Several provisions of the new Act on Hungarian Architecture ("Architecture Act") entered into force on 1 October 2024, as a result of which the previous Building Act was repealed. The Architecture Act has taken over and supplemented many of the provisions of the previous Building Act, however, also contains a number of new rules.
In connection with the Architecture Act, the following government decrees were published in the Hungarian Gazette:
(a) the Government Decree on the Basic Regulation on Town Planning and Building Requirements, which will enter into force on 1 January 2025 and determines detailed and strict rules for the creation and number of car parks,
(b) the Government Decree on Procedures and Inspections by Building Authorities, a significant part of the provisions of which entered into force on 1 October 2024 and repealed the previous Government Decree in this subject,
(c) Government Decree on Municipal Green Infrastructure, Green Spaces Certificate and Green Trademark, which entered into force on October 2024 and which aims, among others, to create a liveable urban environment, improve the quality of life, increase the resilience of the municipality to climate change, and protect and enhance green spaces and biodiversity,
(d) the Government Decree on Architectural and Town Planning Councils, a significant part of the provisions of which entered into force on 1 October 2024,
(e) and several other decrees which amended other government decrees in the subject of architecture, certain government decrees relating to the entry into force of the Architecture Act and certain government decrees in connection with the land registry. As a result, from 29 September 2024, the Government Decree on the Building Industry Construction Activity has also been significantly amended. For example, it provides for additional provisions in construction contracts in the case of the involvement of the project fund manager (in Hungarian: “fedezetkezeő”), extends and modifies the responsibilities of the builder and the contractor, lists the responsibilities of the design inspector and regulates in detail the liability insurance of the contractor.
By Lidia Suveges, Attorney at law, KCG Partners Law Firm
