HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Attila Ungár and Júlia Várkonyi, Lakatos, Köves & Partners
• buildings with a total usable area exceeding 5,000 square metres; and • newly constructed condominium residential buildings consisting of at least six apartments on a plot with a total usable area of more than 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 desig - nated use of various zones within its administra- tive area. 4.4 Obtaining Entitlements to Develop a New Project Generally, a building permit issued by the com - petent building authority is required in order to start development of a new project, although not all construction activities are subject to a build - ing permit. The development of special facili - ties 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. Third parties affected by the project, including owners of neighbouring properties, will typi - cally be involved by the authority in the permit process. They may submit their comments and will usually have the right to appeal against the decision issuing the permit, thus preventing the developer from starting construction or com - mercial use. Simplified permitting applies to smaller residen - tial buildings (below 300 square metres).
Agricultural land needs to be exempt from agri - cultural use in order to be eligible for develop - ment. The Hungarian government may facilitate investment by passing a decision listing the exact properties and qualifying them as “target - ed investment areas”, or by passing a decree and qualifying the investment as strategic from the Hungarian economy’s perspective (ie, grant - ing VIP status). Such decree focuses primarily on the investment project rather than only on the lands concerned and can define the scope of matters (eg, environmental, building permis - sion, infrastructural) receiving VIP status, decide on shorter procedural deadlines, and designate certain authorities to be competent with regard to that particular project. 4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision Decisions by the building authority may usually be appealed before the competent court. 4.6 Agreements With Local or Governmental Authorities It is specifically permitted by law for developers to enter into development and support agree - ments with the local municipality, typically pro - viding the framework for co-operation between the parties in order to make the necessary changes to local town planning instruments. Such agreements must be approved by the gen - eral assembly of the municipality. Similar agreements may also be concluded with utility suppliers, especially in order to reach a certain capacity. 4.7 Enforcement of Restrictions on Development and Designated Use The competent building authority supervises all construction activities and enforces rules per -
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