Hungary: A Stop to Office and Home Construction?

Zsanett Szabó, Senior Associate

Buildings with a total useful area of more than 5,000 sqm and apartment buildings located on a single building plot with at least six apartments and a total useful area of more than 1,500 sqm will not receive a preliminary or final building permit in procedures started after 16 August 2022 if the National Architectural Planning Council has not recommended that permission be granted on the basis of the relevant architectural and technical documentation.

 

New legislation has extended the powers of the National Architectural Planning Council, a central government entity with jurisdiction over the entire territory of Hungary and headed by the National Chief Architect.

Starting from 17 August 2022, the National Architectural Planning Council reviews and evaluates the architectural and technical documentation of government building projects within the meaning of Act CXXXVIIIof 2018 on Government Building Projects as well as the architectural and technical documentation of buildings with a total useful area of more than 5,000 sqm and apartment buildings located on a single building plot with at least six apartments and a total useful area of more than 1,500 sqm.

The modification has also introduced stricter rules with regard to building permission procedures, because the National Architectural Planning Council has been essentially granted veto powers because, starting from 17 August 2022, building authorities must deny applications for preliminary and final building permits where the National Architectural Planning Council has not recommended that permission be granted in respect of the relevant architectural and technical documentation of

  1. government building projects within the meaning of Act CXXXVIIIof 2018 on Government Building Projects;
  2. projects concerning the construction of buildings with a total useful area of more than 5,000 sqm; and
  3. projects concerning the construction of apartment buildings located on a single building plot with at least six apartments and a useful area of more than 1,500 sqm.

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The National Architectural Planning Council now also has veto powers in connection with regularisation certificates, installation permits and integrated building permits pertaining to government building projects. It is important to note, however, that the National Architectural Planning Council may, at the recommendation of its Chairman, propose that an evaluation procedure should be completed by the relevant Regional Architectural Planning Council. If the proposal is accepted, the evaluation procedure will be completed by that Regional Architectural Planning Council.

The National Architectural Planning Council may also evaluate ongoing government building projects, and its evaluation must be taken into account in the relevant building permission procedures.

It should be pointed out that similar veto powers were introduced in what was popularly known as “plaza stop” legislation, i.e. rules that were designed to put a stop to shopping mall construction projects. The relevant rules have been modified several times but are still in effect, and apply to the construction, alteration and extension of commercial buildings (department stores and shopping malls) with a floor space of more than 400 sqm, where the leader of the Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office has been appointed as the authority on whose evaluation building permission procedures and change of function procedures must be based.

 

 

 

 

What criteria does the National Architectural Planning Council examine?

In its evaluation, the National Architectural Planning Council will examine whether an architectural and technical plan complies with

  1. the architectural quality requirements and professional standards, including, in particular, the requirements regarding integration with cityscapes, aesthetic appearance, beneficial impact on cityscapes and urban structures, as well as visibility and reverse viewshed analysis;
  2. the requirements stated in the cityscape decree and the statements and recommendations included in the underlying cityscape manual;
  3. cultural heritage protection requirements, if appropriate;
  4. the requirements stated in the relevant world heritage management plan or, in the absence of the same, the Act on World Heritage Sites, if appropriate.

The National Architectural Planning Council must explain its evaluation, and the explanation must include references to the regulations that served as the basis of the evaluation. The explanation must also include a description of the analysis carried out based on the above criteria, and its outcome. If the National Architectural Planning Council does not recommend that permission be granted for the documentation, it must also provide a list of recommended modifications that should be considered in a revision of the documentation.

In its evaluation, the National Architectural Planning Council will either recommend the documentation for permission and, by extension, the relevant project for completion with or without qualifications, or deny such recommendation.

Therefore, the National Architectural Planning Council will become a key participant in the permission procedures concerning larger buildings, and this will probably have a remarkable effect on office and apartment building development projects.