The lawmakers proposed to remove distribution boxes from the building law

Prague – Today, in the second reading of the proposed amendment to the building act, the deputies suggested removing the provision classifying delivery boxes as minor constructions. Regulating boxes under the building act was, according to the proposal, contrary to the goal of the amendment. The proposal to exclude boxes from the group of minor constructions was submitted by Barbora Rázga, Patrik Nacher (both ANO), and Jiří Havránek (ODS). According to them, it would be more appropriate to remove the contentious regulation and address any potential regulation in another way.

"The blanket classification of delivery and similar boxes under the building act would be inconceptual, disproportionate, and contrary to the stated goal of the amendment. A more appropriate approach is to maintain the current regime for cases of actual construction interventions and prepare further rules separately, professionally, and in connection with already existing self-regulatory tools,” their proposal states.

The proponents in the amendment noted that instead of easing regulation, the law introduces a new public legal burden for facilities that have not yet been subject to regulation under the building act, which could hinder business and the entry of new competitors to the market. According to the Minister for Regional Development Zuzana Mrázová (ANO), the aim of the amendment is to alleviate the burden on officials, simplify administration, and ease the permitting processes. However, critics argue that the proposed modification of delivery boxes would lead to the opposite effect.

Classifying delivery boxes under the regime of the building act would mean, according to their operators, that clearly defined building procedures and permitting regimes would apply to their placement. Opponents of the proposed amendment, however, point out that delivery boxes are not, in themselves, constructions in the classical sense of the word. In the text of the proposal, the deputies also refer to the current interpretation by the Ministry for Regional Development, according to which: "delivery boxes themselves are neither constructions, products fulfilling the function of a construction, nor devices in the sense of building regulations."

According to them, the building act today only applies in cases where the installation of the box requires a construction intervention – for example, connection to networks, intervention in land, or modifications to the object. Thus, critics argue that the new regulation could extend regulation even to the placement of the boxes, which they consider problematic.

The Association of Towns and Municipalities stated that the change could, in practice, mean greater administration for municipalities and authorities. Building offices, for instance, would have to deal with every complaint about the placement of already installed boxes. The executive director of the association, Radka Vladyková, recently stated that she does not consider regulation through the building act to be appropriate. Government commissioner Hana Landová cited the desire to give municipalities a tool for regulating boxes as the reason for classifying boxes under the law. Last year, a code was created within the Association for Electronic Commerce, which establishes self-regulatory rules for the placement and appearance of boxes.

Currently, there are about 17,000 delivery boxes, and according to the association, their number could increase by 25 to 30 percent to satisfy demand. The largest growth in new box installations occurred in the past two years.