Transforming old furniture into new pieces of jewelry is a trend that is also good for the environment. According to the blog "Comfort Works", upcycling can involve giving furniture a fresh coat of paint, giving it a new upholstery or replacing certain parts. For those with a knack for craftsmanship, it can even mean taking old furniture completely apart and...

Many tenants in Germany are now focusing on sustainability, future-proof infrastructure and transparency on the part of landlords, particularly with regard to ancillary costs. This is the result of a recent study commissioned by Aareal Bank. One of the main problems from a tenant's point of view is the lack of openness and transparency on the part of landlords, particularly in the area of service charge billing....

A flood devastated large areas of Bavaria in 2013, including the Fischerdorf district of Deggendorf, where the water rose up to four meters high. Two weeks after the disaster, more than 500 victims met in the Deggendorf town hall, most of them from Fischerdorf. The residents, still exhausted from the disaster, shared harrowing stories of flooded streets,...

Plants operated by citizen energy companies receive remuneration for feeding electricity into the public grid without a tendering process. In addition, subsidies of up to 200,000 euros can be claimed for the planning of wind turbines. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) points this out in the brochure "Renewable energies for your...

If a property belongs to a third party and is used to promote the unconstitutional activities of an association, it can only be seized and confiscated if it can be proven that the third party acted with intent. In particular, the third party must have the intention of supporting the association's prohibited activities by transferring its property to the association. This was recently decided by the...

A sustainable garden is not a Herculean task. According to the "brigitte.de" portal, there are simple strategies that garden lovers can use to design their personal green oasis in an environmentally conscious way. One of these strategies is to use water consciously. Instead of wasting expensively purified tap water, the use of rainwater from a rain barrel can be a sustainable way of...

In the event of a hypothetical zombie apocalypse, the Eifel district of Bitburg-Prüm is the safest place in Germany, according to a study by the portal "rentola.de". For example, it scores points for the number of supplies it has, such as food, fuel and medicine. The districts of Freyung-Grafenau and Vulkaneifel ranked second and third in the safest places in Germany. The districts can boast...

The consumer protection association Wohnen im Eigentum (WiE) has once again criticized the plans of the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) to require a 3/4 majority to hold online owners' meetings. This would undermine owners' rights. Despite headwinds, the BMJ has presented a draft that is intended to facilitate such purely digital meetings. The planned changes stipulate that...

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has reacted to the European Commission's draft law on the implementation of a right to repair and rejects its current form. The draft, which envisages an obligation for manufacturers to repair products, would also restrict the consumer's right to choose in the event of a defective product. According to the European proposals...

The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has clarified that the tax relief under Section 35a of the Income Tax Act does not apply to a home emergency call system without direct emergency assistance (case reference: VI R7/21). The case in question involved a home emergency call system that only provides a 24-hour connection to a service center. The plaintiff had installed a corresponding home emergency call system in her home....