March 2, 2023 - Hundreds of citizens whose houses were destroyed in the Petrinja earthquake gathered on Wednesday in Sisak at a public forum organized by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property, where State Secretary Domagoj Orlic spoke about self-renovation with an advance payment.
As 24Sata writes, after informing the audience of the most important changes to the Reconstruction Act, State Secretary Orlic spoke in detail about self-renovation, and the changes that unify the conduct of the proceedings, reduce the number of participants in the proceedings and shorten the renovation procedures.
"The biggest advantage of self-renovation is that the applicant, that is, the people who have the right to self-renovation, can choose the architects and contractors themselves, which means that there will be no long-term public procurement, and the process is accelerated," he said.
The request must be submitted to the Ministry of Spatial Planning. Then, after the expert evaluation of the architect, it can be decided in which direction the renovation will go, that is, whether it is a structural or non-structural renovation, or the removal of the old damaged building and the construction of a replacement family house, said the state secretary.
As he explained, before, it was necessary first to make a decision, then an evaluation, and then a decision again, while now a decision is issued immediately after the evaluation. Moreover, when it comes to the payment of funds, there is a possibility of advance payment to the applicant's final account; it is possible to pay during or after the self-renovation process. Another new move was the cancellation of the removal project for detached houses.
Regarding replacement houses, three standard solutions will be applied, 55 square meters, 70 and 85 square meters, with the possibility of building a larger house if the owner wishes, but the state pays only the legal amount. As Orlic said, it is expected that the interest of the construction industry will follow the great interest of citizens in the self-renovation system.
In the end, he noted that all the eligible expenses incurred by citizens would be refunded. He invited citizens interested in self-renovation to contact the reconstruction centers in Petrinja or Sisak.
After the forum, all those interested could check the stage of their requests with the ministry's experts.
There was great interest in the public forum in Petrinja last week, and forums were announced tomorrow in Velika Gorica and on Tuesday, March 7, in Glina.
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