General

Homeowners who own an existing property whose energy certificate is ten years old or older in May 2021 must have it checked and, if necessary, renewed. If the property is to be sold, leased or re-rented, the new requirements must be met. The legal basis for the guidelines is provided by the Building Energy Act (GEG), which came into force on November...

If tenants receive a statement of operating costs, they have a right to inspect it. Pursuant to Section 259 (1) of the German Civil Code, the tenant is entitled to inspect the receipts. The landlord is obliged to submit invoices and payment receipts to the tenant for inspection. In the case at hand (AZ VIII ZR 118/19), tenants of a rented apartment were requested to make an additional operating cost payment of 1,262...

To ensure that a utility room remains a storage miracle, it requires good planning and organization. With a good layout and the right furniture, food, cleaning products, household appliances and all things that should not be in the hallway or kitchen, can be sorted and stored. Depending on the size and shape of the utility room, different design options come...

In January 2021, the German Institute of Urban Affairs (DIU) issued a special publication on the topic of "Active land policy: the foundation of urban development". Against the backdrop of land scarcity and ever-increasing land prices, cities and municipalities see themselves as having a responsibility to pursue a more active land policy. The study is a joint project between the...

Homeowners who want to do paving work on their property themselves can get good results with a little skill. Whether the paving is a courtyard entrance to the garage or a walkway to the house, one of the basic tasks in paving is to compact the subgrade. This is because if paving stones are placed on an insufficiently compacted...

In order to build energy-efficiently, legal requirements from the Building Energy Act (GEG) must be met. These relate, among other things, to thermal insulation as well as power generation and supply. These aspects and methods are specified in a construction engineering concept, as are the type of heating and information on the energy requirements of a house. Basically, there are three different...

The German Real Estate Association (IVD) provides helpful information on its website on how to deduct the costs of using rooms in the apartment or house as a study. This is because the Corona crisis is accompanied by changes in the world of work: there is a shift of the workroom to the home office. Therefore, according to Section 4 (5) Sentence 1...

When it comes to furnishing a Tiny House, intelligent space planning is required. After all, as much storage space as possible must be created in a small space without compromising the quality of living. Multifunctional furniture is not only practical, but usually looks good too. When it comes to visually creating more space, owners of a mobile home have different...

The fact that city centers need new concepts to remain vibrant in the future was already apparent before the Corona pandemic. However, the trend toward an increasing number of store deaths and the growth of online retail is accelerating the decline of city centers. To counteract structural change in such a way that city centers remain attractive for citizens and are used multifunctionally, the...

With the "Guide to the renovation of a half-timbered house", the Association of Private Builders (VPB) would like to inform owners or prospective buyers of a half-timbered house about the special features of the property. Because a half-timbered house requires special care. For the necessary preservation and reorganization work different regulations apply than with new building and inventory real estates. Owners have...