The procedure for requesting an exemption from the current ban on building retail units bigger than 300m2 (whether new-builds or extensions) has now been announced.  

This ban was reported in our Law-Now dated 22 December 2011 and runs in Hungary throughout 2012, 2013 and 2014. 

Applications for an exemption must be submitted to a committee comprising: 

  • three people appointed by the Economy Minister (one as chairman)
  • one person appointed by the Minister of Rural Development
  • one person appointed by the Minister of Environment Protection

The Economy Minister may grant an exemption for a particular development once the committee has evaluated the application according to: 

  • the impact of the relevant retail units on the environment and rural development
  • the sustainability impact of existing retail units and local markets nearby on the environment, rural development, local living conditions and the planned retail units themselves.

Applications must include specified information (as set out in annexes to the decree). This includes a detailed impact study (under annex 2) for retail units larger than 5000 m2.

Law: Government Decree No. 367/2011 (XII. 30.) on the operation of the Committee in connection with the construction of the retail units and the content of the request for exemption

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 06/03/2012.