From July 1, landlords will no longer be allowed to pass on the monthly fees for a cable TV connection to their tenants. This was previously the case for apartment buildings with a shared cable connection. The reason for the abolition of the so-called "ancillary cost privilege" is an amendment to the Telecommunications Act. Tenants can then choose their own provider. For...

The provision of affordable housing by employers, known as "employee housing", is once again gaining importance in Germany. A recent study by the "RegioKontext" institute shows that companies from various sectors, from craft businesses to large corporations, are becoming increasingly involved in this area. Employee housing could be a...

For many people, buying a home is a financial challenge, particularly because of the high equity requirements. For example, buying a property worth 400,000 euros requires 80,000 euros of equity. In order to help potential buyers, the state offers various subsidies that can be used to save up equity capital or to help with the...

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...