Main Legal Rules Regarding Constructions in Hungary

The granting of the building and other permits regarding construction works belong to the competence  of the local municipality authorities.

According to the main rule of the Construction Act every building activity is bound to administrative permit except those which are enumerated in the Construction Act, e.g

• construction of fence not taller than 1 meter,
• pool under 30 cube-meter,
• garden roof under 20 square-meter etc.

The main legal requirements with regard to the process of construction activities are described in the the following regulations:

• Act LXXVII of 1997 (Construction Act) and its executive decree (37/2007 OTM decree),
• the Governmental Decree 253/1997 on the National Requirements of City-Planning and Construction.

Other relevant legal provisions can be found in the

• OTM Decree 9/2008 on the National Requirements of Fire-protection,
• Act XCIII of 1993 on Labour Protection,
• and other relevant decrees on energy engineering, public utilities (water, sewage, gas, electricity etc.).

Besides the above national acts and decrees the local municipalities have their own regulations regarding construction requirements. The latter are based on the requirements set by the national law but in some respect they can differ from the provisions set by the national rules.

The local construction authorities shall apply both the national and the municipality regulation by considering the request of the building (or other) permit of the client.