56% of German tenants consider their rent to be reasonable, 12% consider it to be low and 7% even consider it to be very low. These are the findings of the "Servicemonitor Wohnen" study conducted by the consultancy firm Analyse & Konzepte immo.consult. Only 18 percent of those surveyed felt their rent was too high and only 7 percent felt it was far too high. Depending on the target group...

The Building Owners' Protection Association (BSB) has commissioned a short study entitled "The ten most common mistakes when building and renovating detached and semi-detached houses with heat pumps (avoid)" from the Institute for Building Research. The study shows what builders of detached and semi-detached houses need to pay particular attention to and how mistakes can be avoided. According to the BSB...

With the interdisciplinary project "MEnergie - Meine Energiewende", the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln) is working with cooperation partners from the education, energy and technology sectors to create greater acceptance for the energy transition in society. Social media as well as virtual and augmented reality will be used for this purpose. "The AR and...

An heir does not necessarily have to move into the family home within six months in order to benefit from an inheritance tax exemption. This has now been decided by the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) (II R 6/21). In this case, the sole heiress of a two-family home with two apartments and land moved into one of the two apartments not six months later, but around one and a half years later....

Which vacation homes in Germany are the most beautiful? The schoener-wohnen.de portal provides interested parties with numerous suggestions and initial information on a possible travel destination in a series of pictures. In addition to the address and a link to the relevant website, travel enthusiasts also receive initial information on the price. The vacation homes offer various special features...

Purchase prices for condominiums are no longer rising as strongly as they did recently. This is according to an analysis by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Purchase prices in Germany's eight largest cities rose by only 7.5 percent compared to the same period last year, which is only half as much as in the previous year. However, there are differences between the cities: while buyers of condominiums...

The "bauen.de" portal provides information on tile types for different living areas. Tiles have to meet different requirements. For example, tiles in the bathroom are exposed to moisture and should also be non-slip. There are even so-called slip resistance classes for this, with R13 offering the greatest possible slip resistance. Private individuals should have at least the...

In view of rising energy prices, the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) is calling not only for a temporary moratorium on layoffs, but also for support for financially overstretched households in the form of a trust fund. However, the GdW emphasizes that this support should not be limited to recipients with housing entitlement certificates...

If landlords modernize a rented apartment, they must make the costs transparent. However, a breakdown of the individual items is not required, as the BGH recently ruled (VIII ZR 337/21, VIII ZR 339/21 and VIII ZR 361/21). In the cases in question, modernization measures had been implemented by landlords in Bremen and had resulted in tenants having to pay...

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche (AMK) knows how owners or tenants can use the niche between the kitchen worktop. There are several design options for the niche, starting with the choice of niche splashback. For example, glass, glass laminate or real wood can be chosen. The niche rear wall can then be fitted with so-called railing or...