Conference of Building Ministers in Passau: New Impulses for Housing Construction

At the 145th Conference of Building Ministers (BMK) on September 26 and 27 in Passau, the building ministers and senators of the federal states came together to set the course for affordable and sustainable housing in Germany. Under the chairmanship of Bavaria’s Building Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU), housing construction was once again the focus of discussions. The goal was to adopt measures that simplify construction and reduce costs to create urgently needed housing.

Key decisions of the conference:

Cost-reduced construction:

The BMK reaffirmed the need to revise existing regulations to enable more cost-effective construction. This will involve simplifying DIN standards and planning processes. Additionally, the importance of reliable funding programs was emphasized to create incentives for housing construction.

Amendment to the Building Code:

The planned amendment to the Building Code (BauGB) aimed at speeding up planning and reducing bureaucracy received broad support. The BMK urged the federal government to provide municipalities with more tools to make planning processes more efficient.

Serial housing construction:

Another focus was on serial and modular housing construction. The states agreed to standardize type approvals in the model building regulations to promote the construction of modular and system-built homes, thereby reducing construction times and costs.

Funding programs for housing construction:

To ensure sufficient affordable housing, the BMK called on the federal government to provide reliable funding programs and increase the funds for social housing. However, the states rejected an increase in the co-financing share to 50% and instead called for a prompt agreement on administrative arrangements.

Energy efficiency in housing construction:

In terms of energy efficiency, the ministers opposed further tightening of standards for new buildings and existing properties. Instead, the focus should be on reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle of a building.

With these decisions, the Conference of Building Ministers has set important directions to accelerate housing construction in Germany and ensure affordable housing. It is now up to the federal government to implement these measures and create the framework for sustainable housing construction.

Owners' Meetings Soon Fully Possible Online

Owners' meetings can now be held online without the physical presence of apartment owners. A legal amendment passed by the Bundestag in July and now confirmed by the Bundesrat allows condominium owners' associations to decide on purely virtual meetings with a three-quarters majority. This option is valid for three years from the date of the resolution.

However, in-person meetings will remain partially mandatory until the end of 2028: Owners must meet at least once a year unless they unanimously waive this requirement. Violations of this regulation will not lead to the invalidation of decisions made, provided the conditions of the transitional provisions are met. The new rules aim to give owners more flexibility and further promote digitization in the real estate sector.

Heating Costs Ordinance: New Billing Requirements for Heat Pumps Starting in October

As of October 1, 2024, new regulations for heating cost billing in multi-family houses predominantly supplied by heat pumps will come into effect. Previously, landlords were not required to bill heating costs based on consumption if more than 50% of the heat came from a heat pump. This exemption will now be abolished. In the future, heating costs for these buildings must also be billed according to the tenants' actual consumption, as is already the case with gas and oil heating systems.

These adjustments also affect the Operating Costs Ordinance, which has been in effect since January 2024. Landlords must retrofit their properties with appropriate meters by the end of September 2025 to enable accurate consumption measurement. Tenants will have the right to reduce payments in case of violations of these new obligations. The new regulations aim to increase transparency and cost control, and to provide incentives for more efficient energy use.

In addition to the billing requirement, the amendment to the Heating Costs Ordinance includes further changes: all newly installed meters for consumption recording must be remotely readable and interoperable with systems from other providers. By the end of 2026, older, non-remotely readable devices must also be retrofitted to enable digital recording and transmission of consumption data. The ordinance also stipulates that users must be informed of their energy consumption on a monthly basis in the future. These innovations are intended to contribute not only to greater cost transparency but also to more conscious energy use and, in the long term, to reducing energy consumption in residential buildings.