Faster and easier construction: Where is the “building type E”?

At the beginning of July, Berlin-Neukölln: Ministerial visit to a recently completed apartment building that already meets the standards of "building type E". Walls are left with a concrete look, some cable ducts are exposed. No frills, the architects have concentrated on the essentials.

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig from the SPD would like to enshrine construction according to lower standards in contract law and opened her statement in front of cameras and microphones with the words: "The draft law is ready. We have completed it and we are now going into early coordination today and will then present the draft law to the public in the next few days, weeks, at least this month."

Self-imposed deadline was broken

That would have meant: until the end of July. But the minister did not meet the deadline she had set herself. Three months have passed since the on-site visit and the federal government has not presented the draft law on “Building Type E”.

When asked, Eike Hosemann, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, confirmed: The so-called early coordination of the draft within the government is still ongoing. "The fact that it is not yet public shows that there are still very different views on how to make progress with construction." However, they are actively promoting “that we can soon present this draft to the public”.

Ministries apparently disagree

The “different views” that Hosemann speaks of obviously exist between the ministries involved. The Ministry of Justice is run by the SPD - the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which maintains contact with the construction industry, is in the hands of the CDU: "If it were up to us, we would also like to discuss the draft law with states and associations. But at the moment the corresponding votes are still underway."

Such tones are unusual in government press conferences. Normally one ministry does not verbally point at the other. Deputy government spokesman Steffen Meyer doesn't want to go into the exact circumstances: "I'm actually very reluctant to do that because I would then have to report on discussions within the government. I can emphasize once again that 'building type E' is an important topic for us overall and we want to make progress on it overall."

Impatience among the countries

The fact is: the governing parties do not agree on exactly what the law should look like. At its core, the question is likely to be whether “building type E” should become the “new normal” in the world of construction contracts or whether it will become an additional category in contract law. This state of limbo is causing impatience among the countries.

Ina Scharrenbach, Construction Minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, is calling for “building type E” to be speeded up in order to quickly get a new instrument for faster housing construction. The CDU politician said in September at the building ministers' conference in Berlin: "There are delicate plants that we have, with the increasing number of applications to build apartments again, also with the increase in building permits. These now need to be watered well so that a strong tree can grow out of the delicate plants again. In all countries."

Gallows humor in the Ministry of Construction

The Federal Minister of Construction also makes it clear that she is not happy with this situation. Verena Hubertz from the SPD tries to cover up the delay in "Building Type E" at the Building Ministers' Conference with humor:

"It's a bit like being on the high seas or in court: you never know exactly when the topics will be released."

Industry frustrated by delay

The thwarted law is causing frustration in the construction and real estate industry. She sees “Building Type E” as an opportunity for new orders. In an interview with the ARD capital studio, Aygul Özkan speaks of huge potential that is wasting away in the queue.

The managing director of the umbrella association of the real estate industry ZIA wants to wake up the federal government: "All I can say is: the housing crisis does not wait for long legislative processes." You now need speed and pragmatism. “Everything else can no longer be communicated.”

What remains is a contradiction: the federal government is demanding more speed on construction sites, but is missing exactly this in the legislation in this specific case.