Real estate new construction funding
Geywitz does not believe that the KfW funds will last until the end of the year
Status: 16.03.2024 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD)
Source: Martin UK Lengemann/WELT
The KfW “Climate-Friendly New Building” program will quickly be used up. Whether it will be increased again like last year is anything but certain. The minister is counting on a rapid ramp-up in social housing construction.
Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) expects that the funds for the KfW “Climate-Friendly New Building” (KFN) program will quickly be used up. “I actually assume that the money for the current KFN program, as is currently being demanded, will not last until the end of the year,” said Geywitz in an interview with WELT AM SONNTAG.
Given the upcoming budget planning, it is uncertain whether the program can be increased again, as was the case last year. “The federal government, and I also have Finance Minister Christian Lindner at my side, is aware of the importance of stable funding programs,” said Geywitz, but qualified: “Increases are of course difficult in the tense budget situation.”
The KFN program for low-interest loans was launched as the traffic light coalition’s most important new construction funding in March 2023 and was increased by 888 million euros to 1.68 billion euros after just a few months. Only 762 million euros are planned for this year.
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In the housing crisis, Geywitz is relying on a rapid ramp-up in social housing construction. “I know that many project developers who can no longer place their planned apartments on the open market due to increased interest rates and prices are now switching to price-controlled housing,” she told the newspaper.
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In North Rhine-Westphalia the number of approvals increased “enormously”, as did Berlin and Rhineland-Palatinate. Because land prices and material costs have now fallen, privately financed housing construction would also get going again: “The first companies are starting to recalculate again and are realizing that new construction can be worthwhile again,” says Geywitz.
In view of the new building directive (Energy Performance Building Directive EPBD) passed by the EU Parliament this week, the minister was satisfied that there would be no “renovation obligation” in the existing building: “I have worked intensively on this in the last few months. It would have been a huge financial and mental burden for the owners.”
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Before the directive is implemented into national law, it must be checked how high the energy consumption of commercial buildings is. The amended EPBD stipulates that primary energy consumption in residential buildings will fall by 16 percent by 2030. The worst 16 percent of non-residential buildings are to be renovated by 2030.
Against the background of growing criticism of the high costs of district heating expansion, Geywitz spoke out against forcing private households to connect to new heating networks. “I will not introduce a legal obligation to join the whole of Germany, even if some people criticize me for it,” said the minister.
“What we need, on the other hand, is transparency in district heating prices. Anyone who is connected to district heating wants to be sure that they only pay for heating their apartment and do not help finance this or that.”