General

The energy efficiency class of a property has a significant impact on its market value. For example, houses with the highest energy efficiency class A+ are on average 25 percent more expensive than those with the lowest energy efficiency class H. This trend is also reflected in apartments: properties with class A+ achieve a premium of 25 percent compared to those with energy efficiency class D.

The Federal Court of Justice recently clarified the obligations to carry out decorative repairs in tenancy agreements (BGH; VIII ZB 43/23). In essence, the issue is that the responsibility for decorative repairs can be effectively transferred from the landlord to the tenant by means of standard contract clauses. However, this presupposes that the apartment is in a renovated condition at the start of the tenancy....

The Bundesverband Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau (BGL) has honored six young talents from the gardening and landscaping sector for their exceptional achievements in training and further education. The award winners are Nadine Kohler (Gartenbau Lang GmbH, VGL Baden-Württemberg), Michael Reindl (Haderstorfer Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau GmbH, VGL Bayern), Natalie Scholz...

The Empirica Institute's "Housing Market Forecast 2024", based on data up to 2045, shows significant demographic changes and their impact on the demand for housing in Germany. Looking ahead to the coming decades, it becomes clear that despite a general population decline, there will be an increased demand for new housing in certain regions. Especially in...

The Association of Towns and Municipalities is calling for the construction of new shelters. The current number of 600 operational public shelters is insufficient, as they only offer protection for around 500,000 people. It is therefore necessary to make disused bunkers usable again and to build new shelters. In view of the changed security situation as a result of the Russian war of aggression against the...

The Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Construction, Klara Geywitz, has emphasized the importance of the vote on the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in the European Parliament. With this decision, Europe is taking a major step towards a more environmentally friendly building sector. The aim is to reduce primary energy consumption in existing residential buildings and thus achieve a...

The Berlin I Regional Court has ordered the confiscation of a property and other assets (case reference: 502 KLs 27/21). The basis for this was the suspicion of money laundering against the owner of the property, among others. The Berlin public prosecutor's office had suspected the accused of having invested illegally acquired funds in real estate in order to conceal their origin. Despite...

Whether outdoor chairs with sophisticated wickerwork, rustproof outdoor chairs made of aliminium or outdoor chairs in wicker form - according to the portal "schoener-wohnen.de", different variants are in vogue for the 2024 season.In addition to outdoor chairs, outdoor sofas, lounge chairs with thick cushions and lounge furniture with teak panels are also in vogue and can be used for cozy hours on the balcony.

The new study "Added cost efficiency of alternative Zero Emission Building (ZEB) definitions" by Prof. Dr. Nikolas Müller from EBS University in Oestrich-Winkel shows, according to the German Housing Industry Association GdW, that in order to achieve the climate targets in the residential building sector, "it is important that measures with the best cost-benefit ratio are made possible across the board...

The Technical University of Braunschweig (TU Braunschweig) is researching innovative ways to reuse waste wood in the construction industry. The aim of this research is to reduce wood consumption and make wooden components recyclable. The "Recycling for Future" and "Recycling for Reuse" projects aim to show how wood can be efficiently kept in the material cycle. Every year in...