Residential construction regulations to be "liberalised"
ConstructionThe amendments also abolish a number of conditions governing how apartments are arranged.
The regulations allow for a greater housing density for plots in the Śródmieście district, but such changes are still too little to reduce the cost of housing to a level that would allow developers to offer affordable housing in response to the National Housing Programme. One of the reasons for introducing the urban planning and construction code, is to reduce the costs of construction.
“The amendment includes a lot of good changes, such as allowing parking places for the disabled to be placed closer to buildings, and relinquishing rules from communist times that required studio apartments to be designed with a kitchen in a corridor rather than allowing for a kitchenette in the living room. This is a step in the right direction, but we’re not hiding the fact that we were hoping for much greater deregulation. Moreover, a number of regulations are being introduced that, while improving the comfort of residents, will have an adverse effect on the price, such as enlarged underground parking facilities,” says Konrad Płochocki, the general manager of the Polish Association of Developers.
The current proposed amendment (dated May 12th 2017) governs how apartments are placed in urban areas both with or without a local zoning plan. “In the absence of a local plan, developers will be able to refer to the spatial development study. Such regulations are supposed to counter urban sprawl and promote compact development in city centres,” adds Konrad Płochocki.
The changes also allow for a greater number of parking spaces to be developed, with more spaces allowed at a distance of 7m from a window as well as more spaces 3m from a neighbouring plot. In the case of semi detached or terraced housing, the owner will have a parking space underneath the window. Earlier such a solution was in breach of the technical conditions.
From an investor’s perspective I can say that we’re heading in the right direction. Looking at previous projects and how they would have been built under the new regulations, I see a number of benefits. Parking spaces are just one example of this. The height of window and the borders of neighbouring plots is not changing. The placement of car parks will be governed by the same requirements, but the number of parking spaces that the developer will be able to construct outside a building will be increased, "explains Marcin Walewski, the director of housing projects at Bouygues Immobilier Polska and a member of the Polish Association of Developers.
The amendment of the regulations in many ways changes the requirements to reflect the current situation. Apartments will have a minimum area of 25 sqm, without specifying the minimum width of individual rooms. Under the new regulations, you will be able to design a kitchenette within a room for a studio apartment, which up until now has not been possible. In such a situation good ventilation is a prerequisite. If you put a kitchenette to the living room, the entrance hall can be used for extra cupboards or a bike stand. Furthermore, the term ‘kitchen alcove’ has been changed to ‘kitchenette’. The amendment also stipulates that the bathroom will no longer need to include space for a washing machine or a dirty laundry basket, since washing machines are no longer always in the bathroom. “Apartment buyers have ever growing expectations ain regard to quality. Their preferences also change as well as trends in interior design. Client decisions are what actually create the demand for apartments in a given project. That's why developers constantly strive for the right standard and comfort as well as try outdo each other in terms of improving layout. The changes in the amendment are conducive to modern practices, making the layout of rooms more flexible and allowing for a more efficient use of the space in studios," says Marcin Walewski.
However, the current amendments are not the kind of liberalisation that would have allowed for construction costs to be lowered by up to PLN 2,500 sqm, as developers had hoped. If the standards had been divided into optional and mandatory (for safety, hygiene and health and security) developers would have been able to comply with the basic regulations for the ‘Apartment Plus’ programme and offer cheaper housing to less affluent clients and rental housing associations. Such changes might yet be introduced in subsequent amendments to the regulations over the course of their development.
The draft regulations were examined by the Komisj Prawnicza (legal commission) and subsequently published on the 11th of July this year which results from the obligation of all EU Member States to provide information on the preparation of national regulations. As a result, the legislative process has been suspended for three months. If there are no objections from member States or the relevant EU bodies, the project will be signed by the Minister and subsequently announced. After which the new regulations will come into force in 90 days.
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