Money is again flowing from KfW for promotional loans to build houses and apartments or to renovate them in a climate-friendly manner. In addition, states and municipalities also offer a subsidy for owners.
By Imke Heron and Laura Eßlinger
The stop came unexpectedly and abruptly: in mid-December, the Federal Ministry of Construction announced that it was stopping the funding program for climate-friendly new buildings (KfW 297/298) with immediate effect and would no longer accept any new applications. The funds were exhausted after just nine months. But now the new edition has been made, and from tomorrow, Tuesday, owners can apply for grants and low-interest loans again.
“Climate-friendly new building” funding program
The Federal Ministry of Construction reports that a total of 762 million euros will be available for the funding program in 2024 in the form of low-interest loans. Those interested must submit applications to the state-run Loan Agency for Reconstruction (KfW) in Frankfurt from February 20th.
Applicants receive a loan amount of up to 100,000 euros for the new building and the first purchase of newly built, climate-friendly and energy-efficient residential buildings that correspond to efficiency house level 40. Up to 150,000 euros in funding is available if the building also achieves the Sustainable Building (QNG) quality seal.
Cooperative Living Program
For the “Cooperative Living” program, the federal government will distribute a total of 15 million euros in 2024 (2023: 9 million euros). Applicants also receive this money in the form of low-interest loans. In addition, a repayment subsidy of 7.5 percent will be made possible. The maximum rate per loan support is 100,000 euros.
Anyone who sets up a new housing cooperative or participates in an existing cooperative can receive the funding. “The prerequisite for the funding is that the acquired cooperative shares are used for self-use of the cooperative apartment. Private individuals are eligible to apply,” says the ministry.
Age-Appropriate Remodeling Program
A total of 150 million euros will be available for age-appropriate renovations in 2024 through the “Age-appropriate Remodeling” funding program (2023: 75 million euros).
Owners receive the funds in the form of grants that they do not have to pay back. According to the ministry, typical structural measures include “the installation of a floor-level shower, the removal of door thresholds or the installation of elevators”.
For individual measures, the KfW awards grants amounting to 10 percent of the eligible costs, up to a maximum of 2,500 euros. Anyone who converts their house to the standard “age-appropriate house” will even receive 12.5 percent of the eligible costs and a maximum of 6,250 euros reimbursed by the KfW. “Private developers and tenants can submit their funding application online in the KfW grant portal before the project begins,” the ministry said.
In addition to these three new or renewed KfW subsidies, there are also two other options for receiving support from the federal government: the home ownership program (Kredit 124), which is aimed at private individuals who want to build or buy a property for their own use, and the home ownership program for families (WEF 300). Apart from that, there is also a funding program for the purchase of a photovoltaic system (KfW 270).
The state and local authorities are supporting more
At the state level, more funding is available to house builders, but this varies considerably from state to state in terms of conditions and funding amounts granted. They are awarded through the respective state banks, such as NRW.Bank (North Rhine-Westphalia), L-Bank (Baden-Württemberg), IBB (Berlin), Helaba (Hesse-Thuringia) and IB SH (Schleswig-Holstein). ).
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Those interested will find the largest offering at the municipal level. However, these offers are not only extremely heterogeneous, but also quite confusing: “After all, there are over 400 districts across Germany,” says Michael Neumann, board member at real estate financier Dr. Small. “In this respect, those interested in building and buying should better get together with regionally knowledgeable specialists in order to find the most suitable funding options.”
Families and low-income earners have an advantage
Younger families and households with small or medium incomes have the best chance of building a house. In contrast, high-earning individuals find it most difficult to obtain financial support when building owner-occupied properties. “Young families often benefit, especially when it comes to municipal funding, in order to counteract the aging of the community,” says Neumann.
The Federal Loan 300 (home ownership for families) was also improved again in mid-October in order to expand the circle of target clients. Now the maximum taxable household income for a child can be up to 90,000 euros instead of just 60,000 euros. This is based on the taxable income in the second and third year before the application is submitted. For each additional child under the age of 18, this amount increases by 10,000 euros. In addition, the maximum possible funding amount was increased by 30,000 euros to 270,000 euros.
Conditions and tips
What all available funding programs have in common: The pots are capped and the approval of funding is usually linked to specific conditions such as income limits, personal use or first purchase.
In order to avoid a nasty surprise and end up with unexpected costs, interested builders should take a very close look at the minimum requirements, advises Neumann: “Newly planned properties must now meet energy efficiency standard 40, for example, in order to receive funding from KfW. in order to be eligible for funding at all. If this is higher, the funding is passé.” This standard is significantly more ambitious than was the case with previous funding programs, where funding was also available for efficiency classes 55 and 70.
Neumann also advises comparing the interest rates granted with other offers in order to find the optimal offer. Because the funding and conditions from the federal, state and local authorities are not always the best of their kind: “Some banks, for example, offer more favorable interest rates than is the case with the home ownership program 124,” says the expert.
The federal government is still a long way from the announced 400,000 new apartments – and has already rowed back. “Now there should be around 265,000. But even that won’t be possible without support,” Neumann is convinced. He hopes that the KfW programs 297 and 298 for climate-friendly new construction will come back. “Otherwise we’ll be running into a situation with rising rents, which will put more and more people in financial trouble.”