Project: New Building Type E is intended to simplify construction
The "E" is reportedly for "simple" or "experimental" construction. Both are allegedly prevented by the stipulations of public-law building regulations and contract law, according to the Ministry of Justice. One must adhere to "recognized rules of technology" - these are not precisely defined, however, they result from case law. Therefore, only what has proven effective in practice is legally secure.
This results in many non-legal standards being observed during construction, as the builder would otherwise make themselves legally vulnerable. Many of these standards are reportedly "not necessary for decent living conditions and are merely comfort standards," according to the Ministry.
Such comfort standards include minimum requirements for the number of outlets in certain rooms or the standard temperature of 24 degrees for bathrooms. As the Ministry states, this often leads to the addition of a hot water bottle heater for a floor heating system - even though the cost and effort for this may not be in proportion to the actual benefit of the hot water bottle heater.
With the planned legislation reform, it should become easier to "legally dispense with building standards that are not necessary for building safety - and that are not legally binding," as stated in the Ministry. Building costs could be significantly reduced without lowering the legal requirements for building safety.
- The Federal Ministry of Justice is currently working on a new legislation project, aiming to reform the existing Law on Building and Construction.
- The legislation proposal aims to ease the process of 'legally dispensing' non-essential building standards, as per the Federal Ministry of Justice.
- This legislation reform, if passed, could potentially allow for the removal of 'experimental' or 'simple' construction restrictions, as stipulated by the current laws, according to the Ministry of Justice.
- The new legislation, if implemented, could transform the 'building type' for projects, making it simpler and less expensive due to the elimination of non-necessary standards.
- The Federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Justice, is actively working on a law reform project to ensure 'recognized rules of technology' are legally secure and necessary, promoting efficient and cost-effective construction.
