The end of the year is a good time to summarize what happened in 2020 in the area of construction law. A number of significant changes were certainly introduced, particularly with the amendments to the Construction Law coming into force on September 19, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has obviously had a huge impact on the entire investment and construction process. As part of our "Tuesday Mornings for Construction Professionals" series, we discussed these changes for you, and today we'd like to briefly remind you what changed and how.
- Regulation of obligations to obtain building permits and notifications
As part of the changes introduced by the amendment, the systematization of the catalogue of projects whose implementation requires obtaining appropriate consents from construction administration bodies was of great importance.
In this regard, the legislature has decided to increase the number of investments exempt from both obtaining a building permit and submitting notifications ( alert #3 ). The list of projects that do not require a building permit but are subject to notification requirements has also been regulated ( alert #4 ). Simplifications also apply to the possibility of reconstruction and renovation of construction projects listed in the Construction Law.
- Changes to the construction project
The changes also affected the construction design itself, which, in accordance with the amendment, was divided into three parts ( alert #6 ): the plot or land development design, the architectural and construction design, and the technical design ( alert #7 ). The number of copies of the design that must be attached to the building permit application was also reduced from four to three. It is also worth mentioning the introduction of a requirement to include information in the architectural and construction design about the number of units to be designated, along with an indication of the proportion of residential units (in the case of multi-family residential buildings).
The catalogue of significant deviations from the approved plot or land development plan or architectural and construction plan or other conditions requiring a change only within the scope of the deviation made has also been changed ( alert #8 ).
Further changes in the construction design, i.e. the possibility of submitting it in electronic form, will be brought about by the amendment introducing digitalization to the Construction Law, as we wrote about in alert #30 .
- Legalization of unauthorized construction
One of the characteristic changes introduced by the amendment to the Building Code is the introduction of the so-called "simplified legalization of unauthorized construction." The idea behind this solution was to allow for the legalization of old (at least 20 years old) unauthorized construction projects in a special, simplified procedure that, among other things, did not require an examination of the construction's compliance with the local development plan ( alert #21 ).
The provisions regarding the basic procedure for legalizing unauthorized construction have also been reorganized and included in the newly created Chapter 5a of the Construction Law, titled "Proceedings regarding the commencement and conduct of construction works in violation of the Act." You can read more about the legalization of unauthorized construction in alerts #5 , #19 , #20 , #22 , and #23 .
- New definition of the facility's impact area
The legislator also decided to change the definition of a structure's impact area. The new, amended definition specifies that the impact area of a structure is defined as the area designated within the surroundings of a structure based on separate regulations introducing restrictions on development related to that structure. It's easy to see, then, that the phrase "including development" has been removed from the definition, a consequence of which we analyzed in Alert #9 .
- Introduction of a deadline for declaring a building permit invalid
A significant problem in the practical implementation of construction projects was the lack of a defined deadline for appealing building permits in the Building Law. The amendment to the Building Law introduced a deadline for declaring a building permit invalid, which is now five years from the date the decision was delivered or announced, regardless of the reasons. We wrote about the problems related to this issue in Alert #11 .
- Illegal use of a facility, i.e. the so-called "yellow card" mechanism
Under the previous legal framework, the authority imposed a single fine on an investor who commenced use of a building in violation of building regulations. Currently, the fine can be imposed on an investor multiple times, with the new regulations giving the investor more time to remedy the negligence. We presented the so-called "yellow card" mechanism in Alert #16 .
- Other changes in the Construction Law
In addition to the above-mentioned changes, the amendment also introduced facilitations in the transfer of building permits ( alert #10 ).
Article 45a of the Construction Law specifies the responsibilities of the construction manager ( alert #15 ).
The amendment also introduced changes to other acts that affect the implementation of construction projects, including energy law ( alert #12 ).
- Digitalization of the investment and construction process
Finally, the final months of 2020 saw the planning and implementation of a number of changes related to the digitalization of construction procedures. The idea behind these solutions is to enable the submission of applications and the conduct of administrative proceedings online (you can find the list of applications in alert #29 ). Undoubtedly, the need to use the existing provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure has increased. Although they have been in force for a long time, in practice they were not always possible ( alerts #24 and #25 ).
It's also worth noting changes to the Spatial Planning and Development Act, which introduce the requirement to create digital spatial data for spatial planning acts and maintain appropriate online collections of such data ( alert #26 ). Changes have also been introduced to the Geodetic and Cartographic Law, which we summarized for you in alert #27 .
- WT2021 transitional provisions
Regardless of the summary, in order to keep up to date with changes in the law, we would like to inform you that on December 24, 2020, the Regulation of the Minister of Development, Labour and Technology of December 21, 2020, amending the regulation on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location , was published in the Journal of Laws. Thus, from December 25, the transitional provisions of the WT2021 standard apply (we wrote about the energy efficiency of buildings in alert #18 ). Pursuant to the content of the new § 329a, the standards in force from January 1, 2017 to December 30, 2020 apply if, before December 31, 2020, for the construction project:
1) an application for a building permit, a separate application for approval of a building design, a separate application for a separate decision approving a plot or land development plan or an architectural-construction design, an application to amend a building permit, an application for a permit to resume construction work, or an application for approval of a replacement building design, a plot or land development plan, or an architectural-construction design
has been submitted; 2) a notification of construction or performance of construction work has been submitted if a building permit is not required;
3) a decision on a building permit, a separate decision approving a building design, or a separate decision approving a plot or land development plan or an architectural-construction design has been issued.
The transitional provision also applies where the preparation of a technical design is required.
As you can see, a lot has happened this year and we hope that our analyses presented on Tuesday mornings help you understand the changing Construction Law and other regulations affecting investment and construction processes.
All articles from the series can be found at the link .
This is the last alert in 2020, so in the coming New Year we would like to wish you, above all, peace, successful investments and wonderful projects, as well as success in your professional and private life.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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