October 2022

A gas heater for an apartment is a one-off requirement that the Jobcenter must pay for. This was decided by the Essen Regional Social Court (LSG) (L 19 AS 1736/21). In this case, a tenant had sued because the gas heater in her apartment had broken down after almost 50 years. However, the rental agreement with the landlord stipulated that the rented property did not include the...

The home24.de portal shows you how to create a cozy atmosphere on your balcony with lighting. When purchasing lighting, owners and tenants should make sure that it can withstand various weather conditions. Therefore, higher protection classes against dirt and moisture must be selected. According to the portal, lamps with protection class IP23 are suitable for use...

Apartments with 1.5 rooms for sale and rent are still in demand. This is according to the "IW-Cube Compact Living Report 2022". Purchase prices for these so-called "compact living properties" rose by 12.2% from 2020 to 2021, adjusted for quality. Rents rose by 2.5% in the same period, adjusted for quality. The purchase prices for 1.5-room apartments...

Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed a new way of drying damp walls caused by water damage. FastDry®" is a rectangular insulation board that is attached to the damp wall after water damage. The resulting water vapor passes through the insulation panel with integrated heating wire. According to the company, the heat remains...

Owners or tenants who do not have space for a solar system on the roof can instead equip their balcony or terrace with a so-called plug-in solar device. The energy advice service of the consumer advice center now points this out. These plug-in solar devices are approximately 1.00 x 1.70 meter modules with an output of around 300 watts. To install such a...

Two common ash trees over 100 years old are living up to their name in the town of Andernach. Because of them, an owner is not allowed to build a detached house on his adjacent property. This was recently decided by the Koblenz Administrative Court (1 K 1047/21.KO). The reason for this is that the common ash trees are listed as a natural monument. The Koblenz Administrative Court states: "The...

A guide entitled "Mietkosten im Griff. Nebenkosten, Mieterhöhung, Wohnungsmängel" has now been published by the consumer advice center and the German Tenants' Association. On 192 pages, the guide sheds light on how to save money on various topics such as finding accommodation, rent and cosmetic repairs. For example, the following questions are answered in the guide...

More and more teenagers and young adults are moving away from home more quickly. This is according to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). In 2021, 2.6 out of 8.3 million 15 to 24-year-olds no longer lived at home. This corresponds to 31.2 percent. Ten years earlier, only 27.5 percent had moved out of the parental home at this age. According to the statistics, women are moving...

The Bundesverband Deutscher Fertigbau (BDF) points out the advantages of buying semi-detached houses. The advantages are, for example, the lower construction and land costs and low energy costs compared to single-family homes. The reasons for this are that the construction and land costs are shared by two parties and, according to the BDF, semi-detached houses are built in a particularly energy-saving...

If owners want to renovate their façade, they can also install new doors and windows at the same time. Martin Brandis, energy expert at the consumer advice center, advises this. The reason for this is that heat can be lost through old windows, for example. According to the consumer advice center, the heat loss factor (UW value) of old windows is 3.0 or more and therefore exceeds the legal...