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Competences in the construction sector of the Slovak Republic (SR) under the current legislation are exercised at the local level of the state both by institutions of local self-government (municipalities) and state administration (district offices). The building authorities with the authority to decide on building permits are currently the municipalities to which the state has delegated building competences by Act No. 50/1976 Coll. on spatial planning and building regulations, as amended. However, the new construction legislation, effective from 1.4.2024, leads to a retroactive transfer of construction competences from municipalities to the state, to the newly created regional construction authorities. The long-awaited change in the legislation in the field of building regulations is expected to shorten the permitting processes and improve the functioning of building authorities. Municipalities will carry out the spatial planning, but the issuance of decisions on construction will be the responsibility of the state. The research presented in the paper, conducted through guided interviews with municipalities and district authorities in two selected regions of the SR, demonstrated the lack of state preparedness for the operation of the new state policy in the construction sector. We have come to a similar conclusion by theoretical analysis of the opinions of domestic and foreign authors. Optimal functioning of cooperation between state and local authorities would be possible with future legislative adjustments to the redistribution of construction proceedings between state and local self-government.

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This study is focused on principles of rain gardens in landscape architecture and their application in Slovak conditions. Rain gardens can be seen as a part of sustainable design and application of ecological principles in changing natural conditions. The simplicity of a rain garden represents combination of rainwater management and flower planting, which is a strong landscaping element because of the connection between ecology and aesthetics. Plants used in rain gardens help to keep water by the root system and, after that, to transpire it. Another importance of this kind of arrangement is its simplicity and positive impact on creation of a new bio-retentive ecosystem, which is able to safely collect, absorb, filtrate and carry off rain water from paved areas. Many foreign countries have understood their importance and have already implemented them in new projects of public and private spaces. This paper also describes a theoretical planting proposal of a rain garden in a housing estate in the city of Nitra to demonstrate a real application of this technique in Slovak conditions.