesitate to contact Mgr. Alice Dajčarová, LL.M. for an effective solution to the situation – from drafting a written request for a measure against inactivity to communicating with the relevant administrative authorities.
[1] For the purposes of this article, the term Building Act refers to Act No. 183/2006 Coll., on Spatial Planning and the Building Code (the Building Act), as amended.
[2] Section 112(3) of the Building Act
[3] Section 87(4) of the Building Act
[4] For the purposes of this article, the term Administrative Procedure Code refers to Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Administrative Procedure Code, as amended.
[5] Section 6(1) of the Administrative Procedure Code
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The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only and serves as a basic guide to the issue as of 2026. Although we strive for maximum accuracy, laws and their interpretation evolve over time. We are ARROWS Law Firm, a member of the Czech Bar Association (our supervisory authority), and for the maximum security of our clients, we are insured for professional liability with a limit of CZK 350,000,000. To verify the current wording of the regulations and their application to your specific situation, it is necessary to contact ARROWS Law Firm directly (consultation@arws.cz). We are not liable for any damages arising from the independent use of the information in this article without prior individual legal consultation.