For the exclusion of land for the construction of family homes, it is likely that less will be paid

Prague - Individual builders will probably pay less money for the exclusion of land from the agricultural land fund for the construction of family houses than they have paid so far. This was decided by the Chamber of Deputies when it approved an amendment to the law on the protection of the agricultural land fund. The deputies voted for the amendment in the form recommended by the agricultural committee, which means that the fees will be reduced. Deputies from the TOP 09 and Mayors club, who proposed it, on the other hand, wanted to completely abolish the fees for exclusions when building family houses. The amendment will now go to the Senate.

The proposers pointed out that the fee for exclusion can sometimes exceed the price for the land itself. They therefore wanted that no fee is charged for the exclusion of land where the construction is permitted by the zoning plan. "Although the approved amendment did not meet our expectations, it is a compromise that can save family house builders up to 200,000 crowns," said co-proposer Věra Kovářová (TOP 09 and Mayors) to ČTK. However, she regrets that municipalities will have to pay high amounts for land exclusions for public benefit constructions, which was included in the original parliamentary proposal.

However, the agricultural committee recommended approving the parliamentary amendment in accordance with its comprehensive amendment proposal. According to it, builders will pay a fee determined only by the quality of the land, and the ecological weight of the environment in which the construction is to take place should not be taken into account. According to earlier information from the Ministry of the Environment, people should pay a maximum of 36,000 crowns for the fee for a 200 m² house. The maximum payment per square meter should be 180 crowns. Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec (ANO) stated that this amendment has the full support of his ministry.

The deputies did not approve the proposal of former Minister of Agriculture Petr Bendl (ODS), who wanted the consent for the exclusion of land not to be required for construction in built-up areas for family houses and public benefit constructions, and thus no fees would be established for it. In the developable areas, while consent from the authority would be required for these constructions, the ecological weight of impact would not be used.

The Chamber refused to change the ratio in which revenues from exclusion fees are distributed. This was proposed by Deputy Speaker of the Chamber Petr Gazdík (TOP 09 and Mayors). The state's share was to decrease in favor of municipalities and the State Environmental Fund. The state was to receive only 40 percent instead of 55 percent, municipalities were to improve their share from 30 to 40 percent, and the fund from 15 to 20 percent.