Soon, shelters and shelter areas will need to be built
The Riigikogu adopted amendments to the Emergency Act, as a result of which, starting from July 1, 2026, a public shelter must be built in new buildings with a gross floor area of at least 10,000 m². In addition, smaller buildings must be equipped with a non-public shelter, and for existing buildings the sheltering options must be analyzed and, if necessary, a shelter area adapted within the building.
New buildings must include a shelter
A shelter is a building or part of a building constructed for sheltering, whose structure protects people against an explosion and the accompanying blast wave, projectiles/debris, and air pollution, including ionizing radiation.
Shelters are divided into public and non-public according to the principle that public shelters provide access for anyone needing to take shelter, while non-public shelters are intended primarily for the users of a specific building.
A public shelter must be built in new buildings with a gross floor area of at least 10,000 m². Under the draft, this requirement takes effect from July 1, 2026. Thus, if one wishes to construct, for example, a new shopping center, a shelter must also be built in that building if the building permit application is submitted after July 1, 2026. The Estonian Rescue Board will supervise the construction of public shelters, arrange their signage, inform the public about their locations, and provide guidance necessary for organizing sheltering. The costs of building a public shelter are borne by the building owner.
Starting from July 1, 2028, a non-public shelter must be built when constructing a residential, accommodation or food-service building, an office building, a commercial or service building, or an entertainment, educational, healthcare or other public or special-purpose building with an enclosed net floor area of at least 1,200 m², or an industrial or warehouse building with an enclosed net floor area of at least 1,500 m². The building owner is responsible for arranging the construction of a non-public shelter, and bears the associated costs.
If a building meets the criteria for both a non-public and a public shelter, a public shelter must be built. More detailed requirements for shelters—such as size and capacity—will be established by a separate Government of the Republic regulation.
In existing buildings, the owner adapts shelter areas
Where possible, the building owner adapts a shelter area within a building constructed before the shelter requirement took effect (i.e., before July 1, 2026) and which, by its parameters, corresponds to a new building that would be subject to the shelter requirement (e.g., an existing apartment or office building). For existing buildings, sheltering options must be assessed in a sheltering plan and, where such options exist, a shelter area must be adapted within the building.
A shelter area is a building or part of a building adapted for sheltering, whose structure protects people at least against debris resulting from an explosion. A shelter area is therefore not a part of a building constructed specifically for sheltering, but rather a space adapted to be suitable for shelter. The main difference between a shelter and a shelter area lies in the level of protection: a shelter area offers a lower level of protection and does not require additional features such as forced ventilation or a plumbed toilet. The baseline conditions for adapting a shelter area are: strong enclosing structures; availability of fresh air; at least two exits (not necessarily doors); clean and dry rooms for people to remain in; and the designation of a person responsible for the shelter area.
The building owner evaluates the possibilities for adapting a shelter area in the sheltering plan and acts accordingly. Whether such a space can be created in a given building and what it will ultimately be like will be determined in the sheltering plan.
Buildings with a shelter obligation must have a sheltering plan
A sheltering plan must be drawn up for buildings subject to the shelter obligation. A sheltering plan must be prepared both for new buildings where a shelter must be built, and for buildings that were erected—or for which a building permit application or building notice for erection was submitted—before July 1, 2026, and that meet the requirements for a public or non-public shelter area.
It is important to think through the organizational aspects of sheltering both in new buildings where shelters will be built and in existing buildings meeting the same criteria where a shelter area will be created.
The absence of a possibility to adapt a shelter area in a building does not preclude the preparation of a sheltering plan, because the very knowledge that a shelter area cannot be adapted must emerge from preparing the plan. This information—that a shelter area cannot be adapted—must also be reflected in the plan. Therefore, the sheltering plan must be prepared building-specifically, i.e., taking into account the building’s characteristics and possibilities. If a shelter is to be built in a building, the sheltering plan must include the relevant details, such as location, size, access, and other essential information.
The owner of a building subject to the obligation to build a shelter—if the building was erected, or the building permit application or building notice for erection was submitted, before July 1, 2026—and the owner of a building (erected or applied/notified for before July 1, 2028) is obliged to prepare a sheltering plan no later than July 1, 2027. In other cases, the sheltering plan must be prepared by the time the application for an occupancy permit is submitted.
You can follow the parliamentary proceedings HERE.