Building permit for a house up to 400 m²

The procedure in six steps

1. Conceptual design

   The initial agreement on the appearance, size and layout of the house. It is coordinated with you until you arrive at a solution that suits your needs and the spatial plan. This is the foundation on which everything else rests.

2. Obtaining special conditions and connection conditions

   The designer prepares a description and representation of the structure, completes the required forms (e.g. the request for an electricity-connection consent) and initiates the procedure for determining the special conditions and connection conditions.

   For less complex buildings the scope is minimal — mainly connection conditions, plus special conditions for the protection of cultural heritage only if the house is protected or located within a protected area Art. 47 para. 3.

3. Preliminary design and building permit application

   The designer prepares the preliminary design Art. 33. The following is attached to the building permit application Art. 62:

   • the preliminary design
   • proof of legal interest (e.g. ownership of the plot)
   • proof of transfer of part of the land to the local self-government unit, if such an obligation exists
   • a list of dwelling units

   The application is submitted electronically Art. 61.

4. Building permit

   The administrative authority issues the permit after establishing that the preliminary design has been prepared in accordance with the spatial plan and that all documents have been attached Art. 73. This completes the set required to obtain the permit.

5. Detailed designs and notification of the start of construction

   Only now are the detailed designs for all required disciplines prepared.

   The start of construction is notified at the latest 5 days before it begins Art. 89. The detailed design is attached to the notification in electronic form, and the contractor and the supervising engineer are stated Art. 89 para. 4.

   Note: if the house is a protected cultural property or within a protected area, before notifying the start of works you must obtain confirmation that the main design complies with the special conditions for the protection of cultural heritage.

6. Construction, supervision and occupancy permit

   During construction, professional supervision of a less complex building is carried out only in respect of mechanical resistance and stability Art. 26 para. 2.

   Upon completion, an occupancy permit is requested. The technical inspection of a less complex building does not check compliance with the basic requirements — it establishes that construction conforms to the location conditions: intended use, external dimensions, the shape and size of the plot, and the position of the house Art. 94 para. 3, Art. 97 para. 2. The occupancy permit is issued within 8 days of the completed technical inspection Art. 102.

Validity of the permit and deadline for completion

Once it becomes final, the permit ceases to be valid if construction is not commenced within 6 years of becoming final; you are deemed to have commenced construction on the day the start of construction is notified Art. 79.

The house (a less complex building) must be completed within 5 years — in terms of external appearance and landscaping of the building plot — counting from the day the start of construction is notified Art. 80 para. 1. The deadline does not apply to buildings that are individually protected cultural heritage.

Does the case officer send the design for confirmation, and are neighbours invited

The two things investors and designers most often ask about for a house up to 400 m²:

The design is not sent for confirmation

For less complex buildings, the administrative authority does not send the design to public-law bodies for confirmation. Only connection conditions are required, and special conditions for the protection of cultural heritage only if the house is individually protected or located within a protected area Art. 47 para. 3. These conditions are obtained before the application is submitted — for now through the administrative authority, because eDozvola is not yet enabled for the direct route Art. 134. A condition for issuing the permit is that these conditions have been determined Art. 73 para. 1.

Neighbours are invited, but only the closest ones

Before issuing the permit, the building authority invites the parties to inspect the case file Art. 68 para. 4. For less complex buildings, the parties are, besides the investor, only the owners of immediately neighbouring properties located at a distance smaller than half the façade height (h/2) measured from the façade of your house Art. 68 para. 1.

In most cases the house is set back from the plot boundaries by more than h/2, so in practice neighbours are not invited into the procedure at all.

If there are 10 or fewer parties to the procedure, the invitation is delivered in person; if there are more than 10, a public invitation is published on the electronic notice board Art. 69. A neighbour who does not respond to the invitation cannot later request the reopening of the procedure on that ground Art. 69 para. 4.

Approximate duration

Deadlines depend on the scope and on the speed of the public-law bodies, but approximately:

To this are added the deadlines of the public-law bodies (e.g. up to 30 days for special conditions Art. 48) and of the administrative authority for issuing the permit.