The planned reforms to the German Federal Building Code (BauGB) in the coalition agreement

Some of the coalition agreement's key projects depend on the German Federal Building Code (BauGB). This article presents the reforms. 

In the coalition agreement for the 21st legislative period between the CDU, CSU and SPD, the future governing parties have made strengthening the economy by expanding infrastructure, simplifying and digitising administrative procedures and investing extensively in infrastructure one of the main objectives for this legislative period. According to the text of the agreement, the aim is to accelerate procedures, reduce bureaucratic hurdles and promote housing construction while at the same time maintaining ecological and social standards.

The following changes are planned:

Accelerating planning and approval

The coalition agreement states that a fundamental revision of planning, construction, environmental, procurement and (administrative) procedural law is required to accelerate planning and construction. This endeavour is also to be pursued at the European level. In addition, the following points are to be implemented:

• the introduction of a standardised procedural law for infrastructure projects ("one-for-many");
• the option of multi-coding land: Spatial planning law and the German Federal Building Code (BauGB) are to establish the option of allocating land to different uses to better utilise the different potentials of the same area;
• the realignment of spatial planning law: Spatial planning law is to be arranged more strategically between the federal and state governments and endowed with overriding public interest;
• limiting the need for planning approval procedures: Replacement rebuilds for infrastructure projects that are identical to (identischer Ersatzneubau) or expand on (erweiterter Ersatzneubau) and replacement structures that are built in parallel with (vollseitiger Ersatzbau) the existing structure are to be exempt from the obligation to obtain planning approval; planning permission is to become standard procedure;
• early starts to measures: In the case of major infrastructure projects, an early start to measures to maintain functioning infrastructure should be authorised while the planning process is ongoing.

Building and living

A central aim of the new coalition government with regard to building law is to promote housing construction. This is to be driven forward with new regulations relating to investments, tax relief and the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles.

The plan is to reform the German Federal Building Code (BauGB) in two stages. 

• In the first stage, within the first 100 days of taking office, the intention is to introduce a bill to "turbocharge housing construction" and to ease noise control regulations. At the same time, the provisions on conversion protection (section 250 German Federal Building Code (BauGB)) and the designation of areas with a tight housing market are to be extended by five years.
• In the second step, fundamental reforms are to be implemented to accelerate the construction process. In this context, there are also plans for changes to municipal pre-emptive rights (see below), for relief to minimise barriers in construction and for energy-efficient refurbishment as well as for construction projects by owner-occupiers in protected neighbourhoods. In addition, the Technical Noise Abatement Directive and Technical Air Pollution Control Directive are to be further developed to facilitate the resolution of conflicts of use between residential, commercial and agricultural areas. Finally, Building Type E is also expected to be secured.

In connection with urban development funding, the coalition agreement also states that the integrated urban development concept is to be provided as an instrument of action for local authorities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants by means of state-level legislation.

Changes to municipal pre-emptive rights

The coalition agreement provides for municipal pre-emptive rights to be strengthened in protected neighbourhoods (Milieuschutzgebieten) and in the case of neglected properties. Local authorities have used the municipal pre-emptive right in protected neighbourhoods as a lever to persuade buyers to enter into avoidance agreements, which included bans on conversion, refurbishment and rent increases. A decision by the German Federal Administrative Court in 2021 put a stop to this practice. The existing pre-emptive right currently only applies to neglected properties if they have negative effects on the neighbourhood. It remains to be seen exactly what this strengthening will look like. It is also expected to be made easier for local authorities to purchase such properties at a fair market value and not at the agreed purchase price ("price-limited pre-emptive right"). Finally, circumventing municipal pre-emptive rights through share deals is to be prevented. The Traffic-Light Government had already tried this in 2024. However, the effort was very flawed, as it only addressed the transfer (Einbringung) of the property to the company and not the transfer of the shares itself, leaving numerous follow-up problems unresolved.

Administrative procedural law

The new coalition had also set itself the goal of reducing a wide range of bureaucratic obstacles to accelerate proceedings. This also means that the scope of application of the assumed permission (Genehmigungsfiktion) in administrative procedural law is to be expanded considerably. Previously this type of legal fiction had to be stipulated separately by law (such as in some state building ordinances). The new government plans to make assumed permission the rule and will only not apply it if it is excluded by special legislation and the approval requirement is thus positively stipulated by law.

Promotion of renewable energy under building and planning law

The expansion of renewable energy will also continue to be promoted. This is also reflected in the new coalition's plans for building and planning law. 

Private households in particular are to be more closely incorporated into the promotion of solar energy. In this context, the dual use of areas such as car parks, agricultural land or bodies of water for this purpose should be facilitated.

In the field of wind power expansion, the interim targets of the German Wind Energy Area Requirements Act (WindBG) for 2027 are to remain unchanged, but the area targets for 2032 are to be re-evaluated. In terms of planning law, the new government will continue to focus on the steering effect of wind energy areas and strengthening the existing rights of local authorities to participate in the expansion of wind power. 

Finally, finding locations for energy storage facilities is also to be promoted in particular. Energy storage systems are to be acknowledged as being in the overriding public interest and are also to be considered privileged in the context of privileged renewable energy generation plants. The previous legal situation in planning law stipulated that large-scale outdoor energy storage facilities were only privileged if they demonstrated consideration given to the local area.