CBRE-empirica's vacancy index recorded a historic decline in vacant apartments in Germany at the end of 2022. The vacancy rate fell by around 53,000 units compared to 2021 to 554,000, which corresponds to 2.5% of the total stock. This decline is the largest in the 22-year history of the index. In 2022, immigration from Ukraine had a strong influence on the...

The Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft (BG BAU) is introducing new regulations and services in 2024. These include the 4th hazard tariff, which reorganizes the calculation of contributions by assigning hazard classes to the tariff points. This change affects companies in the prefabricated house construction and prefabricated part manufacturing sectors, which are assigned to other branches of industry. A new reporting portal will also be introduced...

KfW offers subsidies for the installation of climate-friendly heating systems in private residential properties. Interested parties can find out about the requirements and details on the KfW website and register in the customer portal from Thursday, February 1, to apply for funding. From the end of February (probably Tuesday, February 27), owners of single-family homes will be able to apply for...

Untrue allegations made by a tenant in a legal dispute with the landlord can justify an ordinary termination in accordance with Section 573 (1), (2) No. 1 BGB. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) (VIII ZR 147/22). However, this requires a comprehensive case-by-case examination, whereby the relevance and scope of the false statements as well as any previous breaches of contract...

In 2024, luminaires made of various materials such as metal, paper and glass are in vogue. Some of the lights can not only provide light, but also fulfill other functions. For example, there is a table lamp that can charge smartphone batteries. Very eye-catching lights are also in demand. These are available in a spherical shape, sculpture-like or with a...

A joint analysis by immoverkauf24 and ImmoScout24 shows clear regional differences in the supply of age-appropriate apartments in Germany. According to the study, the shortage of such apartments is most pronounced in eastern Germany. This contrasts with federal states such as Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, where there is a wider range of age-appropriate properties for sale....

The GdW Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies points out that a current legal opinion by Prof. Stefan Leupertz sheds light on the possibility of using simpler standards in construction contract law to build more cheaply without compromising the quality of living. According to the GdW, the current strict DIN standards often lead to unnecessarily high construction costs. The report recommends...

From 2024, the Building Energy Act (GEG) will require the use of renewable energies for new heating systems, with hydrogen being considered as a possible alternative to natural gas. Despite the compatibility of hydrogen with existing heating technologies and gas networks, there are currently no heating systems that can be operated exclusively with hydrogen. The energy consultancy of the...

A tenant is not in default of payment if the landlord fails to make agreed donations to pay the rent. This was decided by the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court (AZ: 2 U 115/22). The specific case concerned a non-profit foundation that operated a museum in a rented commercial building. The landlord made a donation with which the charitable foundation paid the rent...

Older property owners are often faced with the question of what to do with their property. A free online lecture entitled "Renting out your property - turning your house into money?" from the consumer advice center now offers help and shows, among other things, different types of property retirement. The presentation covers topics such as selling with usufruct or renting back,...