Buildings built without a permit, in Slovak commonly referred to as black buildings, are a long-standing problem that almost every single building authority encounters with iron regularity. However, after almost half a century, a draft of a new building law from the workshop of the Ministry of Transport is on the table, which should definitively put an imaginary stop to illegal constructions.

The draft of the new construction law is currently in the evaluation phase of the interdepartmental comment procedure. There is still a relatively long way to its approval by the parliament, subsequent signing and entry into force and effect. Despite this, the new construction law is proposed to come into effect as early as April 1, 2025.

The draft law contains several significant changes compared to the current valid and effective construction law, which was adopted back in 1976. The most fundamental ones are mainly the effort to speed up construction, which is supposed to guarantee, among other things, a significant reduction in bureaucracy and the legislator's intention to eliminate the problem of black constructions. These bold plans met with mixed reactions in the eyes of the professional public. On a theoretical level, this is definitely a welcome step forward, but on a practical level, it is questionable whether the building authorities are prepared for the proposed numerous changes, both professionally and in terms of personnel.

The current valid and effective Building Act from 1976 allows for illegal constructions, i.e. constructions without the permission of the relevant building authority or in violation of it, to legalize the construction in the framework of the procedure for an additional building permit. Thousands of such constructions have been legalized in Slovakia to date in the above-mentioned manner. However, the draft of the new construction law does not include the possibility of additional construction permits. In practice, this would mean that if a building is built without the permission of the building authority, it will be an unauthorized building without any further possibility of its legalization. The builder who commits an offense in such a case will, in addition to a high fine, which can reach up to thousands of euros, also be required to remove such a structure.

On this occasion, it is important to point out that the mentioned regime would only be applied from the entry into force and effect of the new Building Act, i.e. from April 1, 2025 at the earliest. Another question is what procedure to choose in the case of current black buildings. Is the builder obliged to remove them or is it still possible to legalize them?

As the Building Act of 1976 is still valid and effective, black buildings, in the event that the additional permit does not conflict with the public interests protected by this Act, especially with the goals and objectives of spatial planning and special regulations, can still be legalized. The previously mentioned procedure for the additional construction permit serves this purpose. Here, however, it is important to remember that under the current legal status, a black building is an unauthorized building, and therefore the builder is also committing an offense in this case, for which a fine can be imposed.

Furthermore, a significant difference is also the process of legalization of an already standing black building, which would have been built during the validity and effectiveness of the current building law. In this case, and in no other case, the stage of construction of such a building does not matter, since in any case it is a violation. As a rule, the stage of construction only affects the amount of the imposed fine in subsequent criminal proceedings. Until the entry into force and effect of the new construction law, it is always possible to legalize a black building if the legal conditions are met. After this time, however, it will not be so easy.

It will be possible to legalize an already standing black building only at the request of the owner of the building in a process called examination of the suitability of the building for use. The owner of such a structure will be able to submit a request for a review of the suitability of the structure for use until March 31, 2029, but only if the procedure for ordering the removal of the structure has not yet begun.

Even in this case, however, the builder will not be fined, and compared to the current construction law (it is possible to impose a fine of up to 33,193.92 euros on a natural person), the upper limit is set much higher. According to the new construction law, fines of up to 100,000 euros are threatened in similar cases. This mechanism also confirms the Ministry of Transport's unequivocal attitude towards black buildings and aims at the gradual elimination of all such buildings.

For those who act in the intentions of the simultaneously valid and effective construction law, the adoption of the new construction law will not have any negative effects, on the contrary. Accelerating permitting processes, construction and reducing bureaucracy is a fundamental step forward, as is putting an imaginary stop sign on buildings built without or in violation of the permission of the relevant building authority.

In conclusion, it is important to point out that after the adoption of the new construction law, only practice will show whether all the intended changes will be really effective and whether the problem of black buildings will definitely disappear. However, one cannot deny the effort and intention of the legislator to deal with frequently recurring problems within the practice of construction authorities.