Stavební právo 2026–2028: co platí a co přinese novela

What applies today: Building Act No. 283/2021 Coll. and the transitional periods

The new Building Act has formally been in effect since January 1, 2024. For ordinary structures, however, the old Act No. 183/2006 Coll. continued to apply until June 30, 2024. The exception was reserved structures, i.e. major transport and energy infrastructure, which came under the new regime as early as January 2024. For a developer, a company building a hall or an investor buying a project in progress, the decisive factor is therefore when the proceedings were initiated.

Proceedings initiated before July 1, 2024 are completed under the previous legislation. Zoning decisions, building permits and other acts issued under the old act are deemed to be permits under the new act. Binding opinions of the authorities concerned that were issued earlier serve as supporting documents and the building authority does not review them again.

Documentation under the old legislation until June 30, 2027

Projects that were prepared under the old law do not necessarily have to have their documentation reworked. Design documentation prepared under the previous legislation may be submitted with an application for a building permit or a framework permit filed by June 30, 2027. The building authority will then review it under that previous legislation. The same applies to the documentation for the execution of the structure, provided that construction begins by June 30, 2027.

In practice, this means that for older projects it is necessary to work out whether it pays to file the application by the end of June 2027 or to convert the documentation straight into the new format. The lawyers at ARROWS assess this choice project by project, because the answer depends on the state of the documentation, the opinions obtained and the planned financing schedule.

The Builder's Portal and digital filings

An application for a project permit may be filed electronically via the Builder's Portal or in paper form on the prescribed form. The builder uploads the design documentation to the register of electronic documentation no later than when filing the application. Documentation that does not have to be prepared by a designer may be uploaded to the register by the building authority.

In practice, however, digitalization has slowed down. The act therefore introduced a transitional period during which the authorities may also use information systems other than the building administration systems and certain provisions on the register and on service of documents do not apply. For the building code it lasts until December 31, 2027, and for spatial planning until June 30, 2027; the latter deadline was extended by Act No. 91/2026 Coll. with effect from June 11, 2026. The approved amendment is intended to unify the transitional period from January 1, 2027 and extend it until December 31, 2030. For builders, this means that the authorities will continue to work in a mixed regime for a long time to come, and it is advisable to document filings in such a way that they stand up in both worlds.

Who decides on your project: the municipal authority, the regional authority and DESÚ

Ordinary structures are permitted by municipal building authorities, while selected projects (for example EIA projects, class I roads or renewable energy plants that are not reserved structures) are permitted by regional building authorities. Reserved structures are permitted by the Transport and Energy Construction Authority (DESÚ). It also decides on structures related to them that would otherwise fall under the municipal or regional authority.

Reserved structures include, among others, motorways, railways, civil aviation structures, the transmission system and power plants with a total installed capacity of 100 MW or more. For renewable sources, the threshold is considerably lower: a photovoltaic power plant above 5 MW, another plant generating electricity from renewable sources above 1 MW and a plant generating heat from renewable sources above 10 MW are reserved structures. Filing an application with an authority that lacks jurisdiction means lost time, which is why classifying the project is the first step of any preparation.

The Single Environmental Statement (JES)

Since 2024, a Single Environmental Statement has been issued for projects permitted under the Building Act (for ordinary structures since July 1, 2024). It is a single binding opinion on environmental impacts that replaces partial opinions and permits, for example under the Nature and Landscape Protection Act, the Water Act, the Forest Act or the Air Protection Act. Depending on the type of project, it is issued by the Ministry of the Environment, the regional authority or a municipality with extended powers.

The authority is to issue the JES within 60 days of the filing of a complete application and may extend the time limit by no more than 30 days. A request to remedy defects in the application interrupts the running of the time limit, so an incomplete application is directly reflected in the schedule. The JES is valid for 5 years and its validity may be extended.

The approved amendment is intended to phase out the JES. Under the approved wording, for projects on which the Spatial Development Authority is to decide from January 1, 2027, the JES Act is not to apply to applications filed after that date. The JES Act as a whole is to be repealed as of January 1, 2028; applications filed earlier are to be assessed under the previous legislation if the authority decides on them by December 31, 2027.

Obligations of building owners: documentation, the building passport and charging points

The Building Act requires every owner of a structure to keep, for the entire period of its existence, the verified design documentation, or the as-built documentation or the building passport, as well as decisions and other important documents. This obligation is not new; the old Building Act regulated it in a similar way. What is new is that it now comes into play more in transactions and in financing.

If the documentation has not been preserved or is not in proper condition and the structure was permitted, the owner must have a building passport prepared. If the owner fails to comply, the building authority will order the passport to be prepared. A breach of the obligations of the owner of a structure is punishable by a fine of up to CZK 400,000.

A building passport does not legalize an unauthorized structure

A common misconception is that a building passport can “cure” an extension or a change of layout carried out by the previous owner without a permit. A building passport is prepared for a structure that was permitted. Unpermitted changes must be dealt with by means of a retrospective permit, which may be applied for within 30 days of the initiation of proceedings to order the removal of the structure and which forms part of those proceedings. In addition, carrying out a structure without a permit is punishable by a fine of up to CZK 2,000,000, and in specially protected areas, protection zones, for EIA projects and in other cases specified by law up to CZK 4,000,000.

Charging points at non-residential buildings

Owners of non-residential buildings that are heated or cooled and have more than 20 parking spaces must, by January 1, 2027, provide (where technically feasible) at least 1 charging point for every 10 spaces, or cable ducts for at least 50% of the spaces. If the owner installed at least 1 charging point between May 28, 2022 and May 28, 2024, the deadline may be postponed until January 1, 2029. For managers of office and logistics complexes, this is a specific task for the coming months.

What building documentation means when buying real estate or a company

When buying real estate (asset deal) or a company that owns real estate (share deal), the obligations of the owner of the structure are borne after the takeover by the new owner, or by the acquired company, including the obligation to have the documentation in order. Discrepancies between the documentation and the actual state are therefore among the typical findings of due diligence. They can complicate bank financing, the final approval of future changes and any subsequent sale.

The old Building Act expressly required the existing owner to hand over the documentation to the new owner upon a change of ownership. The new act does not contain this sentence and the approved amendment does not restore it either. The handover of the documentation must therefore be secured by the purchase agreement. It should contain the seller's representations on the state of the documentation and permits, an obligation to hand over the documentation and a mechanism for the event that a discrepancy comes to light after signing (a price reduction, liability for the costs of a building passport or a retrospective permit). ARROWS law firm examines these issues as part of real estate due diligence and sets up the buyer's contractual protection according to the findings. Write to us at consultation@arws.cz.

What the major amendment to the Building Act is to bring in 2027 and 2028

The amendment to the Building Act proposed by deputies (Chamber of Deputies Print No. 67) was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 10 July 2026. The Senate rejected it on 20 August 2026, the Chamber of Deputies upheld it on 9 September 2026, and the President signed the act on 17 September 2026. As of 8 October 2026, the act had not been promulgated in the Collection of Laws. The information below is based on the wording approved by the Chamber of Deputies; the final number of the act and the dates tied to its promulgation must be verified after publication. Until the act is published in the Collection of Laws, neither its wording nor its transitional provisions can be verified in the official text; that is why we write below about what the amendment "is to" bring.

One month after promulgation: the first changes

Some of the provisions are to take effect on the first day of the calendar month following the promulgation of the act. These are to include, among other things, changes concerning minor and simple constructions (for example, a minor construction on the plot of a family house of up to 60 m² instead of the current 40 m²) or the option of having a building passport certified by an authorized inspector instead of the building authority.

1 January 2027: the Spatial Development Authority of the Czech Republic

According to the approved wording, the Spatial Development Authority of the Czech Republic is to be established as of 1 January 2027. The Transport and Energy Construction Authority is to cease to exist on 31 December 2026 and its agenda is to pass to the new authority. Reserved constructions are newly to include constructions for collective housing, i.e. constructions or sets of constructions with a predominantly residential function and a total floor area of 10,000 m² or more. For projects to be decided by the Spatial Development Authority, consolidated proceedings are to apply from that date: the building authority will itself assess the public interests that are today protected by the authorities concerned through binding opinions.

1 January 2028: consolidated proceedings for ordinary constructions as well

For most corporate constructions, such as halls, warehouses, office buildings, and business premises, the main change under the approved wording is not to come until 2028. Municipal and regional building authorities are to cease to exist on 31 December 2027, and from 1 January 2028 they are to be replaced by the regional spatial development authorities and their local offices. Only from then on are consolidated proceedings to apply to ordinary constructions. In 2027, a company building a hall would therefore deal with the same authority and obtain the same opinions as today, but the authority would already proceed under the new wording of the act.

What will happen to ongoing proceedings and documentation

Under the transitional provisions of the approved wording, proceedings initiated and not completed before the amendment takes effect are to be completed under the new wording, unless the act provides otherwise. Previously issued binding opinions and decisions of the authorities concerned are to retain their effects, and the new authority would not reassess the interests they protect. It is to remain possible to submit documentation prepared under the current regulations with an application for a further 3 years from the effective date of the amendment. The transitional provisions will need to be verified in the Collection of Laws once the act has been promulgated. Postponing the submission of an application "until after the amendment" therefore usually makes no sense. We cover the changes in more detail in the articles The amendment to the Building Act has been signed, Building permits for large development projects 2026 and A development project in progress: ongoing proceedings will move under the new rules.

Final summary

The year 2026 is not a year of one major change, but a year in which several regimes run side by side. The new Building Act applies with transitional provisions for older proceedings and documentation, the digital systems are being rolled out in a transitional period, and the approved amendment is to bring two further waves: in 2027 a new central authority for reserved constructions and large residential projects, and in 2028 consolidated proceedings for ordinary constructions.

For developers, companies with their own premises, and investors, this means three tasks: classifying each project correctly, deciding on the timing of applications with regard to the 30 June 2027 deadline, and keeping the documentation of the buildings they own in order. Mistakes will show up as delays, a fine, or a weaker negotiating position in a sale or financing.

If you do not want to risk delays or penalties, entrust the preparation and review of your projects to the ARROWS law firm. ARROWS lawyers have a long-standing focus on construction law and development and, thanks to the ARROWS International network, can also assist foreign investors. Get in touch at consultation@arws.cz.