Klara Geywitz is facing major challenges

Why are prices rising?

Rare building land, climate protection requirements, a lack of skilled workers, but also supplies of raw materials and building materials are increasingly becoming a burden. “The supply chains are permanently disrupted due to the corona pandemic,” says the Hessian building contractor Thomas Reimann, head of Alea Hoch- und Industriebau AG. This year the prices for condominiums would increase further, by at least ten percent.

In addition, it takes a longer lead time to be able to implement a project. “In the past four weeks was enough,” says Reimann. “Today, orders have to be placed four to five months before the start of a project. Only then can it be guaranteed that the required material is available. “

Is it still possible to build affordable?

It’s getting harder and harder. Especially with a view to climate change, the economy is likely to face a wealth of requirements in the next few years, although companies are already complaining about an excessive amount of bureaucracy. The traffic light coalition should not lose sight of its goal of creating enough affordable living space, says Reimann. “My appeal to the government is to think about less bureaucracy and regulations in the construction and real estate industries. The building regulations should finally be cleared out. “

Will having your own building ministry help?

Experts hope that the newly created ministry will bring more attention to housing than if it had remained an appendage of another ministry. But there is also criticism of the ministry’s design.

Civil engineer and professor Lamia Messari-Becker says: “More climate protection in the building sector is one of the main challenges for the next few years.” The fact that the building energy sector will now remain in the Ministry of Economics and not be transferred to the Ministry of Construction will require extremely good coordination between the two houses.

Is Klara Geywitz (SPD) the right person to head the building ministry?

The new building minister has no particular expertise in this area. She is considered a confidante of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who sees building and living as a top priority and needs a person at the head of the ministry whom he can rely on.

Geywitz herself says that she accompanied the topic as a city councilor in Potsdam, and also as a member of the supervisory board of the municipal construction and housing holding Pro Potsdam. She knows exactly “what challenge it is to build quickly and cheaply”, she told the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” after her appointment.

Are 400,000 new homes a year realistic?

Minister Geywitz is optimistic: “In Germany, 800,000 apartments have been approved but not yet built,” said the SPD politician in mid-December. A dialogue with the construction and housing industry is intended to ensure a new start.

Axel Gedaschko, President of the Central Association of the Housing Industry GdW, is skeptical. The goal of 375,000 apartments a year had already been missed in the last legislative period. Messari-Becker also has doubts: “If decisions are made in a house other than the building ministry that make building more expensive, then the goal will hardly be able to be achieved.”

Entrepreneur Reimann is also critical of the goal: “I observe with concern that many private investors no longer place orders to build an apartment, but only plan them until the building permit is obtained.” The reason: uncertainties about upcoming requirements.

What emergency measures should the government take?

The open question is whether landlords will have to bear at least part of the additional costs caused by the CO2 price. By the middle of the year, the traffic light government wants to achieve “a fair division of the CO2 price to be paid in addition to the heating costs between the landlords on the one hand and tenants on the other,” says the coalition agreement.

A “step model according to building energy classes” is to be introduced. If this does not succeed in terms of time, the additional costs for the landlord and tenant should be split in half. The GdW wants to prevent this: A flat 50 percent division “is unfair, has no incentive effect and massively restricts the investment ability of the housing company”.

What plans does the building minister have?

Geywitz has announced that he wants to expand serial housing construction with standardized building types. Working with prefabricated components increases speed, makes you less dependent on the weather and reduces construction noise.

In addition, the SPD politician wants to promote the rental purchase model, in which citizens without sufficient equity can use their rental payments to buy state-subsidized apartments. She wants to talk to the federal states about making real estate transfer tax more flexible.

More apartments means more building land. Is that available?

There has been a conflict of objectives here for years. The land consumption for settlement and transport purposes should rather decrease. So building land remains scarce – and therefore expensive. For a long time, experts have been calling for more projects to be carried out, especially in inner-city areas. However, this also means that blockades must be overcome, for example through noise protection requirements or hesitant cities.

How will the building sector become climate neutral?

The climate neutrality of the building sector is a huge task. The sector accounts for almost a sixth of German greenhouse gas emissions. Above all, the many existing buildings with poor energy efficiency values ​​are making a difference. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, new buildings are less important than renovation of existing buildings.

It cannot just be about insulating facades and replacing windows in order to increase energy efficiency. Above all, it also requires the use of renewable energies for heat supply. Experts are calling for the focus to be less on individual buildings and more on finding district solutions.

GdW President Gedaschko says: “The exciting question will be: Which systems are suitable for supplying buildings with heat without fossil fuels?” This will not be possible with electricity alone.

That means: The use of heat pumps, which have to work even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, is not enough. The housing industry is therefore also relying on the use of hydrogen in residential buildings in the future. However, this also requires nationwide municipal heating planning – which the coalition agreement promises.

Are there enough skilled workers?

The German construction industry has increased its workforce significantly in recent years. “What is asked of us today, we can do,” says entrepreneur Reimann. However, there is “a not inconsiderable shortage of skilled workers” in the finishing trades. Basically, the smaller the company or the project, the more difficult it is to provide skilled workers.

GdW President Gedaschko is more skeptical: 100,000 additional apartments mean a third more craftsmen. In addition, there would be renovations in the old buildings with high energy efficiency requirements, which would tie up massive capacities: “That won’t work.”

For Gedaschko, the solution lies in serial, often robot-assisted production. This also makes it easier to get a grip on the problem of increasing academization in the industry.

What burdens will tenants and owners have to face?

The burdens for tenants and owners are currently hardly quantifiable. However, the government must be careful that the housing costs do not rise to astronomical heights because of the necessary renovations. Funding is under discussion to cushion the costs. The coalition agreement, however, remains vague: “We will further develop and reallocate the funding programs according to the goals and needs.”

The coalition agreement promises a strengthening of the housing allowance, the introduction of a climate component and a “one-off increased heating cost subsidy”. In addition, the federal government wants to continue financial support for social housing and increase funds.

How expensive is it all?

The coalition agreement lists several times higher expenditures in the chapter on building and living. The housing industry speaks of a total of around ten billion euros annually – not including energy subsidies. “Can the federal government provide this amount?” Asks GdW boss Gedaschko. “This shows how seriously the alliance understands the subject.”

More: EU draft law: How to make buildings climate neutral