Delay in building type E: The construction industry and politics demand speed

The draft for building type E is intended to make construction faster and cheaper. But the project hangs. Construction Minister Hubertz is dampening expectations. Investors are annoyed.

Berlin. July 7th seemed to be a good day for the real estate and construction industries. At a construction site in Berlin-Neukölln, Federal Construction Minister Verena Hubertz and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (both SPD) said: The draft law for building type E is ready.

The industry has been waiting for a long time for the implementation of the plans, which should make it easier to build but at the same time legally secure. It's about being able to deviate from cost-intensive comfort and equipment standards without this being considered a defect and building owners running the risk of being sued. But more than two months after it was announced, the bill is still stuck in government.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Construction Minister Ina Scharrenbach is calling for speed. “There have been enough announcements, but nothing has reached the pitch so far,” the CDU politician told the Handelsblatt. Last Friday, after the construction ministers' conference of the federal states in Berlin, Scharrenbach said: "We hope that we will receive a draft law from the federal government by the end of the year so that construction has a perspective."

According to Hubertz, the draft law is in early coordination between the Chancellery, the Ministry of Finance and the lead department, the Federal Ministry of Justice. It will then go into departmental coordination and “will then also be made available to the states,” she said at the end of the construction ministers’ conference.

She quickly dampened expectations and pointed out that the timing of the release of draft laws is difficult to predict exactly. It was “a bit like being on the high seas or in court,” she said. You “never know exactly when the topics will receive approval”.

The draft takes into account perspectives from practice and at the same time must be legally compliant, Hubertz continued. That is not trivial. On Monday, the Ministry of Justice repeated a statement that it had already made in August: the draft bill for building type E was ready and was being voted on within the government.

At its cabinet meeting, the federal government promises to lead Germany out of the crisis. But new data from the Pestel Institute shows that growth opportunities are being lost in housing construction.

Construction Minister Scharrenbach pointed out that NRW had significantly lightened the construction regulations. The building regulations have been concentrated on the essentials. Now Berlin has to finally get going, she said.

Essentially, it is about legal certainty and liability in the Civil Code (BGB). “It is crucial that civil law is more closely linked to the level required by building regulations,” said the CDU politician. “What is required under civil law should be owed under building regulations.”

Specifically, according to Scharrenbach, this means: “If a building meets the legal requirements and is safe, a deviation from technical standards that go beyond this must not automatically become a risk under civil law.”

Even today, many building standards are not mandatory. However, they are considered so-called “recognized rules of technology” and are implemented because builders fear that they would otherwise be sued. That should change with building type E. Key points had already been presented last November.

There is now disillusionment in the real estate and construction industry. Dirk Salewski, entrepreneur and president of the Federal Association of Independent Real Estate and Housing Companies (BFW), criticized the lame legislative process. Building type E was a “small glimmer of hope” for reducing the high construction costs, Salewski told the Handelsblatt. Falling interest rates or a quick end to the global crises are not to be expected. It is therefore essential to reduce high construction standards.

The construction and real estate industry sees considerable potential: Building type E could significantly reduce construction costs, by up to 25 percent, estimates the Federal Real Estate Association (BID), which is supported by numerous associations.

The average building costs are currently around 4,500 euros per square meter, which leads to rents of at least 20 euros per square meter. “Building type E can break this vicious circle.”