Germany approves ‘Bau-Turbo’ to speed up housing construction

Construction activity in Germany continues to lag, according to the latest survey of construction buyers in the country.

The so-called “Bau-Turbo” law, approved on Thursday last week (9 October) is intended to give more flexibility to municipalities and cities to greenlight construction projects, while allowing regulatory exemptions such as noise protection rules.

Municipalities will be able to approve additional housing projects after a three-month review period, provided they opt to apply Bau-Turbo, as well as potentially allowing construction on top of existing structures such as supermarkets. The law could also allow them to bypass the process of developing detailed land-use plans – a process that can take years.

Tim-Oliver Müller, general manager of German construction industry association Bauindustrie welcomed the move, calling it a “bold law.”

He added, “Easing the requirements for densification and the addition of additional floors are just as important as a maximum approval period of three months. But the Construction Turbo must also ignite: For this, municipalities need the necessary political backing to make quick decisions on site and to utilize the newly opened discretionary powers.”

But he warned that this law alone would not solve German residential construction’s problems. He said, “It is also clear that the Bau-Turbo cannot be the sole saviour for more housing construction in Germany. Ultimately, faster approval procedures do nothing to address high construction costs or excessive, legally enshrined requirements for residential buildings. Therefore, it remains important to pull out all the stops to make building easier again than before.”