With the “construction turbo” Chancellor Scholz wants to create urgently needed living space. But one of the coalition partners is opposing the project, which is going to the Bundestag today: The Greens fear false incentives.
As is well known, the federal government has a way with pithy terms for laws and projects. For example, she calls Section 246e of the Building Code “Bau-Turbo”. In the sense of: We are now tackling the housing crisis particularly quickly.
Just over a year ago, it was Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself who announced this program at a top meeting of the construction industry and politics. The “Construction Turbo” should be part of a 14-point plan to promote the construction and real estate industry and to provide more new living space as quickly as possible.
Specifically, this is about cities and communities with a tight housing market, where the demand for apartments is significantly greater than the supply. So that more living space can be created there, the “construction turbo” limits the influence of district and local councils. They should no longer have to agree to construction projects of more than six apartments. The goal: less bureaucracy, more speed in construction.
Green ministries agreed
This “construction turbo” passed the federal cabinet. In other words: All ministers in the traffic light coalition agreed to the corresponding change to the building code. Also the department heads of the Greens. But now it is the Green parliamentary group that wants to slow down the “construction turbo” in the parliamentary process.
They fear that the program creates the wrong incentives. “Companies that are looking for profits particularly benefit from this paragraph. People who are looking for affordable or social housing do not benefit. But we urgently need it,” says construction policy spokeswoman Christina-Johanne Schröder in an interview with ARD capital studio. According to her, there is a risk of a scenario in which the last parks and playgrounds in urban districts will be built on with luxury properties.
This is exactly what an alliance of 20 associations believes is conceivable, including the DGB, the German Tenants’ Association and the Chamber of Architects. They criticize: The “construction turbo” would curtail democratic participation processes in cities and communities. The alliance calls the program “legally questionable.”
The Ministry of Construction does not share the fears
The SPD-led Federal Construction Ministry defends itself against the allegations. The project only allows faster approval procedures “to the extent necessary,” explains a ministry spokesman ARD-Inquiry. He speaks of the principle of proportionality. The ministry expects that the parliamentary deliberations will focus on the so-called social infrastructure in city districts – i.e. schools, kindergartens and playgrounds – and the question of how to ensure that it does not disappear.
The construction policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Daniel Föst, points out that municipalities have the right to veto. This is clearly stated in the relevant paragraph 246e of the Building Code. In this way, cities and municipalities could ultimately prevent social infrastructure from having to give way to a specific construction project, says Föst in an interview with ARD capital studio. In addition, the “construction turbo” is limited until 2027.
It is precisely this point that the opposition criticizes. “The minister stops halfway,” explains Jan-Marko Luczak, the construction policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He would like to see the “construction turbo” in an even more pronounced form. The creation of living space must be made easier nationwide and for a longer period of time, says Luczak, in order to give the construction industry the necessary planning security – in view of the dramatic situation in housing construction.
Greens want to strengthen tenants’ rights in return
An indefinite “construction turbo” would probably be a nightmare for the Greens. They only want to agree to the program in its current form in the Bundestag if a deal is reached. The party sets the condition that the rights of tenants are strengthened. For example, the Greens are calling for an extension of the rent cap until 2029. And they want to reach the so-called capping limit: rents should be allowed to rise by a maximum of eleven percent within three years.
Schröder, the Green Party’s construction policy spokeswoman, points out that these points are stipulated in the coalition agreement. And she attacks Chancellor Scholz with clear words: “A chancellor who has promoted himself as a rent chancellor has to deliver. And the SPD is currently not doing that,” says Schröder in the ARD-Interview. The next traffic light trouble is here. And this time it is the Greens who are making clear demands.