Housing construction is in crisis. Now the budget ruling from Karlsruhe is causing additional concerns. The building ministers of the federal states are primarily calling for the renovation of existing buildings.
In view of the crisis in housing construction, the states are calling on the federal government to provide more incentives for the renovation of buildings. “Renovating, adding floors and converting must definitely be worth it,” said Baden-Württemberg department head Nicole Razavi at the building ministers’ conference in Baden-Baden. Although new buildings are needed, renovations are becoming increasingly climate-friendly.
The conference chairwoman also complained that the situation in the construction and housing industry is more difficult than it has been for decades. Building doesn’t pay off. However, the states did not take up the industry’s demands for uniform building regulations or preferential loans in their position paper.
The construction industry and especially residential construction are in crisis after the boom years. Demand has collapsed because loan interest rates and construction costs have risen sharply.
Karlsruhe ruling could have an impact
In view of the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Climate and Transformation Fund, the states are calling on the federal government to prioritize social housing and urban development funding. Housing construction cannot tolerate any savings, said Razavi. State Secretary Rolf Bösinger from the Federal Ministry of Construction gave the all-clear: these programs are not affected. “There’s no need to worry here.”
Before the meeting, the ministry had already admitted that it could not yet name the exact consequences. Home ownership financing for families (WEF) and climate-friendly new buildings (KFN) are secured at least this year. Almost two billion euros are planned for this in 2023.
It is unclear what will happen next year: 1.1 billion euros were previously budgeted for WEF and KFN. The renovation of sports facilities, the adaptation of cities to climate change and financial aid for municipal heat planning could also be affected. Bösinger did not say when the exact extent will be clear. “Like all federal government institutions, we are currently examining intensively.”
The Federal Constitutional Court had declared the reallocation of loan authorizations of 60 billion euros to the climate and transformation fund to be irregular. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner then called for a greater focus on effective spending. It is still unclear what these are with regard to housing construction.
Association calls for quick implementation
From the point of view of Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz, the most important decision by the states was a change to the model building regulations, which should be implemented in the individual building regulations. In addition to state funding and digitalization, building regulations are the third important lever in the construction of affordable housing, said Geywitz.
At the turn of the year, a new contract between the states and the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) should also ensure a better distinction between minimum requirements and further requirements in building standards.
The Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies called for implementation to be speeded up: “The words must now be followed by actions extremely quickly – especially on the part of the federal government.” Affordable housing construction is in a deep crisis. The association welcomed the decisions, but continues to insist on an interest reduction program.
Source: Stern
