Legal Q&A · 12

Construction & Development — questions and answers.

17 answered questions on a subject we handle every day. Find related services in the catalogue: Construction & Development.

Answered by , Czech and Slovak attorney, admitted to the Slovak and Czech Bars (SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654).

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Questions about Construction & Development

  1. How do defect liability and warranties work under a construction contract? A construction contract between businesses is governed by the Commercial Code. The contractor is liable for defects present at handover. The employer must notify defects without undue delay after discovering them or when they should have been discovered, and within five years of handover for buildings. If a quality warranty is agreed, the warranty period replaces this period. Late notification does not, however, automatically extinguish the rights: the court considers the contractor’s objection, and the Act provides an exception where the contractor knew the cause of the defect.
  2. Can a contractor charge more than the budget for additional works? It depends on how the price is agreed. If it is fixed or set by a budget, more demanding work does not itself change the price. If the contract states that the budget does not guarantee completeness, the contractor may seek a reasonable increase for unforeseeable activities, but must notify them without undue delay or lose the claim. An increase exceeding 10 % allows the employer to withdraw from the contract.
  3. Why are handover and a handover record important on a building project? Handover is important for performance of the works and generally also for the entitlement to payment. The transfer of ownership and risk of damage, however, depends on the contract and the regime under § 542 and § 554 of the Commercial Code; the employer may already own the works during construction. A warranty period is relevant if the contractor has assumed a quality warranty. At either party’s request, a written handover record must be made, recording identified defects and reservations.
  4. How does an agreement to enter into a purchase contract work for flats in a development? In an agreement to enter into a future contract, the parties undertake in writing to conclude a purchase contract by an agreed date and must already agree its essential terms, especially the property and price. If one party fails to conclude it, the other may seek a court decision substituting for that party’s declaration of intent within one year, and also has a right to damages. In development projects, a reservation agreement usually comes first.
  5. As a developer, do I own the copyright in the design documentation? Design documentation is protected by copyright if it constitutes a unique result of creative intellectual activity. A technical document or its designation as design documentation does not in itself attract protection. For a protected design, the author is the designer or architect who created it through their own creative activity. Commissioning a design gives you a licence to use it for the purpose arising from the contract, not unlimited rights. Other uses, particularly building the same design again or having another designer alter it, require a specific agreement; moreover, the author’s economic rights cannot be transferred.
  6. What must a contract transferring a newly built flat contain? A contract transferring ownership of a flat must be written. Under the Flat Ownership Act, it must include in particular a description of the flat and its appurtenances, the co-ownership share in the building’s common parts and facilities and the land, arrangements for land rights, and the acquirer’s declaration of accession to building management. Ownership is acquired only through constitutive registration in the Land Register.
  7. We built a building but the Land Register has not recorded it. What usually went wrong? A document error must be distinguished from a documented change of ownership. Under § 46, the Land Register records the person named in the relevant document unless another public or other document proves a different owner. A difference between the person undertaking the building named in the permit and the current owner therefore does not automatically require correction of the old permit. If the documents contain an actual error or fail to prove ownership, however, they must be corrected or supplemented; disputed ownership may require court proceedings.
  8. The bank requires a building under construction to be registered. How does this work? A building under construction is recorded in connection with the creation, change or termination of a right to it, typically for bank security or a transfer. Under § 46(3), the expert report must clearly establish the structural and functional layout of the first above-ground storey. The relevant permitting document under the new or transitional building-law regime must also be submitted. The building’s initial entry must be distinguished from constitutive registration of a contractual mortgage; waiting for occupancy approval is not itself a prerequisite.
  9. The municipality assigned a building number to a shelter. Does that mean the Land Register will record it? No. Municipalities assign building numbers under their own rules, while the Land Register records buildings under the Cadastral Act; the categories do not coincide. It records buildings attached to the ground by solid foundations, with or without a building number; buildings under construction in connection with the creation, change or termination of rights; and underground structures where they intersect the ground surface. If eligibility is disputed, the Slovak Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority decides.
  10. We are converting a hotel into flats. How is this reflected in the Land Register? Changing the building type updates cadastral data and does not itself change the owner. The initial division of a building into flats and non-residential premises must be distinguished from their sale: if the owner remains unchanged, an owner’s declaration and the relevant building and technical documents may provide the basis for declaratory registration. Acquisition under a construction, internal-construction or extension agreement and the subsequent transfer of a flat, which is entered by constitutive registration, follow a different regime. The number and order of submissions must be determined from the particular documents; there is no general prohibition on submitting the supporting materials together.
  11. We demolished a building. How do we remove it from the title sheet if it is mortgaged? It is not removed automatically. Removing a building is a change to cadastral data made at the owner’s request and supported by evidence, usually a municipal confirmation of demolition and a survey plan. A mortgage terminates when all the assets it covers cease to exist, but its entry is not deleted automatically either. If the loan remains outstanding, the bank will usually require replacement security, so speak to it before demolition, not afterwards.
  12. We want to extend our flat into the loft. Is consent at the owners’ meeting enough? No. If alterations change the size of a flat, non-residential premises or appurtenances at the expense of common parts or facilities, the person carrying out the project must define reciprocal rights and obligations in a contract with the other owners of flats and non-residential premises in the building. The contract and its amendments are registered in the Land Register, supported by documentation showing the area and location of the premises.
  13. An old house has no occupancy approval and is absent from the Land Register. How do I register it? It depends on when it was built. Since 1 April 2024, the law treats a house built before 1 October 1976 as lawful without further requirements. For houses from 1976 to 1989, continuous use for their intended purpose and the owner’s ownership or other right to the land on 1 April 2024 are required. Registration is not automatic: apply with a municipal notice, a survey plan and, for the later buildings, evidence of land rights.
  14. We built without a building permit in the 1990s. Can the building still be legalised? Usually yes. On the owner’s application, the building authority reviews a building erected and used without permission between 1 January 1990 and 31 March 2025 and, if statutory conditions are met, issues a decision with the effects of occupancy approval. Applications are possible only until 31 March 2029, and the conditions are substantive: if they are not proved, the authority orders demolition. It is therefore worth assessing prospects before approaching the authority.
  15. The authority returned our minor-building notification. Can we challenge this? Yes. Returning a notification is not a decision, so an ordinary appeal is unavailable. However, Act No. 25/2025 Z. z. allows the applicant to request a review of the administrative authority’s procedure. The request must reach the appellate authority within 10 working days of delivery of the returned notification and include the notification as originally submitted. If the procedure was incorrect, the notification is returned to the authority with instructions to process it.
  16. We bought a house in a heritage zone. What can we do without involving the heritage authority? Less than people expect, depending on the regime. For a house in a heritage area, a regional heritage authority decision approving the proposed alteration is needed before new construction or alterations, even if the house itself is not a monument. In a buffer zone, a binding opinion is required instead; for a cultural monument, a decision on the restoration proposal is required. The common rule is: obtain the decision on the proposal first, then commission the design.
  17. We built exactly to the employer’s design and the works are defective. Are we liable? Yes, if you failed to warn that the design or instructions were unsuitable although professional care would have revealed this. The defence “we followed the design” is not enough: the Commercial Code exempts a contractor only where it warned the employer, who then insisted in writing on using the items or instructions. Work must be suspended as necessary until the employer decides. A provable warning and the employer’s written insistence are therefore crucial; the site diary is the natural place to record them.

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