Does public law control whether a landowner may construct a new building or refurbish an existing building on its land?
In principle, construction of a new building is subject to the permit of the relevant building authority.1
Depending on the technical contents of the works, in certain cases no permit is required, although a notification may need to be delivered to the building authority before commencing certain construction works.2
In general, refurbishment of existing buildings is not subject to building permit.
Furthermore, depending on the local regulations applicable to the given locality or municipality, the specific opinion of the municipality's competent body may be required with regard to the conformity of the planned works with the municipality's townscape requirements.
In the case of historic buildings subject to some form of heritage protection additional permits or consents may need to be obtained from the building authority for refurbishment works.
In the case of certain commercial buildings or units with a gross floor area of over 400 square meters a special licensing procedure applies (where the consent of additional authorities may also be required).3
1Government Decree 312/2012, 17.§ (1)
2Gov.Decree 143/2018 on detailed rules of designated function amendment procedure, 1.§
3Government Decree 143/2018 on detailed rules of designated function amendment procedure, 1.§
