Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
Slovakia ranks 91st among 185 countries in terms of handling a building permit, the Hospodárske Noviny economic daily on November 7. The chart was disclosed within the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report.
Slovakia needs 286 days to issue a permit, the report finds, adding that even African countries like Jibuti and Angola beat it. If only the duration of getting a permit had been assessed, then Cambodia would have been the worst with 652 days.
Denmark scored best, with building permit proceedings taking about two months. Afghanistan received the worst evaluation.
China is known for being able to build quickly, Hospodárske Noviny wrote, adding that the quick granting of permits is among the enabling factors.
Why building permits are a problem?
In Slovakia, on the other hand, obtaining a permit is a huge problem, CEO of the Institute of Urban Development, Juraj Suchánek, told the daily, adding that this process is overly complicated compared to other countries, and its duration is hard to be estimated, due to various appeals. Also, other subjects enter the approval process, which prolong the process itself, he added.
Too many third parties are involved in the course of official construction approval, experts opine, adding that it is also important whether the permit concerns a house or a development project. They see as a problem that while other authorities usually have 30 days to decide on an application, the construction office has a deadline of 60 days. It usually requests additional information, which prolongs the process by several months, or even seasons, insiders complain.
Ministry blames applicants
The Transport Ministry claims that sometimes it is the builder who creates problems.
“If the submitter files a request without all due documents, the construction office has to call on them to add the necessary data and suspend the permission procedure,“ Karolína Ducká, ministry spokesperson, told Hospodárske Noviny.
When compared to neighbouring countries, Slovakia is not the worst.
“We are better off than Hungary or the Czech Republic, and worse than Poland and Austria,” legal representative of the real estate company Re/Max, Alexander Krajňak, told Hospodárske Noviny, adding that in terms of expenses, Slovakia is the best. The number of procedures necessary for receiving a building permit is the lowest here, he added.
In the future, the procedure is to be made shorter. The Transport Ministry stated that a reform proposal has been approved, which should boost Slovakia up among the 10 best members of the EU.
