Housing construction: Scholz wants to make construction cheaper and easier | EUROtoday

As of 5:42 p.m | Reading time: 3 minutes

BChancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is pushing for higher situations for the construction of reasonably priced housing in Germany. To obtain this, rules ought to be simplified and standardized “so that we can achieve serial construction and construction becomes even cheaper,” he mentioned on Saturday at an SPD election marketing campaign rally in Nuremberg. In an interview with the German Press Agency, Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) referred to as for a departure from deliberate vitality saving rules for brand spanking new residential buildings and unrenovated older buildings.

Both spoke at a gathering between the federal authorities and the housing business within the Chancellery. On Monday it will likely be about how rapidly and cheaply extra residences could be constructed. The numbers are at present declining due to excessive rates of interest and construction prices. Associations within the construction business referred to as for an assist bundle with tax reduction, fewer guidelines and extra funding. They referred to as for “housing construction momentum” on the weekend.

Scholz mentioned that the assembly ought to focus on “very specific things” about how extra residences could be constructed. Among different issues, extra constructing land is required, which have to be designated within the municipalities. Regarding serial construction, he mentioned that automotive producers don’t approve every mannequin individually in every district, however slightly there’s a common approval. “Why shouldn’t we be able to do this across Germany with the basic construction of houses? That would save considerable costs.” The residences would proceed to be particular person, as would automotive orders.

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Geywitz took vitality saving rules under consideration. “I am against using mandatory minimum efficiency standards for buildings to scare owners of unrenovated houses into having to invest tens of thousands of euros,” mentioned Geywitz, additionally with a view to EU plans.

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A constructing effectivity directive is being mentioned in Brussels that might require enhancements, particularly for homes with the worst vitality values. The Federal Ministry of Economics additionally wants to forestall sure necessities. “We rule out mandatory renovations for individual residential buildings,” the “Spiegel” quoted from an announcement.

“We should first set a good example with public buildings, with our children’s schools, with sports halls, with town halls, fire stations and care facilities,” mentioned Geywitz. “We have already saved quite a lot of CO₂. And if we later discover that there are still too many unrenovated single-family homes, we will certainly have an answer to that.”

Geywitz distances itself from the EH40 vitality saving commonplace

With a view to new buildings, Geywitz clearly distanced himself from the EH40 vitality saving commonplace that the site visitors gentle agreed within the coalition settlement for 2025. “The current categories, the EH40 efficiency standard for example, focus too much on insulation and the required heating heat,” mentioned Geywitz. “We should develop a simple system that promotes energy-efficient construction, the use of environmentally friendly and recycled building materials and space-saving construction. That would be an alternative to EH40.”

Geywitz argued that the definition within the coalition settlement comes from a time with decrease financing and construction prices. “We urgently need to reduce construction costs. The difference in construction costs between the now valid EH55 and EH40 standards can be several hundred euros per square meter.”

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A versatile system is important. “This applies to older buildings, but also to new buildings,” mentioned Geywitz. “Wood and other natural building materials store carbon dioxide for a long time. We need the technical freedom to say: If you store or save a lot of CO₂ when building the house by using recycled materials, then you can be more flexible with regard to energy consumption later in the operating phase.”

With regard to the financing situations, Scholz mentioned: “It’s not the interest rates that are the problem.” The present stage of round 4 p.c is low in contrast, for instance, to the early Nineteen Seventies when it was 9.5 p.c. The downside is that too many residences have been constructed at costs that many can’t afford.