No unnecessary regulations
Scholz insists on simplified construction for affordable housing
05.06.2024, 19:25
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In 2023, almost 295,000 new homes will be built in Germany. But Chancellor Scholz does not want to rest on his laurels and is calling for more growth. He already has an idea of how this can be achieved.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to create more affordable housing in Germany by building faster and easier. The aim is to modernize Germany and at the same time create more affordable housing so that cities and villages remain more affordable and livable, as he said at the German Construction Industry Day. Scholz also reiterated that Germany needs 400,000 new homes every year, even if this is a major challenge under normal conditions. In view of the current crises and the explosion in energy and construction costs, it has become more difficult than originally thought to achieve this goal of the federal government, said the Chancellor.
“But because it is so difficult now, we cannot rest on our laurels with the almost 300,000 apartments that we have at least achieved. Instead, we must say: There has to be growth,” he said at the German Construction Industry Day. “We will not stop setting ambitious goals.” With regard to the high prices for apartments, particularly in urban areas, Scholz said that new construction of affordable apartments must be promoted on a large scale. This is also about avoiding unnecessary regulations.
Need for modernization
“I don’t want a situation in Germany where first low-income residents and then increasingly middle-income women and men are literally pushed out of the cities,” said Scholz. The federal government wants to speed up new construction. The coalition will therefore be introducing a comprehensive amendment to the Building Code this year, which will simplify and speed up construction planning and housing construction, among other things, and facilitate the expansion of energy supplies.
Scholz also acknowledged that Germany as a whole needs modernization. It is good news that Germany is growing. “And we are on the way to becoming climate-neutral and remaining a successful and livable industrial country. That is also positive,” said Scholz. But years of managing the status quo are no longer enough to achieve this. What is needed, however, is an expansion of infrastructure, more housing, more speed, more investment and more courage and an attitude of just doing things. The state and the private sector should work together here, said Scholz.