Ban On Shopping Malls Until 2015

Parliament has banned the construction of retail units bigger than 300m², whether new-builds or extensions, between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014.

The ban is likely to be challenged by developers at the constitutional court and various EU forums.

The ban will apply to retail units for which pending building permit applications have already been submitted. It will also apply to retail developments with a valid preliminary permit, as their effect (the building authority is usually required to approve any plans principally accepted in the preliminary permit) has been suspended, even though the permit itself will remain valid until 31 December 2014.

Exemptions from the ban may only be granted by the Economy Minister once a committee has evaluated the planned retail development in terms of: