“Scholz aims to make construction cheaper – associations demand ‘housing construction boost.’

WELT

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) insists on better conditions for building affordable housing in Germany. For this, regulations should be simplified and standardized, ‘so that we can achieve serial construction and make building even cheaper,’ he said on Saturday at an SPD campaign rally in Nuremberg. Housing Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) demanded in an interview with the German Press Agency a departure from planned energy-saving regulations for new homes and unsanitized older buildings. Both commented on a meeting between the federal government and the housing industry in the Chancellery.

The focus on Monday is on how more homes can be built quickly and affordably. Currently, the numbers are declining due to high interest rates and construction costs. Construction industry associations demanded a relief package with tax breaks, fewer regulations, and more subsidies. Over the weekend, they called for a ‘housing construction boost.’ Scholz said specific things should be discussed at the meeting, such as how more homes can be built. More building land is needed, which must be designated in the municipalities.

Regarding serial construction, he said, not every model of a car is individually approved in each district, there is a general approval. ‘Why shouldn’t this also work nationwide with the basic structures of houses? That would save significant costs.’ The apartments would remain individual, just like car orders. Geywitz focused on energy-saving regulations. ‘I am against scaring owners of unsanitized houses with mandatory minimum efficiency standards for buildings, making them invest tens of thousands of euros,’ Geywitz said, also referring to EU plans. In Brussels, a building efficiency directive is being discussed, which would demand improvements, especially for houses with the worst energy values.

The Federal Ministry of Economics also wants to prevent certain requirements. ‘We exclude mandatory renovations for individual residential buildings,’ Der Spiegel quoted from a statement. ‘We should lead by example, starting with public buildings, our children’s schools, sports halls, town halls, fire stations, and care facilities,’ said Geywitz. ‘We have already saved a lot of CO2 that way. And if we later find that there are still too many unsanitized single-family houses, we will surely have an answer to that as well.’ Geywitz distances herself from the EH40 energy-saving standard. Regarding new buildings, Geywitz clearly distanced herself from the EH40 energy-saving standard, which the coalition agreement has agreed to for 2025. ‘The current categories, the EH40 efficiency standard, for example, focus too much on insulation and the required heating heat,’ Geywitz said. ‘We should develop a simple system that promotes energy-efficient construction, the use of environmentally friendly and recycled building materials, and space-saving construction. That would be an alternative to EH40.’ The determination in the coalition agreement dates from a time with lower financing and construction costs, Geywitz argued. ‘We urgently need to lower construction costs.

The cost difference between the currently valid EH55 standard and EH40 can be several hundred euros per square meter.’ A flexible system is necessary. ‘This applies to older buildings but also to new construction,’ said Geywitz. ‘Wood and other natural building materials store carbon dioxide for a long time. We need the technical freedom to say: If you store or save a lot of CO2 during the construction of the house by using recycling material, for example, you can be more flexible later in the operating phase regarding energy consumption.’ Regarding financing conditions, Scholz said: ‘Interest rates are not the problem.’ The current level of about four percent is low compared, for example, to the early 1970s when it was 9.5 percent. The problem is that too many apartments have been built at prices that many cannot afford.”

Source: www.welt.de