Penalties for damaging heritage sites may possibly increase several times

Prague - Fines for damage or destruction of monument-protected objects may increase fivefold within two years. The Senate's Cultural Committee supported this today as part of a Senate amendment to the monuments protection law. According to it, the two million crown fine should be raised to ten million crowns and the maximum four million crown penalty to 20 million crowns.

The authors of the amendment justified the increase in monetary penalties by stating that the current level of fines, which were legislated 16 years ago, is insufficient and not deterrent enough considering the rising property prices.

Senator and Mayor of Cheb Miroslav Plevný (STAN) argued that there is no reason for increasing the penalties, as the authorities do not even utilize their current maximum limits. According to Přemysl Rabase (for Senator 21), even the proposed increase will not provide a sufficient threat against inappropriate construction interventions in protected heritage sites.

The amendment was introduced two years ago by Senator and Mayor of Prague 10 Renata Chmelová (for KDU-ČSL) along with eight colleagues from the Mayors' movement, Senator 21, or the Pirates. They say the amendment is a response to repeated cases where owners of monument-protected sites intentionally violate their legally imposed obligations, as any potential low fine becomes merely an extra cost for them. In recent years, buildings such as the Šafránek villa in Prague’s Vinohrady and two villas in Prague’s Ořechovka have been demolished regardless of their monument protection, the senators noted.

In determining the fine amount, the authors of the amendment based their proposal on a draft law on the protection of the cultural heritage fund, which was prepared by the Ministry of Culture in 2019. The committee, following recommendations from conservationists, removed from the draft a provision that wanted the creators of the amendment to lower the maximum penalty for failing to notify from two million to 100,000 crowns.

The amendment, should it be approved by the Senate as a whole and subsequently by the Chamber of Deputies, is set to take effect from mid-2023. It could also become part of broader adjustments to the monuments law, as the Ministry of Culture awaits an agreement on changes to the building law.