High construction costs: industry wants simplified regulations

Housing policy - High construction costs: industry wants simplified regulations

Building has become expensive - Hesse's business community is therefore calling for a simplification of building regulations and less bureaucracy in view of the coalition negotiations between the CDU and SPD. What is needed is "deregulation in construction, rents and housing so that more new homes can be built, so that the housing shortage is alleviated and Hessian companies can find new employees more easily", several industry associations announced in Wiesbaden on Monday. Government cost drivers in housing construction must be reduced and procedures for building permits and development plans must be significantly accelerated. Following the Hessian state elections on October 8, the CDU and SPD are currently negotiating a new government alliance.

Thomas Reimann, President of the Association of Contractors in Hesse, said: "Since 2021, the construction price index in Hesse has risen by almost 25 percent, while building permits have fallen by 30 percent in the same period." With construction interest rates also high, politicians can do little to change the situation - but they can relax regulations in residential construction. "Then new contract rents could also fall again. Rents of 18 euros per square meter are hardly affordable in many places," emphasized Reimann.

Thomas Meyer, Managing Director of an architectural firm in Kassel, insisted, for example, on possible simplifications in fire protection without compromising safety: "Why is a window measuring 0.6 by 1 meter sufficient as a second escape route in Bavaria, while 0.9 by 1.2 meters is prescribed in Hesse? Fire protection regulations should be standardized."

The FDP parliamentary group in the Wiesbaden state parliament proposed the inclusion of a so-called building permit fiction in the Hessian building regulations: "If the authorities do not make a decision on a complete building application within two months, it should be deemed approved."

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1. In the ongoing coalition negotiations between the CDU and SPD in Hesse, the business community is advocating for the simplification of construction regulations to reduce high construction costs and alleviate the housing shortage.
2. Thomas Reimann, President of the Association of Contractors in Hesse, highlighted that while construction price index has increased by 25% since 2021, building permit applications have decreased by 30% in the same period.
3. Proposing a solution, the FDP parliamentary group in Wiesbaden suggested the inclusion of a building permit fiction in Hessian building regulations, stating that if authorities fail to make a decision on a complete application within two months, it should be deemed approved.
4. Discussing potential simplifications, Thomas Meyer, Managing Director of an architectural firm in Kassel, suggested standardizing fire protection regulations across regions, arguing that current size requirements for secondary escape routes are unnecessarily different in Bavaria and Hesse.

Source: www.stern.de