Building owners who value sustainability should look for test certificates for building materials. The Association of Private Builders (VPB) advises this. Certified recycled concrete, for example, can effectively reduce gravel extraction and carbon dioxide emissions. According to the VPB, builders can also contribute to sustainability if they ensure that as few different and good materials as possible are used.

Owners who buy or inherit a detached or semi-detached house must implement energy standards. The energy advice service of the consumer advice center points this out. The requirements that apply to residential buildings with regard to energy efficiency are regulated in the Building Energy Act (GEG). According to energy advice, the property must meet the requirements of the GEG within two years. So...

Building owners are not obliged to provide building contractors with so-called building contractor insurance. This was recently decided by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Zweibrücken (Ref. 2 O 315/19). In the case in question, a dispute arose between a married couple of builders and a trades company regarding the quality of the construction services provided. The client couple refused...

How can tenants improve their home? What measures can they carry out on their own? When do they need the landlord's consent? The portal "schoener-wohnen.de" looks into these questions. The most important thing to know first: As a rule, tenants are allowed to make superficial changes that can be reversed. However, if the building fabric of the apartment is...

More than one in two Germans (55 percent) dream of owning a vacation home, and around 40 percent have already actively considered buying one. These are the findings of a study conducted by the market research institute Ipsos on behalf of VillaCircle. Almost half of Germans would like to realize their dream of owning a vacation home in Germany or another European...

The real estate associations would like to support the German government in its efforts to build 400,000 new apartments per year, 100,000 of which are publicly subsidized. "The German government is receiving full support in its goal of creating 400,000 new apartments every year during this legislative period. Because the framework conditions have once again deteriorated considerably due to massive...

The BDEW Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industries is calling on those responsible to fill the so-called area tool (flaechentool.de) with life. The purpose of the area tool is to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. According to BDEW, federal, state and local authority properties as well as those of companies can be recorded in the area tool so that project developers can...

Even if a wife has another registration address abroad, this does not preclude her from living in an apartment with her husband in Germany (Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Urt. v. 17.03.2022, 33 C 2294/21 (29)). This was recently decided by the Local Court of Frankfurt am Main. In this case, a husband had died in 2020. The son informed the landlady of this and demanded...

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche (AMK) points out kitchen appliances that combine function and appearance. For example, new branded fully automatic coffee machines not only score points with their appearance, but also offer fast and intuitive operation and prepare a wide range of coffee and milk specialties, optionally with a particularly energy-saving coffee maker.

Landlords in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin and Thuringia in particular will have to expect high CO2 taxes from 2023. This is according to a study by digital real estate manager objego. According to the study, 41.8 percent of residential buildings in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the worst energy efficiency classes G and H in 2021, 38.7 percent in Berlin and 35.5 percent in Thuringia. From 2023, with a...