The nature of the catalogue of documents attached to a construction works notification and the obligation to attach a decision on land development conditions – commentary on the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Poznań of 11 January 2021, II SA/Po 683/21

Abstract

The ruling under comment concerns the obligation to attach a decision on development conditions to a notification of construction works. The issue raises two important matters: the obligation to obtain a decision on development conditions for investments that do not require a building permit, and the nature of the list of documents to be attached to a notification. According to the position of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Poznań, developments that do not require a building permit nevertheless require a decision on development conditions if they lead to a change in land use. Furthermore, the obligation to attach such a decision to a notification of construction works follows from the non-exhaustive nature of the catalogue specified in Article 30(2a) of the Construction Law. The commentary adopts a partially critical stance towards the Court’s reasoning. It agrees with the part concerning the obligation to obtain a decision on development conditions for developments that do not require a building permit but result in a change in land use. However, the Court’s position on the open nature of the catalogue of documents to be attached to the notification, based on the argument of the legislator’s inconsistency, was questioned. In this regard, reference was made to linguistic, purposive, and historical interpretation, with particular emphasis on the 2020 amendment to the Construction Law. However, it is pointed out that the competence of the architectural and construction authority to request a decision on development conditions may be derived from the legislator’s express obligation to raise an objection to a notification of an investment that is contrary to such a decision.