On the occasion of a joint on-site meeting in Berlin, attended by Federal Minister of Justice Dr. Stefanie Hubig and Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building Verena Hubertz, representatives of the construction and real estate industry called for the rapid legal anchoring of Building Type E. The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Immobilienwirtschaft Deutschland (BID), the Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten (BDA), the Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie (HDB), and the Zentralverband Deutsches Baugewerbe (ZDB) view Building Type E as a pathway to simple, innovative, and cost-effective construction.
The associations substantiate their demand with an expert opinion from the law firm Franßen & Nusser. This opinion aims to demonstrate the possibility of a quick and legally secure implementation of Building Type E. The initiative seeks to establish a new normal in the construction sector, without compromising safety and health protection and without introducing new types of contracts.
Potential for cost reduction and bureaucratic relief
To achieve this goal, a lean legal regulation is deemed necessary. The focus is on utilising the already established building code standard of the federal states, which is considered safe and sufficient. This is intended to create legal certainty for all project participants and enable the construction of more affordable housing, without introducing additional bureaucracy, new catalogues of standards, or further regulatory systems. The associations presented these proposals to the responsible federal ministers Hubertz and Hubig.
According to the associations, Building Type E holds significant potential for cost reduction. It is assumed that construction costs could be reduced by up to 25 percent. Given the current average construction costs of approximately 4,500 Euro per square metre, which lead to minimum rents of around 20 Euro per square metre, Building Type E could break this cycle. It is intended to allow for a generally legally secure application in both privately financed and subsidised housing construction.
Key demands of the associations
- —Rapid and legally secure legislative anchoring of Building Type E.
- —Utilisation of the existing building code standard of the federal states as a benchmark.
- —Waiver of new bureaucracy and additional catalogues of standards.
- —Application in privately financed and subsidised housing construction.
The joint initiative of the associations signals a consensus within the real estate and construction industry regarding the need to implement structural simplifications within the legal framework. Building Type E is presented as a practical solution to relieve the construction industry and increase the supply of affordable housing in Germany.
