The phone rings and an unknown voice asks, for example: "Guess who it is?". The victim, often an elderly person, makes a guess and the perpetrator slips into the appropriate role, often as a grandson. Using this basis of trust, the supposed grandson tells the victim about a planned house purchase for which a deposit is urgently needed and asks the grandmother or grandfather to...

Ageing smart home devices can pose a threat to security and privacy, especially if they no longer receive updates. This is the key finding of a recent study conducted by Worms University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with the University of Maribor. Over 500 people were surveyed for the study. The aim was to find out which factors influence the decision to use older...

The website of the Sustainable Teaching Buildings Network launched by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) provides information on environmentally friendly approaches to the planning, construction and operation of sustainable school and university buildings. The variety of topics ranges from constructional approaches to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies to...

According to the Association of Private Building Owners (VPB), private building owners should engage their own independent experts on the construction site. For turnkey projects, construction companies often present architects as "your architect". However, the word "your" can be misleading. The planner or architect presented by the construction company is primarily responsible for the obligations towards...

The Efficiency House is a key standard that defines the energy efficiency of residential buildings in comparison to a reference building. Two important key figures play a role here: the total energy requirement of the building and the quality of the thermal insulation. These criteria can be used to assess a building in concrete terms. Particularly worth mentioning is the efficiency house level 40, which...

Landlords must provide their tenants with clear rent increase declarations. They must also provide information on the use of third-party funds. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (AZ: VIII ZR 416/21). In the case in question, a landlord had sent a tenant a declaration of rent increase, but did not refer to the use of third-party funds in this...

According to the German Furniture Quality Association (DGM), box spring systems are also becoming increasingly popular in the living room. Jochen Winning, Managing Director of the DGM, emphasizes that box spring sofas offer the same comfort as their bed-based counterparts. The structure of such a sofa is similar to that of a bed: a spring box as a base, with a cushion on top, possibly supplemented by another mattress.

Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia have the highest rental yields in Germany (Q2/2023). In terms of rental yields for existing apartments, Anhalt-Bitterfeld (Saxony-Anhalt) and Gera (Thuringia) are at the top with 5.4 percent. According to an analysis by ImmoScout24, rental yields in the major metropolitan areas, on the other hand, are between 2 and 3 percent for...

The conversion of basement rooms for residential purposes may require planning permission. This is emphasized by the Association of Private Builders (VPB). This is because it is a so-called change of use if homeowners want to turn their basement storage room into a separate apartment. In most cases, this change requires official approval. The respective state building regulations...

With its climate protection measures to date, Germany is missing its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 compared to 1990. Instead, the country has only achieved a reduction of 63 percent. This means that Germany has a discrepancy of 331 million tons of greenhouse gases compared to the Federal Climate Protection Act. However, there is an opportunity to close this...