In September this year, as part of the operation of the Polish Order, deputies voted to amend the Law on Planning and Zoning. The law comes into force as early as January 2, 2022, and as of that date we will be building residential houses up to 70 square meters andindividual recreation buildings, without a permit and supervision of a construction manager with a design for one zloty. It arouses extreme emotions among those concerned. Some see it as an opportunity to build without a permit, while others fear the consequences in the form of real chaos. In addition, arbitrary construction may pose a real threat to the health and even life of those using buildings constructed under the new rules.
The amended law provides for construction facilities for an investor who intends to build a residential house up to 70 square meters and individual recreation buildings. Starting work without the need to obtain a building permit, no obligation to keep a construction log or appoint a construction manager are the most important conveniences, which are mentioned at the very beginning of the changes in the law. So how will the formal issue of such an investment look like? Only a notification with a construction project is to suffice.
what is covered by the term "notification"?
Despite all the new conveniences, the construction of a house up to 70 square meters under the new regulations has certain formal requirements. The investor is required to notify the construction supervision authorities and the designer, who will exercise author's supervision over the conformity of the construction with the project, along with the date when construction work will begin. The mandatory notification must include a project for the development of the plot, or land, an architectural and construction project and a statement that theplanned construction is only for one's own residential needs. In addition, two more documents must be included - a statement on assuming criminal responsibility for directing construction, if we do not appoint a construction manager, and a statement of completed documentation. Nonetheless, the legal issues will still apply to us, and without the establishment of a construction manager, we will have more responsibility than under previous regulations.
To all skeptics who fear spatial chaos, if only in aesthetic form (as in the case of the ubiquitous billboards), it should be mentioned that, for the sake of order, it has been established that buildings up to 70 square meters can have a maximum of two stories, in order to maintain their simple design and limited size. This is also intended to make it easier to maintain requirements for safety issues. But is it enough? The regulations also specify the density of newly built houses. It must be no more than one building for every 500 square meters of the plot, with a plot size of no less than 500 square meters, which will guarantee individual construction, rather than large estates that will become investments by developers. In addition, an open competition for architects, which has been announced by the Ministry of Development and Technology together with the General Office of Construction Supervision, aims to select the best designs for houses up to 70 square meters in building area. They will be made available, it reads, "to all interested parties for use in meeting their own housing needs."
Is it enough?
The ostensible simplifications for the investor and his savings resulting from the amendment of the building regulations may in fact be only apparent. Construction without a permit risks many disruptions. That's why we asked Franciszek Sterczewski - a member of the Ninth Chamber of Parliament, an urban activist, and a graduate of engineering architecture studies at UAP - about the real risks posed by the relaxation of the construction law.
The Construction Law and Planning and Zoning Laws are another misguided government idea. Replacing permits for the construction of a house up to 70 square meters with only an application will exacerbate spatial chaos - the designer will only have to certify compliance with the zoning decision and local development plan. This change alone gives room for numerous abuses and ordinary arbitrary construction. One should also consider whether this law actually has a chance to solve the housing crisis. There is currently a shortage of about one million housing units in Poland. The construction of a single-family house is an expense that many people still cannot afford. Even shortening the official procedures by about a month (because that's how much time this amendment saves in practice) won't help with the usual lack of funds. Finally, the effects of this amendment must be taken into account. The fundamental effect will certainly not only be spatial chaos, but also further suburban sprawl. Houses will be built in poorly connected areas, where services, public space and sewage systems are often lacking. At the same time, the farther a city sprawls, the more expensive and thus less efficient it is to maintain infrastructure and transportation.
Spatial chaos is a cost for local governments, whose budgets are already at their limits. It's also weaker ties between neighbors, who don't have time to form a community because they're too busy commuting. For all these reasons, I am very concerned about the prospect of this law coming into effect. I tried to emphasize its harmfulness during the infrastructure committee, then during the Sejm deliberations. Unfortunately, the effects are so far far from satisfactory, but I hope that the Senate's actions will change this state of affairs. I also wonder about ways to control the construction of "houses for notification" and limit their effects, should the bill become law, however.
Hence, it seems that the apparent facilitation could be the beginning of a real Polish disorder, and worse, and more construction disasters, such as the one in Bukowina Tatrzańska a year ago.
