A government dud on 70 m2. The proposal from the Polish Order convinced only one hundredth builder
When the government allowed certain simplifications in the construction of houses up to 70 m2, construction specialists warned that the lack of cooperation with the construction manager could result in construction errors and make the houses dangerous for people. Completely unnecessary: interest in building houses using a simplified procedure is practically zero.
Stimulating housing construction is one of the most important tasks of each subsequent government. Unfortunately, no one has been successful in this field so far, and the previous government is no exception in this respect. Two flagship initiatives were either unsuccessful or had adverse side effects. Safe Loan 2% caused a sharp increase in apartment prices in large cities, while the possibility of building houses up to 70 m² of building area without a permit, despite the initial interest, turned out to be a bad idea, which additionally resulted in an increase in the number of unauthorized construction works.
Houses up to 70 m2: 1,200 houses in the new procedure
In 2021, great emotions among future investors, architects and construction supervision officials were caused by the announcement of the possibility of building single-family houses up to 70 m for their own residential needs.2 building area upon notification. The media then competed to obtain the latest information and thoroughly analyzed the already available knowledge.
The program, which is one of the elements of the Polish Order, came into force in January 2022 and many people expected it to revolutionize the single-family construction market. This did not happen: Oferteo reports that in 2022, according to GUNB data, less than 1,200 builders used the simplified path. That's less than 1.5 percent. individual investments started in this period.
House construction program up to 70 m2 development attracted little interest despite significant facilities for investors. They concerned not only a simpler procedure before the start of construction, but also the lack of the need to have an energy certificate and employ a construction manager. Despite great expectations, one of the main elements of the Polish Order turned out to be a failed idea in practice.
Why houses up to 70 m2 not accepted in the simplified procedure?
Experts in the field of construction law point out a significant gap in the applicable regulations. It concerns the office's procedure if it is found that the documents required to report the construction of a house with an area of up to 70 m22 are incomplete. In such a situation, should the office return the documents to the investor, or maybe it would be appropriate to notify the district construction supervision inspector? The applicable regulations de facto tie the hands of officials and do not allow them to carry out a substantive analysis of the notification or to request that the deficiencies be corrected, even if significant deficiencies are found.
To reduce this problem and enable offices to exercise proper supervision over newly constructed houses, the Ministry of Development and Technology has prepared a draft amendment to the Construction Law Act. The most important of them is the inability to use the simplified procedure (notification) in a situation where the submitted documents do not indicate that the investment is carried out to meet one's own housing needs and in the event of submitting an incomplete application. The house being built will also have to meet the provisions of the local development plan, and if it does not exist, it will be necessary to apply for development conditions.
Nobody wanted, nobody asked
These are serious changes that will reduce the already small number of people interested in building houses up to 70 m2 per application. It is already clear today that this is a temporary solution intended to put an end to unauthorized construction and restore at least partial control to the offices over the single-family buildings being built in their areas.
As usual in the case of construction law, the implementing regulations raise concerns. Will they be precise enough in terms of the list of required documents and will the legislator not go so far in imposing restrictions that the program will become dead?
