One year after the relaxation of urban planning legislation came into force, the real estate industry has drawn a positive interim balance of the so-called Bau-Turbo. The instrument increasingly enables local authorities to move planned construction projects into implementation more swiftly. According to Aygül Özkan, Managing Director of the German Property Federation (ZIA), accelerating planning and approval processes provides noticeable relief for all parties involved in creating housing.
According to the association, the implementation laboratory run by the Federal Ministry of Housing has played a significant part in establishing the framework across municipalities. The format serves federal states and local authorities as an exchange and learning platform, pools practical experience, and supports administrative bodies in applying the new regulatory framework. This dialogue between the federal government, federal states, and municipalities fulfills a long-standing key demand of the ZIA to dismantle existing hurdles in administrative execution.
Land conservation and long-term planning certainty
Beyond procedural timelines, the regulations also have a positive effect on land use. The Bau-Turbo particularly facilitates densification on already sealed sites as well as building additions to existing properties. This allows developers to create housing efficiently and with minimal impact on resources.
In light of experiences to date, the ZIA is calling for the validity of the instrument to be extended beyond 2030. An early removal of the sunset clause is deemed necessary to provide municipalities and developers with the planning certainty required for future developments.
Momentum for Building Type E and the BauGB amendment
The umbrella association is now calling for the political will demonstrated with the Bau-Turbo to be applied to further legislative initiatives. This applies primarily to Building Type E: a significant reduction in construction costs can only be achieved if a simpler baseline standard becomes common building practice. For the upcoming amendment to the German Building Code (BauGB), the ZIA is calling not only for the systematic rollout of digital procedures, but also for clear time limits on administrative planning phases.
For statistical monitoring of market developments, the sector points to the ZIA-BuildMap analysis platform, operated in cooperation with Syte. The platform aggregates official data at the level of districts and independent cities and provides a transparent comparison of key figures on residential building permits and completions.
