May 2022

Interested parties have until Wednesday, June 8, to decide who will receive the "Blue Compass" public award for exemplary climate adaptation projects. Of the 240 applications received by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), 20 projects have been nominated. The federal "Blue Compass" award is being jointly organized this year for the first time by the...

A ruling by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) on the calculation of wastewater charges in the town of Oer-Erkenschwick now has consequences for the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia. In this case, a property owner had filed a complaint against a wastewater assessment notice for 2017. According to this, he was supposed to pay around 600 euros in wastewater charges. The OVG came to the conclusion that the wastewater notice was unlawful and also...

Several associations are calling on politicians to continue the KfW grant program "Age-Appropriate Conversion" 455-B with a funding volume of at least 150 million euros annually in the 2022 financial year. The associations criticize the fact that "the current government draft for the 2022 federal budget no longer contains any funds for KfW subsidy funding for the age-appropriate conversion of residential buildings and...

How will real estate prices develop in Germany up to 2035? The results are provided by the "Postbank Wohnatlas 2022" study, for which experts from the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) have prepared a purchase price forecast. The study shows that house and apartment owners in almost half of all 401 German districts and independent cities can expect to be able to...

On the "hausberater.de" portal, builders can obtain comprehensive information on various topics such as "Building a house", "Building + modernizing", "Living + furnishing", "Energy + building services", "Property" and "Guide". For house construction, you will find information on construction financing, construction costs and construction planning, among other things. Under the tab Building + Modernizing you will find...

In order to accelerate the heat transition in cities, energy experts from the "Urban Heat Transition" project at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research GmbH (IÖR) recommend a mix of measures: cities should develop spatial heat planning and tap into all sustainable heat potential, such as wastewater heat. They should also expand district heating, create district heating networks and...

Property owners must submit a declaration of assessment between Friday, July 1, 2022, and Monday, October 31, 2022. The reason for this is the property tax reform, which comes into force on January 1, 2025 and will require around 36 million properties to be revalued. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, property owners of residential properties must provide their tax office with information on the location of the...

Anyone looking for a new sofa, wardrobe or table should take family members or friends with them when shopping in a furniture store if possible. The German Furniture Quality Association (DGM) from Fürth advises this. "Almost everyone has loyal advisors who give them security, are honest and accompany them in their everyday lives. They help you to make a good purchasing decision," says...

Single-family homes and condominiums became more expensive in the first quarter of 2022. This is according to the residential barometer on purchase price trends in Germany, which is published regularly by the online platform ImmoSout24. The residential barometer compares the asking prices from the 4th quarter of 2021 with those from the 1st quarter of 2022. Various criteria are applied to the properties...

Builders should plan for ancillary building costs in their project. The portal "bauen.de" points this out and lists the relevant costs. Among other things, ancillary building costs are incurred in relation to the purchase of land, financing and development. However, the costs for the architect, surveying, the building application, insurance and corresponding construction site work...