On Wednesday afternoon, the Chamber of Deputies gave the green light, by a large majority, to a so-called "ministerial land consolidation".
The measure is designed to prevent individual property owners from blocking the development of entire neighbourhoods through their personal opposition.
The technical tool empowers the Home Affairs Minister, acting in the collective interest, to unblock specific development plans (PAPs) by personally facilitating the exchange of land plots needed for a construction project.
Minister Léon Gloden estimates that he is likely to need to invoke the mechanism for around five projects a year.
In his remarks, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) politician did not hide his regret that it had taken nearly 10 years to bring the measure to fruition, and this at a time when housing is in short supply.
That much was clear, Gloden said. The country needed land for construction, and for that, the ministerial land consolidation aspect was absolutely essential.
As a former mayor, he had had his own experiences with land consolidation.
Relevant departments can review the technical details of the land consolidation process in a comprehensive brochure that sets out the entire procedure.
The opposition, meanwhile, appealed to the majority to make sure that, in practice, more housing could actually be built.
