Acts regulating construction and preventing space devastation submitted for adoption

Final draft proposals of acts on physical planning, construction and energy efficiency in building construction have been developed and submitted. The three acts, aimed to enable further growth and to prevent space devastation, should be addressed at next week's Government session.

Physical Planning Act

The Physical Planning Act was adopted in 2013 and has since been amended five times. This Act received over 1,600 comments during public consultation and attracted considerable attention from professionals and interested parties.

The aim of adopting the new Physical Planning Act is to protect space, as it is not merely a territory, it is also identity, economy and a way of life. It determines what Croatia will look like for future generations. After more than ten years, the new act introduces system modernisation and planning digitisation, as all new spatial plans are developed digitally in the ePlans system connected to ePermits, so every plan will be developed according to the same standard and it will be publicly available.

The act will also enable clear strategic orientation towards a steady development of the entire country, but also clear mechanisms of space protection, namely of coastal areas and maritime domain.

Condominium conversion of hospitality and tourism buildings

With regard to condominium conversion of hospitality and tourism buildings, the conversion is not allowed in the zones of hospitality and tourism purposes, except in the zones of high ratings (five stars), where at least 70% of accommodation capacity refers to hotels.

In such zones it will be possible to convert villas and apartments, but only after a use permit has been issued for the hotel and central amenities.

The entire zone needs to be a single functional unit with a centralised model of management, maintenance and rentals, and a villa or an apartment will only be available for sale to a purchaser who entrusts the management of that unit to the common manager for the purpose of performing hospitality and tourism activities.

Campsites

The act also introduces new standards for developing campsites in restricted areas.

They must be positioned at least 100 metres of the coastline in designated construction areas outside settlements and 25 metres in construction areas within settlements.

At least 40% of the area must include a park or natural greenery; traffic and parking areas can occupy no more than 30% of the total area, and campsite development cannot exceed 30% of its area - including all buildings and movable structures. A transitional provision allows for an eight-year period for existing campsites, but they are required to improve the space. This will be further defined by the Ministry’s Ordinance.

Tourism is not limited

It should be noted that these rules do not limit tourism development but rather ensure its spatial sustainability.

Limitations, especially the distance from the coastline, are not arbitrary but rather based on the principle of protecting the maritime domain and public access to the shore.

Seaside walkways and a preserved coastal area are not an obstacle to development, but the foundation of competitiveness of Croatian tourism and a privilege that needs to be preserved for future generations.

Minister Branko Bačić has recently said that the new Physical Planning Act should enter into force by the end of the year, that he expects support from professionals and that this is, together with the Act on Tourism Activity, the most important act for tourism development.

Unnecessary expansion of construction areas

According to the draft law, existing construction areas cannot be expanded as long as they include areas which are not equipped with basic infrastructure.

Local self-government units must provide a construction area with municipal infrastructure no later than five years upon its designation by the spatial plan.

If local self-government units do not adopt an urban development plan within two years and do not secure funds for equipment, the investor acquires a legal interest to obtain a building permit for the infrastructure.

Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency

The Physical Planning Act is closely related to the Building Act, which has also undergone public consultation, and a final draft proposal has been submitted for adoption, together with the Act on Energy Efficiency.

To provide clearer and more efficient rules on construction and energy efficiency, and due to the fact that the existing Building Act detailly addresses only one of the fundamental construction requirements, the new legislative framework is divided into two acts: the Building Act and the Act on Energy Efficiency, which has also been welcomed by the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers.

The new Building Act will simplify the procedure, accelerate the issuance of permits and enable complete integration with the ePlans and ePermits digital systems.

The Act is aimed to achieve the goals of the National Housing Policy Plan precisely by accelerating the process of issuing building permits, but also to provide the investors with a clear procedure and documentation, whereby new requirements and fundamental parameters for the construction of multiapartment buildings will be prescribed.

With regard to the Act on Energy Efficiency, the act gathers, for the first time, all the provisions related to energy efficiency in building construction.

The National Building Renovation Plan and the notion of zero-emission buildings are also introduced. By 2028 all publicly owned buildings will be required to be zero-emission buildings, and by 2030 the requirement will apply to all new buildings as well.

Source: HINA/MPGI

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