The Lviv District Administrative Court has dismissed a claim brought by the owner of a flat in a building that is an architectural monument of local significance at 15 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street in Lviv. The claimant sought to have orders issued by the Office for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Lviv City Council, requiring the reinstatement of dismantled structures in his home, overturned.
According to the Legal Department of Lviv City Council, during an inspection of the flat, specialists from the Office for the Protection of Cultural Heritage recorded unauthorised remodelling. In particular, load-bearing walls and partitions had been dismantled without any permits, approvals or scientific and design documentation, as required by law for works on listed buildings.
After the violations were identified, the Office for the Protection of Cultural Heritage issued orders to the owner requiring the reinstatement of the dismantled structural elements of the building. The owner challenged these documents in court, but the court found the actions of the cultural heritage protection authority to be lawful. The decision may still be appealed.
The Legal Department emphasises that the court reached an important conclusion: the protected status extends to the entire listed building, including its structural elements — load-bearing walls, floor structures and partitions. The absence of valuable interior decoration in a particular flat does not give the owner the right to alter the building’s structures at will.
Thus, private ownership of a flat in a listed building does not exempt the owner from complying with legislation on the protection of cultural heritage. Any works affecting the structures or appearance of such a building must be carried out only under the permit procedure established by law.
The City Council considers this decision an important confirmation that the owner of a listed property may use their asset, but does not have the right to alter a cultural heritage asset at their own discretion.