Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) hopes for a green light for the law on easier and cheaper construction before the turn of the year. Hubig told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that she wants the project decided by the cabinet as soon as possible, ideally in December.
The federal government intends to allow that with the so-called Building Type E, construction can dispense with complex standards legally. This is intended to make new apartments cheaper.
The hearing on the draft law revealed a clear preference for the so-called opt-in option from both the states and various associations. This means that Building Type E would only apply if the parties of a project agreed to it beforehand. Without such an agreement, the existing rules of contract law would apply. The construction industry desires an opt-out approach. According to this, Building Type E would become the new standard. In that case, deviations would have to be agreed upon by the contract partners.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is among the critics of the opt-out solution. The BGH stated in its submission, reported by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, that it represents a “severe” interference with the principle of contract freedom. It said the approach is “in clear contradiction” to consumer protection and must be “strictly rejected.” According to the Ministry of Justice, nine of the federal states support “opt-in” and five support “opt-out”; North Rhine-Westphalia is divided, and Lower Saxony has not decided. Hubig’s office stated that it is “clearly recognizable that the opt-out approach is essentially only demanded by housing associations and the leading associations of the construction and real estate industry.”
The introduction of Building Type E has been debated for more than three years; even the previous government worked on it. Hubig told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, “I also wished we were faster, but there was a kind of battle of faith over this.” She said that it is “about a lot of money in the construction industry-and about consumer rights.” Naturally, “all parties should benefit from the savings in cheap construction, not just the construction companies, but also buyers and tenants,” said the Justice Minister.
