In order to accelerate the heat transition in cities, energy experts from the "Urban Heat Transition" project at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research GmbH (IÖR) recommend a mix of measures: cities should develop spatial heat planning and tap into all sustainable heat potential, such as wastewater heat. They should also expand district heating, create district heating networks and...

Property owners must submit a declaration of assessment between Friday, July 1, 2022, and Monday, October 31, 2022. The reason for this is the property tax reform, which comes into force on January 1, 2025 and will require around 36 million properties to be revalued. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, property owners of residential properties must provide their tax office with information on the location of the...

Anyone looking for a new sofa, wardrobe or table should take family members or friends with them when shopping in a furniture store if possible. The German Furniture Quality Association (DGM) from Fürth advises this. "Almost everyone has loyal advisors who give them security, are honest and accompany them in their everyday lives. They help you to make a good purchasing decision," says...

Single-family homes and condominiums became more expensive in the first quarter of 2022. This is according to the residential barometer on purchase price trends in Germany, which is published regularly by the online platform ImmoSout24. The residential barometer compares the asking prices from the 4th quarter of 2021 with those from the 1st quarter of 2022. Various criteria are applied to the properties...

Builders should plan for ancillary building costs in their project. The portal "bauen.de" points this out and lists the relevant costs. Among other things, ancillary building costs are incurred in relation to the purchase of land, financing and development. However, the costs for the architect, surveying, the building application, insurance and corresponding construction site work...

Since May 1st, newly built houses in Baden-Württemberg must be equipped with solar roofs. The energy advice service of the consumer advice center points this out. Existing properties must be retrofitted from 2023 at the earliest. This so-called solar obligation will then also follow in other federal states. In Berlin and Hamburg, the installation of solar systems will be mandatory from...

In Munich, two tenants have now been ordered by the local court (AG München; file number 474 C 4123/21) to move out of their apartment and hand it over to the new owners. The tenants had lived in a 60 square meter three-room apartment in Maxvorstadt since 2005. When it was to be sold, they refused to allow interested parties to view it. Nevertheless, buyers were found - including...

Hartmann Möbelwerke GmbH from Beelen has launched a furniture podcast that also deals with environmental protection issues. So far, the three episodes "Welcome to the Hartmanns", "Peace is our most important raw material" and "Happy Birthday - 111 years of Möbel Hartmann" are available on Spotify. Among other things, the first episode answers the question of why the...

Owners currently have to pay around 71 times their monthly net household income to buy an apartment of around 100 square meters. Ten years earlier, it was 50 times as much. This is the result of a study by Hüttig & Rompf AG. According to the construction finance broker, the average price per square meter in Germany reached a new record high of EUR 3,958 in 2021. In 2012, the...

Companies or individuals who have created detailed safety solutions, innovative products, concepts for ergonomic working or resource-saving technologies that make working on construction sites and in construction-related services safer have until Monday, August 1, to apply for the 2022 EuroTest Award of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the construction industry (BG Bau). A...