Rarely has the new regulation of a subsidy program been so eagerly awaited as this one.
With the cabinet decision on the climate and transformation fund (KTF) on Wednesday, it is now also clear how much money the federal government is planning in future for the "Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings", BEG for short.
On the one hand, this applies to the construction of energy-efficient houses and, on the other hand, to renovation measures.
56 billion euros are available for this in the period from 2023 to 2026, making 14 billion euros a year.
At the same time, the traffic light coalition is introducing a system change.
In the future, there will only be little money for new buildings, 1 billion euros a year.
The bulk of the government funding, 13 billion euros, will be reserved for renovations.
Julia Loehr
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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Manfred Schaefers
Business correspondent in Berlin.
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Compared to today, significantly less money will be available.
In the first half of this year alone, the state bank KfW approved 15.7 billion euros in subsidies.
New buildings accounted for 10.2 billion euros.
Refurbishments accounted for 5.5 billion euros.
In addition, the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) approved EUR 4.3 billion for restructuring measures.
In total, that was around 20 billion euros in the first six months alone.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) justifies the change in the subsidy system with the fact that the energy saving effects in the case of renovations are 4.5 times higher than in new buildings.
As of this Thursday, new funding conditions for the complete renovation of houses that are processed by KfW will apply.
Instead of up to 50 percent of the costs, property owners are to be reimbursed for 45 percent in the future.
New conditions will come into force on August 15 for individual measures such as replacing windows and heating systems, which BAFA is coordinating.
What real estate owners will not be happy about: The subsidy rates for the individual measures are falling.
For the installation of a heat pump, you will in future receive 24,000 euros instead of up to 30,000 euros.
For new windows, the subsidy drops from a maximum of 15,000 to 12,000 euros.
"In the future, the individual will receive a little less funding than before, but many people can benefit from the funding programs," said Habeck.
Plants that use gas should no longer receive any subsidies.
No more money will flow from the federal budget
Which regulations will apply to new building subsidies from next year will be decided over the course of the year.
The building ministry of Klara Geywitz (SPD) is to develop the corresponding program.
What is already certain: the subsidy is to be largely switched to low-interest loans.
The currently usual grants for the repayment of a loan should account for a maximum of 5 percent.
There are currently grants for new buildings that bear the “Sustainable Building” seal.
In addition to energy efficiency, aspects such as accessibility in old age also play a role.
The background to all this is that the traffic light coalition has agreed on how the billions from the climate and transformation fund (previously called the energy and climate fund) should be spent.
A total of 177.5 billion euros will be made available for the country's restructuring over the next four years.
The second largest item of expenditure after building subsidies is 50 billion euros for relief for citizens and companies.
21 billion euros are earmarked for the promotion of the hydrogen economy, almost 20 billion euros for electromobility.
When they took office, the traffic light coalition massively increased the reserves of the fund.
At the end of this year, they should amount to almost 79 billion euros.
There is a lack of craftsmen
The fund is regularly fed with income from European license trading and national carbon dioxide pricing.
Contrary to what was originally planned, no more money will flow from the federal budget.
According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the subsidies inherited from the grand coalition would be reformed.
The result is more climate protection per euro.
Environmental and housing associations have criticized the new building subsidy regulations.
“The Federal Ministry of Economics is going one better at the funding fiasco that has been going on since the beginning of the year,” said Axel Gedaschko, President of the General Association of the Housing Industry (GdW).
The trade union IG Bau spoke of a "dampener" for energy saving, the German environmental aid of a "catastrophe".
The Haus und Grund owners' association also fears that fewer property owners are now renovating.
The craftsman and material costs eventually rose.
New figures from the Federal Statistical Office suggest that it will be even more difficult to get a craftsman at all.
In sanitary and heating construction, the number of people employed has fallen by 9 percent within ten years.
And more than every fifth person who is still employed is between 55 and 64 years old.