Germany’s 16 Länder building ministers, together with the Federal Building minister Klara Geywitz, all met up in Stuttgart on the 22nd and 23rd September to discuss the worsening conditions in Germany’s construction and housing market. The conference ended with a “Stuttgart Declaration”, a paper outlining their commitment to finding new ways to get Germany’s housing programme back on track.
The Conference of Building Ministers (BMK) met under the chairmanship of the Baden-Württemberg Minister for State Development and Housing, Nicole Razavi, who opened the gathering by declaring: “We, the federal and state governments, must do everything together to ensure that the motor for housing construction does not run out of steam.”
The new Federal Minister, Klara Geywitz, said: “In the Stuttgart Declaration, the Länder address what they see as the most urgent issues. Many of the demands and positions coincide with the priorities of my House. We both - the federal government and the Länder - want new housing to be created. And we want the housing benefit reform to support those who have to cope with high housing costs on a small budget. The current difficult conditions do not make it any easier for us together. Nevertheless, the federal and state governments are called upon to do their part to get through these difficult times.”
Many of the ministers present covered simi-lar themes in their contributions, while vocally supporting the official coalition government goal of building 400,000 new dwellings annually (now currently a distant dream). A big issue was the easing of regulations for solar installations on roofs, which all are committed to implementing, while there was dissatisfac- tion about the lack of clarity at federal level about energy requirements for buildings, and federal government support for such things a sport facilities and improved housing benefit for those on lower incomes.
Summing up the outcome of the two days- worth of discussions and proposals, the pres- ident of the German Property Federation ZIA, Dr. Andreas Mattner, said he generally welcomed the signals coming from the col- lected ministers, and said the BMK “had rec- ognised the signs of the times”, saying that the triggered investment impulses for privately financedresidentialconstructionaswellasthe halt to further restrictions was exactly what is now needed. The BMK was united in pressing for further construction and tax incentives, and for demanding more support for new building not tied to prices and occupancy through the BEG subsidy scheme, he noted.
Mattner also welcomed the state ministers’ move to boost the installation of solar systems, and removing obstacles to the implementation of “tenant electricity”, long a bugbear. “The fact that the brakes are being released here is a very important step for us on the way to more climate protection,” said Mattner.
