The numbers don’t lie. Houses up to 70 sq m are a dud
Houses up to 70 sq m in a simplified procedure were supposed to bring Poles closer to having a small, but still their own house. The numbers prove that the idea turned out to be a failure. The accusations – exactly the same as those raised by experts over two years ago.
At the beginning of 2022, a law came into force that allows the construction of a house with an area of up to 70 m2 without a permit. The law introduced the possibility of erecting single-family residential buildings with an area of up to 70 m2 without the need to obtain a decision on a building permit, appoint a construction manager and keep a construction log. Currently, a house with a total building area of up to 70 m2 (external outline of the building), with an attic (with a total usable area of up to 90 m2) can be built without a permit.
House up to 70 sq m – facilities
The construction of a house with a building area of up to 70 square meters can be carried out on the basis of a simplified notification – without the need to obtain a building permit. There is also no obligation to appoint a construction manager and keep a construction log. The act also eliminates the possibility of the starosty filing an objection to the notification of such construction submitted by the investor. The project can be implemented immediately after the delivery of the appropriate documents.
Building a house without a permit (in the so-called simplified procedure) must be in accordance with the provisions of the local spatial development plan. If such a plan does not exist, we must obtain a decision regarding the development conditions. The relevant office has 21 days to issue a decision.
A house cannot be used for investment purposes without a permit. A person planning to build makes a statement – under penalty of criminal liability – that the house will be used for residential purposes.
Only 906 applications for houses up to 70 sq m
The previous government hoped that this would make it easier for families to build small houses for residential purposes. It was supposed to be easier, cheaper and ultimately more accessible, but Poles were not convinced by this proposal. In 2023, a total of 73,794 building permits for single-family houses were issued, while at the same time only 906 notifications of construction of houses up to 70 square meters were received by the starosty offices – informs the portal prawo.pl.
Lawyers interviewed by journalists believe that the regulations on simplified reporting of houses up to 70 square meters are flawed and contain traps that are not at all difficult to fall into. If it turns out that the report was flawed, it will be ineffective. However, the investor will only learn about it during the building supervision inspection.
In addition, a house up to 70 square meters must be built according to the purchased design, without the possibility of modifying it, which is difficult to implement. Investors prefer building permits, because they are required by banks. In the case of the application itself, obtaining financing is more difficult. In addition, a small house is difficult to sell – informs prawo.pl.
In the past, we have been constantly pointing out the flaws in the new regulations and predicting that they could result in the proposal not meeting with the approval of Poles. 906 reports in a year prove that this is exactly what happened.
