If passed, new buildings over 1,200 square meters must include a non-public shelter if they are intended for residents, accommodation, catering, education, healthcare or commercial use.

Additionally, public shelters must be established in buildings frequented by large crowds that are 10,000 square meters or bigger.

The change is part of an amendment to the emergencies act. Minister of Interior Lauri Läänemets (SDE) has now sent the draft for approval.

"We are talking about those buildings where people stay permanently - these are residential buildings, these are kindergartens, these are schools, various office buildings, hospitals and so on. The purpose of all this regulation is that we create shelter opportunities for people living in Estonia, if this shelter should be necessary," explained Tuuli Räim, Deputy Chancellor for Rescue and Crisis Preparedness of the Ministry of the Interior.

 Apartments will become more expensive

Academic Jarek Kurnitski, director of TalTech's Institute of Construction and Architecture, said building shelters would raise the price of apartments.

"This means approximately 40-centimeter-thick concrete walls, airtight construction, equipped with activated carbon filters, ventilation, and other necessary features," he listed.

"This measure will inevitably have significant economic impacts, and apartment buyers will end up shouldering the costs. Apartments will simply become more expensive if such a requirement is imposed.

The draft acknowledges that construction prices will rise, but the document emphasizes that the lives saved outweigh the costs.

But Kurnitski said building non-public shelters in this way may take a long time.

"The impact of this measure is actually quite small. Considering current construction volumes, the building stock renews roughly over a 100-year period, with one percent being built new each year. In an ideal scenario, all apartment buildings would have these shelters in place after 100 years. However, this is such a distant future projection that it is likely not worth factoring into current considerations," he explained.

Kurnitski said it would be easier to convert existing spaces into shelters. "It's easy to create places of shelter, for example, in the parking lot under the house, where the windows and the door are simply covered with sandbags if necessary," he said.

The draft also includes a clause relating to this. Additionally, the Rescue Board has been marking up hundreds of shelters in public spaces across the country since 2022.

Following Finland's example

The amendment says the assessment of the additional costs is based on a requirement in force in Finland.

"The long-term experience in Finland shows that the requirement to build a shelter in residential buildings increases construction costs by an average of 1 to 2 percent," the draft says.

The cost added to a 1,200-square-meter apartment building would be approximately €100,000, it estimates.

The Ministry of the Interior believes that, given the current security situation, a shelter could actually encourage sales rather than hold them back.

Räime said the ministry is still looking for ways to make the state responsible for building shelters.

"We are exploring opportunities through various support measures to assist in the creation of shelters and refuge spaces, both once these requirements take effect and even beforehand. The aim is to ensure the establishment of actual shelters and safe spaces," she said.

Räim added various methods are already being used to create them: "For example, under the leadership of the Rescue Board, there have already been examples across Estonia of adapting existing buildings to create shelter spaces, such as converting a basement into a place where people can seek refuge if necessary. There are additional examples of such adaptations as well."

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!