The establishment and renovation of shopping centers will be
governed by stricter rules according to a new regulation approved
in the summer 2018. The so-called "Plázastop" (in
English: Law on stopping malls) was introduced in 2012 for the
purpose of preventing the spread of shopping malls. The regulation
was originally planned to be in force until the end of 2014,
however, it had been amended only in 2015 when the extension and
establishment of shopping malls exceeding the floor area of 400 sqm
was prohibited.
The new legislation is in force from 13 August 2018, and it
requires commercial real estate owners to obtain a permit from the
competent building authority for any kind of construction work,
even if the modification itself is not subject to a building
permit. The goal is to prevent the transformation of the loading
areas into sales places, or to avoid the significant profile
changes of the real estate itself.
