Amendments to the Building Code simplifying construction requirements entered into force in August

On 1 August 2026, amendments to the Building Code entered into force, updating the Code in order to eliminate problems that had emerged over the years. For example, the amendments extended the validity period of a building notice from two years to four years, and it is now no longer necessary to submit a separate application for an occupancy permit for each building covered by a building permit.

The validity period of a building notice is extended

The amendments extended the validity period of the right to build obtained on the basis of a building notice to four years. Previously, construction work based on a building notice could be carried out for two years from the submission of the building notice or approval of the notice.

Special rules for erecting a temporary structure

As a new option, the amendments make it possible to erect a temporary structure even where the intended use of the temporary structure does not correspond to the predominant land-use purpose under the comprehensive plan, the intended purpose of the cadastral unit or the purpose of the plot specified in the detailed spatial plan, provided that implementation of the overall planning solution remains possible and the predominant land-use purpose remains dominant.

The aim is to allow more extensive so-called interim use of land. At the same time, it must be remembered that this amendment does not allow departures from other conditions stipulated in the spatial plan, such as the building footprint, the volume of the structure or the percentage of landscaping.

Design specifications according to need

The amendments introduced the possibility of issuing design specifications according to need in cases not specified in the Code. Design specifications make it possible to determine the restrictions applicable at a particular location without preparing a building design, thereby reducing the costs of preparing and processing a building design and ultimately imposing less of a burden on both the applicant and the authority conducting the proceedings.

Applying for such specifications is voluntary for the applicant, meaning that they will only be sought by a person who considers them valuable.

Several structures can now be covered by the same occupancy permit

As a result of the amendments that have entered into force, it is no longer necessary to submit a separate application for an occupancy permit for every building covered by a building permit. The technical solutions of the Register of Construction Works allow several structures to be covered by the same occupancy permit even where the structures have different intended uses and are therefore subject to different requirements and conditions.

It is therefore no longer necessary to prepare a separate occupancy permit document for every structure. In the case of very extensive proceedings involving dozens of structures, submitting separate applications for occupancy permits and issuing separate permits is burdensome.

Design specifications can be used to adjust the building footprint and height

It is now possible, through design specifications, to adjust not only the building area specified in a detailed spatial plan but also the building footprint, and instead of the previous 10%, these conditions may now be adjusted by up to 15% compared with the original solution.

In future, it will also be possible through design specifications to adjust the height of a structure, instead of the previous 10%, by up to three metres or 15% compared with the original solution, depending on the height of the structure. This makes it possible to add a storey through an extension to detached and semi-detached houses and apartment buildings where this was not previously possible.

Buildings with a footprint of less than 20 square metres are exempt from permit and notification requirements

In future, all buildings with a footprint of less than 20 m² and a height of less than five metres will be exempt from permit and notification requirements. Accordingly, all buildings with a footprint of less than 20 square metres will in future fall under the so-called permit-free construction regime.

The Building Code is available HERE.