The Federal Building Minister supported the development of the digital building application with federal funds.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin Around 220,000 building permits are issued in Germany every year – mostly still on the basis of a paper application. But that is about to change, because the central platform is ready, on which building applications can be submitted digitally in the future. This was announced by Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) on Monday evening in Berlin.
“More than half of the authorities are expected to use the new system this year,” said Geywitz. This is a “leap forward” to make the building permit process faster and easier. So far, the federal government has made 16.7 million euros available for this.
The plans created on the computer would still be printed out and the applications then carried to the offices “in thick Leitz folders”, explained Geywitz. In the future, builders and their architects will be able to upload documents digitally to the office. “Everything goes faster digitally,” said the SPD politician. In view of rising construction costs, the process is therefore more cost-effective.
851 agencies nationwide
Since building law is a matter for the federal states, there are 851 “lower building control authorities” nationwide to which building applications are submitted. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, there are 218 offices, in Baden-Württemberg 207. They can use the new system for digital applications. The paper version will remain for the time being.
The digital building application is part of the Online Access Act (OZG), which was passed by the Bundestag in August 2017. The aim was to digitize important administrative services, which has so far hardly been successful. The “one-for-all principle” applied in the area of “construction and housing”: one federal state develops solutions that all other federal states can then adopt.
Ten federal states will use the new system.
(Photo: IMAGO/photo booth)
Specifically, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was responsible for the “digital process room” for building applications. “In future, the file will no longer be on the road for months between the building authority, fire brigade, monument protection, road or environmental authority,” explained Christian level (SPD), State Minister for the Interior, Building and Digitization. Client and administration could access the application at the same time.
For example, the clerks can issue status reports, request additional documents, charge fees and finally deliver the notification with an electronic official seal. In the future, semi-automated processing will also take place. An algorithm then checks whether all the necessary documents are available. “Now it’s a matter of rolling out the system and adding more functions,” saidleveel.
Systems developed in parallel
Federal Building Minister Geywitz also referred to positive effects with regard to the shortage of skilled workers: “With digitization, the same number of employees can process more building applications.”
According toleves, ten federal states will use the system. It is currently running nationwide in 149 authorities in pilot operation and in three offices in “real operation”. It is designed to be compatible with different software variants – of which there are “several dozen” in the countries.
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The states that did not use the portal from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had developed their own systems in parallel, saidleve. These are Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hesse and Thuringia.
In Bavaria, for example, the digital building application started in March 2021. According to the State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport, 35 authorities recently took part, and more than 5,000 digital applications have already been submitted. Here, too, the area of application still has to be expanded before the system is available across the board.
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