In light of high construction costs in Germany, the Federal Government is seeking tools to accelerate building projects and dismantle financial hurdles. Against this background, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection has presented a draft bill that introduces a new civil-law contract type known as Building Type E. However, nationwide consumer protection association Wohnen im Eigentum has expressed significant reservations about the initiative, seeing it as a threat to established consumer rights.
In the association's assessment, the draft fails to address the actual causes of cost increases. It is already possible under existing law to deviate from customary building standards. However, the contractor is currently obliged to inform clients about specific modifications and their impact on safety, fitness for purpose, and living comfort. Dr Sandra von Möller, a member of the executive board of Wohnen im Eigentum, criticises the fact that a generic reference to a deviation could suffice in future, without properly informing clients about the ramifications for maintenance, future use, or resale value.
Regional fragmentation and risks to capital preservation
The association takes a particularly critical view of the intention to align minimum civil-law requirements with public building regulations and to leave the definition of these baseline thresholds to the federal states via statutory orders. According to Sandra von Möller, this risks creating diverging standards across federal states as well as considerable legal uncertainty for buyers, who would scarcely be able to foresee which requirements apply to their specific building project.
Furthermore, the draft bill lacks legally robust provisions on how lowered standards are to be handled during a subsequent resale or letting of the property. Because construction quality fundamentally determines long-term commercial value, ambiguous guidelines could give rise to warranty claims by secondary purchasers or to rent reductions, shifting risks entirely onto private owners.
Rejection of extension to default statutory cases
While the envisaged model of explicit agreement, the so-called opt-in, already poses clear risks in the association's view, Wohnen im Eigentum strictly opposes any regulation establishing this as the default statutory standard via an opt-out. If consumers were required to actively object to a reduction in quality, the statutory model would shift fundamentally to the detriment of commissioning clients.
- —Retention of detailed disclosure requirements when departing from customary quality levels
- —Avoidance of federal legal uncertainties resulting from state-specific minimum standards
- —Clarification of civil liability upon resale and letting
- —Focus on reducing bureaucracy and digitalising planning approval procedures rather than lowering standards
The association calls on legislators to curb construction costs by dismantling bureaucratic obstacles, accelerating planning and approval processes, and increasing digitalisation. Affordable housing requires leaner procedures, but not the surrender of essential rights of private building owners.
