Building cheaply and protecting the climate at the same time is a challenge for architects and builders. Now this should be rewarded with funding from the federal government.
Anyone who builds small, inexpensive and climate-friendly apartments can expect funding from the federal government in the future. A new program with low-interest loans from the state-owned KfW Bank is scheduled to start on October 1st. This year and next, a total of two billion euros are available to compensate for the difference to the higher market interest rate.
“We not only need more apartments, but also the right apartments,” explained Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD). The new program should encourage the construction of sustainable and affordable housing without using up too much space. At the same time, it should stabilize the construction industry. What is controversial, however, is how targeted the funding is – and whether it actually achieves low rents.
From October, builders and first-time buyers can receive a discounted loan of 100,000 euros per apartment if they meet certain conditions. The interest rate for a loan with a term of 35 years and a fixed interest rate of 10 years is around 2.0 percent to start with. Loans with a 10-year term and a 10-year fixed interest rate are available on October 1st at an interest rate of around 1.0 percent. However, only compact apartments with a simple standard and no luxury furnishings should be funded. This should be achieved by limiting the maximum permissible construction costs. There are also area requirements. A four-room apartment, for example, is only subsidized if it is no larger than 85 square meters. However, the federal government is not allowed to specify the minimum number of people who must live in this apartment. The rents for subsidized apartments may not be limited either.
One of the largest funding programs in housing construction
Another prerequisite is climate-friendly construction – measured in terms of emissions over the entire life cycle of the property, i.e. during construction and use. This can be achieved, for example, through the building materials used, the type of heating, lighting and ventilation. From January there will be bonus funding with higher loans for particularly climate-friendly buildings.
The Ministry of Construction expects that 100,000 to 150,000 apartments or single-family homes can be funded. This makes the new program one of the largest funding programs currently available for housing construction. Builders should also be able to find out whether their construction project is eligible for funding using a calculation program on the Internet.
Source: Stern
