HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Attila Ungár and Júlia Várkonyi, Lakatos, Köves & Partners
4. Planning and Zoning 4.1 Planning and Zoning Framework
4.2 Development Process, Challenges and Enforcement Generally, a building permit issued by the competent building authority is required to start development of a new project, although not all construction activities are subject to a building permit. The development of special facilities may require additional permits from other authorities. When a project is finished, an occu - pancy permit is required for the commercial use of the building. Simplified permitting applies to smaller residential buildings (below 300 square metres). Agricultural land needs to be exempt from agricul - tural use to be eligible for development. The Hungar - ian government may facilitate investment by passing a decision listing the exact properties and qualifying them as “targeted investment areas”, or by passing a decree and qualifying the investment as strategic from the Hungarian economy’s perspective (ie, granting VIP status). Such decree focuses primarily on the invest - ment project rather than only on the lands concerned and can define the scope of matters (eg, environmen - tal, building permission, infrastructural) receiving VIP status, decide on shorter procedural deadlines, and designate certain authorities to be competent for that particular project. For town settlement agreements, please see 2.8 Per- mitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law . Similar agreements may also be concluded with utility suppliers, especially in order to reach a certain capacity. Third parties affected by the project, including owners of neighbouring properties, will typically be involved by the authority in the permit process. They may sub - mit their comments and will usually have the right to appeal against the decision issuing the permit, thus preventing the developer from starting construction or commercial use. Decisions by the building authority may usually be appealed before the competent court. The competent building authority supervises all con - struction activities. Several other authorities may also be involved, including the heritage protection authority and the environmental authority. Authorities may apply
Land use, development, design and construction, as well as strategic planning and zoning, are regulated by acts of parliament, government decrees and ordinanc - es of the local municipalities. Government decrees and acts of parliament provide a general framework and apply on a nationwide level, whereas local ordi - nances provide more specific rules that apply only to their administrative areas. The design, appearance and method of the con - struction of buildings and the refurbishment of exist - ing buildings are regulated by several laws, including Government Decree 191/2009 (IX 15), known as the “Construction Code”, and Act C of 2023 on Hungarian Architecture. The competent building authority is generally respon - sible for controlling the development process through the issuance of building permits and occupancy per - mits; however, the consent of several other authorities may be required. National or special agencies deal with projects that require special permitting, such as those involving mining or certain infrastructure. An approval/recommendation by the National Archi - tectural Design Council is required for the architectural plans and technical specifications of the following, among others: • the state’s high-rise construction projects; • buildings with a total usable area exceeding 5,000 square metres; and • one or more residential, holiday or accommoda - tion buildings on a single plot comprising at least six units, where the total usable floor area exceeds 1,500 square metres. The competent land registry is responsible for the qualification of individual parcels of land (such as the qualification of land as agricultural or exempt from agricultural cultivation). Finally, the local municipality is responsible for determining zoning requirements and the designated use of various zones within its administrative area.
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