Generally, not in their original form. Proceedings under the new Building Act require a building proposal and, subsequently, a building design containing the information prescribed by Decree No. 60/2025 Z. z., and the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction takes the view that documentation prepared under the previous legislation cannot be used. The position is different if your application was delivered by 31 March 2025 or you have a valid planning decision under the old Act. Who pays for the revisions is determined primarily by your contract with the architect.
Your architect delivered the plans for your family house in winter 2025, but you did not manage to submit the application to the building authority before 1 April 2025, when the new Building Act (Act No. 25/2025 Z. z.) took effect. The deciding factors are whether your submission was delivered by 31 March 2025 and whether you have a planning decision for the building. If not, the plans must be adapted to the documentation stages required by the new Act. Who pays for the revisions depends on your contract with the architect.
When the old Act still applies
The following quotation is reproduced in its original language:
Doterajšie predpisy v znení účinnom do 31. marca 2025 sa použijú na vybavenie a) podania doručeného príslušnému stavebnému úradu do 31. marca 2025, vrátane ohlásenia stavby, […]
If a planning decision has been issued for the building under the old Act, an application for a building permit submitted after 31 March 2025 will also be dealt with under the old Act, including the associated binding opinions (Section 84(5)). In that case, the design prepared for the building permit can generally be used. However, a planning decision on the siting of a building is valid for 2 years after it becomes final, unless the authority has set a longer period. It does not lapse if you apply for a building permit within that period (Section 40(1) of Act No. 50/1976 Zb.). Time limits that began to run under the old legislation continue to run (Section 84(3) of the new Act). If the building required neither a building permit nor notification, a valid planning decision is treated as a verified design or a verification endorsement for a notification (Section 84(2) of the new Act).
What the new Act requires
Under the new Act, the stages of design documentation are the building proposal, the building design, the building design for notification, and the detailed construction design (Section 9(1)). An application for a decision on a building proposal must include design documentation prepared by an authorised person and a report on consultation on the building proposal (Section 50(2)). The authority verifies the building design on a separate application accompanied by statements of conformity, or at the same time as deciding on the building proposal if both were considered together during consultation (Section 65(2)). The content of the building proposal and building design is prescribed by Annexes No. 15 and 17 to Decree No. 60/2025 Z. z. (Section 6(2) and (4)).
In its frequently asked questions (question 24), the Office for Spatial Planning and Construction of the Slovak Republic states that design documentation prepared under the previous legislation cannot be used in proceedings under the new Act. This need not mean designing the house from scratch. However, the designer must adapt the design to the stages and content required by the new rules. If you have a binding opinion from a consulted authority for the planning proceedings, it may be used in proceedings on the building proposal. In that situation, the Act presumes that the authority has reserved the right to assess the building design (Section 84(17) of the new Act). You should therefore expect to need its statement of conformity when consulting on the building design.
Who pays for the revisions
What matters is the result you agreed with the architect and when the architect delivered the design. For contracts between businesses, the Commercial Code states that work is defective if it does not correspond to the result specified in the contract, and that the contractor is liable for defects present at the time of delivery (Section 560(1) and (2) of Act No. 513/1991 Zb.). If the architect delivered the design before 1 April 2025 as documentation prepared under the legislation then in force and you accepted it, a subsequent change in the law is therefore generally not the architect’s fault. Revisions will then usually constitute a new commission or a variation to the work affecting the price.
The position may differ if the architect delivered the design only after 1 April 2025, although the contract promised documentation suitable for obtaining building approval, or if delivery was late and this prevented the application from being submitted before the change in the law. If you commissioned the design as a private individual and the price was agreed on the basis of a budget, additional work may be charged only if the client approved it in writing or subsequently ordered it in writing (Section 635(1) of Act No. 40/1964 Zb.). You should therefore agree the revisions in writing, including the price, deadline and responsibility for arranging renewed consultation with the consulted authorities.
How we can help
We will assess your contract with the architect to determine whether the revisions fall within the agreed price. We will prepare an amendment listing the stages required by the new Act as part of our design documentation agreement service. The article from an architectural study to a building design explains how the stages follow on from each other. If your architect is late delivering the design, the question designer delays and withdrawal from the contract describes the procedure. We handle proceedings on the building proposal on your behalf as part of our permitting coordination service.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 3 October 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
