The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has published draft amendments to the Act on Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (ZIMI) on the E-Democracy portal. The aim of the proposal is to clarify certain points of the law which have not been specified in sufficient detail so far.
The key innovations introduced by the amendment are:
- The scope of the necessary adaptations:
Existing public facilities, the reconstruction of which does not require a building permit, will have to be adapted in such a way as to make accessible to persons with disabilities all services provided in these facilities and intended for the public.
This answers common questions about ensuring accessibility throughout the whole facility, in cases where the whole programme is already accessible and equivalently provided by the accessibility of the ground floor.
- Degree of adaptation needed:
The Minister responsible for the construction of buildings must adopt a by-law setting minimum standards for accessibility for disabled persons to existing buildings in public use.
This will specify the level of technical and architectural requirements necessary to adapt existing buildings to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities, as the same standards have so far been assumed to apply to new buildings.
- Competence of the Building Inspectorate to carry out supervision:
The article of the draft law provides a legal basis for the Building Inspectorate to be able to carry out supervision of the accessibility of existing buildings in public use, even if they are not reconstructed, after the 15-year time limit provided for in Article 38 of the Building and Construction Inspection Act has expired. Until now, there was no legal basis allowing the Building Inspectorate to carry out supervision of buildings that are not being reconstructed or subjected to construction works. However, the amendment extends this competence to all buildings in public use.
- Offence and procedure for failure to adapt facilities:
The Article makes it an offence to fail to adapt an existing facility in public use which, after 12 December 2025, is not adapted by means of construction and technical devices, acoustic and lighting indicators, written information and other appropriate technical adaptations.
The owner or operator of a building or part of a building in public use who has failed to adapt the building is liable for the fine. The person responsible for the offence is also the owner or operator of the building or part of a building in public use. The fine for a legal person is set at between EUR 2,500 and EUR 40,000, and the fine for a person responsible is set at between EUR 250 and EUR 2,500.
Inspectors will have the power to set a time limit within which the obliged person (owner or operator of the facility) must adapt the facility to the needs of disabled persons before imposing a fine. Only after this deadline has expired and the order has not been complied with will the inspector impose a fine. This gives owners and operators of facilities the opportunity to make the necessary adaptations within a reasonable period of time, while at the same time allowing for more effective monitoring of the implementation of the law.
The draft amendment is currently under public consultation and comments will be accepted until 2 April 2025. The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities invites all interested parties to submit their comments and suggestions on the draft law in order to ensure even better and more comprehensive solutions.
Further information and documents, including the text of the draft amendment, are available on the E-Demokracija website.