In view of the housing shortage in large parts of Germany, construction planning and the designation of new building land are to be accelerated. A reform of the Building Code, which Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) pushed through the Federal Cabinet, is intended, among other things, to speed up the construction of new housing, which has been sluggish for years.
Building on your own land should become easier. Tenants should be better protected from displacement. Cities and villages should become greener. Overall, it should be easier to build in denser areas.
More new buildings in the second row
Geywitz called the revised building code “more systematic, efficient and modern”. The “dream of owning your own home” could become more possible for families with the new hinterland development in the garden, i.e. in the second row on the property or on farms. In areas where there is a shortage of housing, it would be easier to add more floors to buildings in the future. Tenants should continue to be protected from conversions into condominiums.
Construction should become faster
More speed is planned for planning and building – for example, a separate development plan should not have to be submitted for housing construction in tight housing markets. Unlike today, development plans would have to be submitted within twelve months of the end of the participation process, and environmental reports would be shorter. In addition, areas are to be unsealed, thus improving heat protection and flood prevention. Music clubs are to have their own usage category: it should be easier to create new club locations in commercial areas – and existing ones should be better maintained.
In the future, land use and development plans will also be published digitally. Geothermal plants should also be able to be built where there is no development plan yet. The legislative process in the Bundestag is to be completed by the end of 2024. It does not require approval in the Bundesrat.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240904-930-223177/1
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