General

56 percent of German tenants consider their rent to be reasonable, 12 percent consider it to be low and 7 percent even consider it to be very low. This is the finding of the "Servicemonitor Wohnen" study conducted by the consulting firm Analyse & Konzepte immo.consult. Only 18 percent of respondents consider their rent to be too high and only 7 percent much too high. Depending on the target group...

The Bauherren-Schutzbund (BSB) has commissioned a short study entitled "The ten most common mistakes in the new construction and renovation of EFH and ZFH with heat pumps (avoid)" from the Institut für Bauforschung. This shows what builders of single-family houses (EFH) and two-family houses (ZFH) must pay particular attention to and how mistakes can be avoided. According to the BSB, the...

Through the interdisciplinary project "MEnergie - Meine Energiewende" (MEnergy - My Energy Transition), Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln), in collaboration with partners from the education, energy and technology sectors, aims to create greater acceptance for the energy transition in society. Among other things, social media as well as virtual and augmented reality will be used for this purpose. "The AR and...

An heir does not necessarily have to move into the family home within six months in order to benefit from an inheritance tax exemption. This has now been decided by the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) (II R 6/21). In the case at hand, the sole heir of a two-family house with two apartments and land did not move into one of the two apartments six months later, but around one and a half years later....

Which vacation homes in Germany are the most beautiful? In a picture series, the portal schoener-wohnen.de provides interested parties with numerous suggestions and initial information about a possible destination in spe. In addition to the address and a link to the corresponding Internet page, travel-hungry people also receive initial information about the price. The vacation homes are waiting with various special features...

Purchase prices for condominiums are no longer rising as strongly as they have recently. This is the result of an analysis by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Purchase prices in Germany's eight largest cities, for example, rose by only 7.5 percent year-on-year, which is only half as much as in the previous year. However, there are differences in terms of cities: While buyers of condominiums...

The portal "bauen.de" provides information about types of tiles for different living areas. In the process, tiles must meet different requirements. For example, tiles in the bathroom are exposed to moisture and should also be slip-resistant. There are even so-called slip resistance classes for this, with R13 offering the greatest possible slip resistance. Private individuals should at least meet the...

In view of rising energy prices, the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) is calling not only for a temporary moratorium on dismissals, but also for support for financially overstretched households in the form of a trust fund. However, the GdW stresses that this support should not be limited solely to recipients with housing entitlement certificates....

If landlords modernize a rented apartment, they must make the costs transparent. However, a breakdown of the individual items is not required, as the Federal Court of Justice recently ruled (VIII ZR 337/21, VIII ZR 339/21 and VIII ZR 361/21). In the cases at hand, modernization measures had been implemented by landlords in Bremen and had resulted in a...

How owners or tenants can use the niche between the kitchen countertop, knows the working group The Modern Kitchen (AMK). There are several design options for the niche, starting with the selection of the niche back panel. For example, glass, glass laminate or real wood can be selected. On the niche back wall can then be so-called railing or...