Will the new technical conditions for the buildings be another impediment to investment processes for developers?

As of April 1, 2024, the Ordinance of the Minister of Development and Technology dated October 27, 2023, amending the Ordinance on technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location, which introduces a number of changes that are important primarily for developers, as entities engaged in multifamily housing construction, comes into force. In the following publications we will briefly present the most important information on the amendment.

The legislator has introduced a new legal definition – a publicly accessible square, which will be a publicly accessible area for recreation, communication, also serving a representative function, will be defined in the area development plan  as a square or market area or as a public road communication area, and in the absence of the area development plan – as a land use designated in the land and building register as recreation and recreation areas or as a road.

Among the most important changes is the change in the distance between buildings. From the beginning of April 2024, an obligation has been introduced to situate a building on a building plot at a distance of not less than 5 m from the border of that plot – in the case of a multi-family residential building with a height of more than 4 stories above ground, facing a wall with windows or doors towards that border, and not less than 5 m – in the case of a multi-family residential building with a height of more than 4 stories above ground, facing a wall without windows or doors towards that border.

In addition, the distance from the border of the building plot shall not be less than 3 m to the balcony in a multi-family residential building with a height of more than 4 overground floors facing a wall with windows or doors toward that border or facing a wall without windows or doors toward that border. What’s more, a production or storage building with a building area of more than 1,000 m2, taking into account separate regulations and specific provisions of the amended regulation must be located with a wall at a distance of not less than 30 m from the wall of an existing residential building or a collective residence building on another building plot and a residential building or a collective residence building designed on another building plot, for which there is a final decision on permission for construction or a notification of construction has been made, to which the architectural-construction administration body has not raised an objection or a certificate of no grounds for objection from the architectural-construction administration body has been issued.

The changes also apply to the location of parking spaces for the disabled, as a rule has been introduced that parking spaces for cars used exclusively by the disabled, in a number not exceeding 6% of the total number of parking spaces, but not less than 1, may be approached without any restrictions to the windows of other buildings.