Czech building permits at 25-year low amid construction growth

Despite an 14 percent year-on-year increase in Czech construction output in June, coinciding with an ongoing trend of annual growth stretching into its eighth month, the outlook for future building activity appears increasingly constrained .

The Czech Statistical Office reports the value of building permits granted in June dropped by 9.5 percent compared to the same month last year . Broader data further suggests that the overall number of building permits issued in the first half of 2025 is exceptionally low—continuing a decline that saw only 24,260 permits granted in 2024, down 6.7 percent year-on-year—and indicating a sustained shortfall .

A separate analysis confirms this trend: the number of half-yearly building permits—a critical barometer for future construction—reached its lowest level in 25 years, with only 37,208 permits issued in the first half of 2024 . Although this specific figure predates 2025, the ongoing contraction suggests a continued downward trajectory into the current year.

This disconnect between short-term construction volume and permit issuance underscores a troubling dynamic: while current projects are advancing, fewer new ones are being approved. This fall in permitting activity reflects growing bureaucratic challenges—compounded by staff shortages and inefficiencies in newly digitized permitting systems—which threaten to stall future development. Critics argue the current Building Act has failed to deliver the expected administrative streamlining and may instead be obstructing progress.

The construction sector remains vital to the Czech economy, known for its substantial multiplier effect; each koruna invested is estimated to generate triple that impact across the economy. Without a systemic reform—potentially reversing or revising the current legislation to improve digital administration, enforce predictable deadlines, and rebuild capacity—the sector may soon face a downturn, endangering broader economic recovery.

Source: CENTRAL GROUP