BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The "housing construction turbo" announced by Federal Construction Minister Verena Hubertz is to be presented to the federal cabinet in the coming weeks. "We will manage that before the summer break," said the SPD politician at the "Real Estate Industry Day" in Berlin. She said she had had a "very good discussion" with Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) about the draft bill the previous day. "I am optimistic."
Hubertz spoke of a "very, very important clause" in the Building Code. "We don't need to spend years drawing up or changing development plans; the municipalities need a sledgehammer." She hopes that the construction industry will make good use of the clause.
"If we look at the housing market and land use in this country, there is real potential if we take a creative approach." Hubertz mentioned adding extra floors and redensification, for example.
In 2024, the number of new homes plummeted
The previous federal government repeatedly failed to meet its target of 400,000 new homes per year. Hubertz announced the "housing construction turbo" shortly after taking office for the first 100 days. Bureaucracy must be reduced, she said in Berlin. "We cannot die in beauty."
Chancellor's Office Chief Thorsten Frei (CDU) emphasized: "We must finally make progress in this area." Above all, planning and approvals should be accelerated. According to Frei, there were still around 5,000 building regulations in 1990. Today, there are 20,000. "Of course, we can regulate things until no one is able to actually build within a reasonable time and at reasonable cost," said Frei.
Last year, the number of new homes in Germany slumped by a good 14 percent. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 251,900 homes were completed – 42,500 fewer than in the previous year and the lowest figure since 2015. The reasons for the prolonged slump in construction are sharp rises in interest rates and construction costs. /wim/DP/stw
