CDU on housing

The CDU advocates requiring buildings throughout Germany to be insured against natural hazards. It cites climate change as the reason. It also intends to stay committed to flood preparedness and technical flood protection.

The CDU wants mandatory insurance for buildings. It should pay for damage from natural hazards such as floods. The rule should apply in all of Germany. The reason is climate change. Saxony should keep protecting itself from floods.

The insurance requirement would apply nationwide and cover all buildings. The program links the demand to climate change. In addition, Saxony would stay active in flood preparedness and technical flood protection.

The CDU rejects rent caps, expropriations and other interference with property rights in the housing market. In its view, reliable conditions for investment and new construction are what keep rents affordable.

The CDU does not want a rent cap. A rent cap is a fixed upper limit for rents. It also does not want the state to take away property. It says builders need reliable rules. Then rents stay affordable.

The platform stresses that citizens should be free to choose where and how they live. Reliable conditions for builders and investors are meant to increase the supply of rental housing. The CDU sees this as the path to affordable rents when housing becomes scarce.

The CDU wants to refund part of the real estate transfer tax to first-time buyers of a home they live in: 10,000 euros per buyer and 5,000 euros per child. The aim is for young families in particular to afford their own home and for Saxony's ownership rate to move closer to the national average.

The CDU wants to introduce a payment called Sachsengeld. People who buy their first home to live in get money back. They get 10,000 euros per buyer and 5,000 euros per child. This should mainly help young families.

The Sachsengeld is to apply until the federal government allows states to set their own allowances for the real estate transfer tax. Low-interest loans for buying a home from the state housing fund are to continue. Through the Bundesrat (the chamber of the states), the CDU wants to bring back the Baukindergeld (a federal home-buying grant for families). The "Jung kauft Alt" program, which supports young buyers of older homes, will continue. The party sees home ownership as retirement provision and as protection from swings in the rental market.

The CDU wants to keep funding social housing for both new construction and renovation, and to tie the state housing benefit to an index so it is adjusted regularly. Cooperatives, the renovation of vacant apartments and barrier-free building are also to be supported.

The CDU wants to keep paying for social housing. This covers new buildings and renovations. The state housing benefit should rise regularly. Empty apartments should be renovated faster. The CDU also wants to support homes without barriers.

Cities and towns are to receive funding to modernize vacant apartments more quickly. Disused commercial sites, old industrial plants and other empty buildings should be convertible into housing. The CDU wants to support new cooperative housing models and the advisory network for building collectives. The "Junges Wohnen" program is to be used for housing for students and trainees.

The CDU wants to make building permits simpler and faster and help municipalities set up fully digital building authorities. Building land is to be found mainly within existing built-up areas, and town centers are to be revitalized.

The CDU wants building permits to go faster. Building offices should work digitally. Empty lots and unused land should be built on. City centers should stay lively.

The platform names the use of vacant lots, the recycling of unused land, the clearing of derelict sites and effective land management. The CDU wants to support the shift to climate-friendly heating in buildings, for example through municipal heating and cooling plans meant to lead to a climate-neutral supply. City centers are to be strengthened as economic hubs and meeting places, with retail seen as a key draw.