Accelerated, Streamlined, Digital: Schutz Unveils Building Proposal - The Commission has taken part in the adoption of the preparatory draft.
Thuringia's Minister of Construction, Steffen Schütz, has unveiled plans to boost construction in the state with a comprehensive construction package. The package aims to reduce bureaucracy, lower construction costs, and simplify standards, as Schütz seeks to address the lengthy construction times for single-family and two-family houses in the region.
According to Schütz, building a single-family house takes an average of 24 months, and a two-family house takes 36 months. To speed up procedures, Schütz plans to digitize the construction administration and have all lower building authorities in the districts and independent cities working with digital building applications by the end of 2026.
Schütz also wants to relax parking space requirements for certain construction projects and promote serial construction and wood construction. In some cases, it will be sufficient if the planning comes from the master craftsman, not an architect or engineer.
To further reduce construction costs, Schütz plans to introduce a small building permit authorization for master craftsmen and building technicians. He also mentions reducing certain standards, such as ceiling and wall thickness, as a way to lower costs. However, the specific details of these changes are yet to be decided.
The construction package is currently in the consultation phase, and Schütz's party, the BSW, does not have a majority in the state parliament. As such, the voting behavior of the opposition will be crucial in determining the package's success.
Schütz's plans to reduce construction costs follow the example set by Schleswig-Holstein, where construction costs were nearly a quarter lower due to the lowering of certain standards. In addition, Schütz plans to host a construction summit in Weimar in September to discuss the proposals further.
However, it's worth noting that a previous petition for a small building permit authorization for master craftsmen was rejected by the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure. This indicates that there may be opposition to some of Schütz's proposals, and the outcome of the consultation phase remains uncertain.
Despite the lack of detailed publicly available summaries of Schütz's construction package, the minister's plans to streamline construction processes, reduce costs, and simplify standards are clear. The success of these plans will likely depend on the support they receive from the state parliament and the construction industry.
- The community policy and politics surrounding Schütz's construction package involve the aim to digitalize construction administration, reduce certain standards, and reduce the required parking space for specific construction projects.
- The employment policy within the construction sector, as proposed by Schütz, includes the introduction of a small building permit authorization for master craftsmen and building technicians, promotion of serial construction and wood construction, and relaxation of parking space requirements for certain projects.
