A buyer cannot always demand a refund of the purchase price from the seller if it later transpires that there is no building permit for the property (AZ: 6 U 210/22). This was recently decided by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (OLG). The buyer had purchased an apartment in Frankfurt's Nordend district for 330,000 euros. However, the purchase contract contained an exclusion of liability for material defects...

Which floor covering is the right one for your apartment or house? It depends not only on the room in which it is laid, but also on personal requirements and appearance. In a series of pictures, the portal "schoener-wohnen.de" shows various floor coverings and also breaks down the advantages and disadvantages of the different variants. Parquet flooring, for example, is considered...

Mainz has maintained its position as the most dynamic city in Germany in the current 2023 city ranking (1st place) and has therefore developed the best over the past five years. Berlin and Leipzig are in 2nd and 3rd place in the dynamic ranking, while Munich has made it to 1st place in the level ranking, which reflects the economic strength of the cities. Mainz is in 2nd place in this ranking, Stuttgart in 3rd...

The Bauherren-Schutzbund (BSB) warns of a significant decline in interest in property modernization among private owners. A recent BSB survey shows that only a third of owners of older properties are planning energy modernization measures. Worryingly, 61 percent of those surveyed had no plans whatsoever to modernize their...

The "Silgentas" research project, led by legal IT specialist Frederik Möllers from Saarland University, focuses on improving IT security in residential areas with smart home systems. These systems offer considerable advantages. For example, they can increase comfort and energy efficiency by adjusting the heating and lighting settings to suit the...

A Porsche Coupé 911 driver wants to drive out of the underground parking garage of a residential complex. She opens the door with a sensor key and drives off. The garage door closes unexpectedly, crashes onto the roof of her car and damages it. Because the garage door was open and hit her car as she was driving out, she believes that the company breached its duty to maintain road safety.

More and more people aged 65 and over are living in private households in Germany. According to a report by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), at least one person in this age group lived in around 13 million households in 2022. This corresponds to 32 percent of all households. Twenty years ago, only 29% of households had at least one person aged 65 or over. Over...

According to the real estate price index (GREIX), residential real estate prices in Germany are set to fall significantly in the third quarter of 2023. This trend can be seen in all residential segments, with regional differences. Prices remained relatively stable in the major cities of Cologne and Berlin in particular, while in other regions prices fell significantly in some...

The danger of asbestos in the construction industry continues to pose a serious threat to health. This is shown by figures provided by Dipl.-Ing. Martin Kessel, an expert from the VDI Society "Construction and Building Technology". According to official figures, around 1,600 people die every year in Germany as a result of exposure to asbestos. However, the expert assumes that there are even around...

The use of heat pumps to heat water in new and existing buildings is becoming increasingly important. They represent a sustainable solution that uses renewable energies. The domestic hot water or hot water heat pump, a form of hybrid heating, can be particularly useful in existing buildings. The energy advice service of the consumer advice center points this out. For...