The First Shelters Shouldn't Become Expensive Experiments

New shelter requirements are forcing the construction and real estate sector to quickly solve questions for which there are currently no clear answers: how much shelters actually cost, how to design and use them daily, and who is responsible for ensuring they are functional in case of danger. The purpose of the requirements is to improve people's protection, but their actual impact depends on how these practical problems are solved.

When discussing new shelter requirements, safety is often discussed first and foremost. However, it is equally important to ask how the requirements are implemented in practice. Who is capable of designing the first shelters? How much does their construction actually cost? Can a parking lot or storage room built for shelter purposes, but used for multiple purposes, be put into use as a shelter within 72 hours in a crisis? And who checks that the technical systems completed years ago actually work when they are really needed?

Early resolution of practical risks helps ensure that a shelter does not remain a formal requirement, but actually protects people in a real emergency situation.

Official cost forecasts may not show the full impact

The cost of a shelter does not consist solely of additional floor space. Its construction requires reinforced concrete structures, protective doors, hatches and locks, a ventilation system separate from the building's normal ventilation, filters, backup power, water reserves, toilets, and communication capabilities. The functionality of technical systems must be maintained for 72 hours independently of power cuts.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, a shelter can increase construction costs by approximately two percent, but the real estate sector estimates that the impact can reach five to ten percent or higher when building an underground floor. The actual cost depends on the building, the location of the shelter, and how early the solution is involved in the project.

The impact is not linear. In the case of a smaller building, protective doors, ventilation, backup power, and other fixed costs may account for a proportionally larger part of the project. In the case of a larger development, the same type of infrastructure is distributed over a larger area and number of users.

Indirect impacts must also be considered. Stronger structures mean larger quantities of concrete and reinforcement. Thus, the goal of increasing security can strain the construction sector's efforts to reduce carbon footprint targets.

The most expensive shelter is one added to the project too late

A shelter cannot be treated as a space that can simply be drawn onto a finished project later. Its location affects structures, circulation, ventilation, power supply, and the entire building's spatial program.

For this reason, the architect, structural engineer, and technical systems designer should work through the shelter solution already in the preliminary design phase, because late inclusion results in redesign, schedule delays, and additional costs. The shelter can be built underground, partially underground, on the first floor, or in a separate building up to 250 meters away.

Also, a shelter does not have to be an additional space excluded from everyday use. It can be used, for example, as a parking lot, gymnasium, meeting room, vocational training classroom, technical room, storage, or laundry, as long as its protective function is maintained and the space can be prepared within the required time.

It is precisely in the early design phase that decisions can be made about whether it is more practical to have one large shelter, several smaller shelters, or a joint solution for multiple nearby buildings. These choices can affect both construction costs and the complexity of later management.

Can a parking lot or full warehouse become a shelter in 72 hours?

Multiple use is economically sensible. The building owner does not have to keep an empty space for years that may never be used in a crisis situation. At the same time, the question arises whether normal use and crisis readiness can always be compatible over a long period.

The shelter must be put into use within 72 hours of the government notice being issued. In normal use, this may mean clearing the space, removing unnecessary elements, closing protective doors, and activating ventilation and backup power.

In practice, it must be clear where warehouse goods or vehicles will be moved within 72 hours, who will free up the space, and who will start the generator, check the filters, and close the protective doors even if the usual person responsible is not in the building.

Multiple use is also limited by the shelter's technical requirements. For example, glass doors, suspended ceilings, and other elements that could become dangerous due to vibration or shock wave are not suitable. Textile coverings must be quickly removable, and the protective door must be safely fixed in the open position during normal use.

Therefore, the actual functionality of a shelter depends at least as much on the building's management culture as on the quality of the construction project. A good project won't help if over the years the shelter function is forgotten or the space is used in a way that makes rapid deployment impossible.

Obligations only begin when the shelter is completed

A shelter contains technical systems that ordinary real estate management may not have previously encountered. Among other things, separate ventilation, filters, overpressure achievement, protective doors, hatches, backup power, and fuel reserves must be checked and maintained.

The building owner is responsible for regular inspection, technical maintenance, and the preparation and updating of the shelter plan. However, it is not yet sufficiently clear how inspection will be divided between the local municipality and the Rescue Board, and what the actual capacity of advisory services will be.

This means the shelter must also be included in real estate management contracts. The contract should clearly specify who checks the special systems, documents maintenance, updates the shelter plan, and is responsible for keeping the space deployment-ready. If the division of labor remains unclear, it may become apparent at a critical moment that everyone thought someone else was responsible.

First projects should not be experiments without guidance

One of the largest practical contradictions is that requirements have been established, but practical experience in design and construction is still developing. There are still no widely available standard solutions or unified calculation practices on the market. Therefore, it is difficult for designers to estimate workload and for developers to compare price quotes.

If each first project becomes a separate experiment, both the developer and client bear the risk that solutions will need to be changed during design. The same problem affects the public sector, local authorities, and government agencies that will also start ordering new buildings that comply with the new requirements.

Therefore, the state could support the design and construction of the first shelters through a state pilot program. Pilot projects would enable the development of effective practical solutions that could later be relied upon by designers, builders, developers, and supervisory authorities.

Which buildings are subject to the requirements?

Shelter requirements came into force as an amendment to the Emergency Act on July 1, 2026. On the same date, a regulation also came into force that regulates the construction requirements for shelters, the list of buildings covered by the obligation, the preparation of shelter plans, and the principles for adapting existing buildings' shelter locations.

The requirements apply only if the building permit application has been submitted as of July 1, 2026, and the building's purpose and size meet the parameters listed in the regulation's annex. A shelter must generally be built when constructing a residential, accommodation, catering, office, commercial, service, entertainment, educational, or health care building with at least 1200 square meters of closed net floor space, and an industrial or storage building with at least 1500 square meters.

For existing buildings, instead of a shelter, the possibility of creating a shelter location should be assessed. The protection level of a shelter location is lower than that of a shelter, and the possibilities for its adaptation must be described in the building's shelter plan. Even if no suitable space exists, the plan must explain alternative shelter options and people's behavior in case of danger.

The shelter requirement is a manageable risk if addressed early

The purpose of building shelters is clear and necessary: in a crisis, people must be able to reach a place quickly that protects them from explosions, shock waves, flying objects, and contaminated outside air.

However, successful implementation requires that design, construction, and management issues are not left to the last moment. For the developer, this means checking the shelter obligation already in the planning phase, involving designers from different fields early, and realistically estimating costs and schedules. For the building owner, this means appointing a responsible party, preparing a shelter plan, and adding shelter maintenance to the management contract.

It is particularly important to avoid a situation where a shelter meets the documents at the time of obtaining a building permit but is not actually usable years later. Security is not guaranteed solely by strong walls and proper ventilation. It is also guaranteed by clear responsibility, regular inspection, practiced activities, and people who know what to do in case of danger.