Grüne on housing

The Greens want to replace the cycle of demolition and new construction with a culture of conversion. New buildings would in future only be built with recycled and sustainable materials. Bavaria's building code would become a „Umbauordnung“ (conversion code).

The Greens would rather convert old buildings than tear them down. New buildings should only use materials that are good for the environment. That includes recycled materials. The building rules in Bavaria would be changed for this.

In construction planning, existing buildings would generally take priority over new ones. The party wants to strengthen renovation of old buildings, circular and climate-neutral construction, regional timber, and innovative brick and concrete materials made locally. Materials already built in would be reused, with a resource register for buildings being tested. The building code would be amended and backed by funding programs; building within existing stock and digital permit applications would become the norm. Sustainable construction would be standard for state buildings. The program justifies this with the large share of buildings in CO2 emissions and waste.

Given high construction costs and a shortage of skilled workers, the Greens want new approaches to affordable housing. A building type „E“ would allow construction with fewer standards, and the requirement to provide car parking spaces would be suspended. Less red tape and digital procedures are also planned.

Building is expensive and skilled workers are missing. So the Greens want to make building simpler. A new building type would have fewer rules. Builders would no longer have to build parking spaces. Building offices should work digitally.

Serial and modular construction would be supported in practice; building type „E“ follows proposals from the chambers of architects. New residential districts are to be accessible, connected to public transit and planned with social facilities from the start. An alliance of associations and other stakeholders would provide impulses for affordable housing and innovative construction. To address staff shortages, the party plans a drive for training, retraining and university study in construction professions. Municipalities would get help moving toward a „virtual building office“, and state construction contracts would require digital documents in open formats. The party wants to support an International Building Exhibition in the Munich region on the theme of mobility.

The Greens want to create new housing mainly by building upward and densifying within existing towns. Adding stories and converting attics would be subsidized and approved more easily. The reasons given are Bavaria's high land consumption and savings on land costs.

Every day, many fields and meadows in Bavaria disappear under concrete. So the Greens want to build higher. Buildings should get more floors. Getting a permit for this should be easier. Cities should also become greener.

The program cites daily land consumption of 10.8 hectares in Bavaria. Multi-story buildings as well as conversions, added stories and extensions of existing buildings would be supported. Densification within existing settlements would take priority. Open spaces and buildings are to be greened more; qualified open-space design plans would be a precondition for every public and private construction project.

The Greens want to curb speculation with land. They plan a Grundsteuer C (a property tax on building land) that gives municipalities a tool to steer undeveloped plots. The municipal right of first refusal would also be secured and a state fund for land acquisition set up.

Some people buy building land and wait until it gets more expensive. The Greens want to make that harder. Towns should be able to charge their own tax on empty building land. A state fund helps towns buy land.

Grundsteuer C is a higher tax on plots that are ready for building but left undeveloped. The municipal right of first refusal is to become legally reliable again following a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court. Municipalities would get help using the tools of the federal Baulandmobilisierungsgesetz (Building Land Mobilization Act) and guidelines for socially fair land use. A state fund would help towns keep land in reserve.

The Greens want more barrier-free housing so that people can live independently regardless of age or disability. The building code would set stricter quotas, conversions would get more funding, and shared housing for young and old would be supported. According to the platform, Bavaria lacks about 2.9 million suitable homes.

Bavaria lacks many homes without barriers. The Greens want more of these homes. New buildings should have more homes for wheelchair users. Converting old homes should get more money. Old and young people should also be able to live together.

Flexible floor plans would become standard in new buildings, and moving, converting or swapping homes that have become too large would be subsidized. The funding guideline for barrier-free conversion would be merged with other funding and increased substantially. Multigenerational housing projects, especially by cooperatives, would be funded through programs of the Bavarian state housing bank (Bayerische Landesbodenkreditanstalt). Supplementary rules modeled on the care home law are planned for assisted and serviced living. Also planned are test projects for smart-home technology, a state neighborhood development program and housing on farms.

The Greens want to create 10,000 new social housing units every year that stay rent-restricted for at least 40 years. The state of Bavaria would align its land policy with the common good and hand out its own land only under long-term ground leases. In the party's view, land is not a commodity.

The Greens want 10,000 new social housing units every year. These homes should stay cheap for at least 40 years. Bavaria should no longer sell its land. It should only lease it for a long time. Housing cooperatives should get more money.

The party's priority is rental housing built by cooperatives, public bodies and private builders. State housing subsidies would grow substantially and be made permanent. Suitable state land would go first, and at a discount, to municipal housing companies and cooperatives for social housing. A new non-profit housing status would give companies tax benefits and investment grants if they commit permanently to low rents. Following Vienna's municipal housing model, the state would create the legal framework for municipal construction. Municipalities would also get support for services to prevent homelessness and for Housing First projects.

The Greens want to curb rent increases more strongly in tight housing markets. The Mietpreisbremse (rent brake) would apply permanently, and the cap that limits rent increases in existing leases would be lowered. Municipalities would get more tools against the misuse of housing for other purposes.

The Greens want rents to rise more slowly. The rent brake should apply forever. It limits the rent in a new lease. Landlords should be allowed to raise rents by less. Rental homes should not turn into condos so easily.

Qualified rent indexes would be strengthened in tenants' favor, used more widely and made legally sound. Converting rental units into condominiums would permanently require approval wherever the market is tight. The law against misuse of housing would be revised, especially regarding replacement housing. Because housing shortages often affect entire metropolitan areas, cooperation between municipalities would be strengthened.

The Greens also want to support home ownership by lowering the extra costs of buying. The real estate transfer tax would drop substantially for a first owner-occupied home, and broker fees would be paid by whoever hires the broker. A bonus would reward renovating and using existing buildings in town centers.

The Greens want to make buying a first home cheaper. The tax on the purchase should drop a lot. Whoever hires the broker should pay the broker. People who renovate an old house in town should get a bonus. Empty homes should be rented out again.

The rule that the party hiring a broker pays, which already applies to rentals, would be extended to property purchases. The infill and renovation bonus is intended for owner-occupied existing apartments and houses within towns. Municipalities would receive money to set up housing agencies. These would bring vacant homes back onto the market, for example by offering rent guarantees.

The Greens want to launch a modernization program for all social housing units in Bavaria and invest 500 million euros a year in it. Oil and gas heating systems are to be replaced and buildings retrofitted to protect people on low incomes from high heating costs.

Heating should be affordable. So the Greens want to renovate all social housing in Bavaria. Old oil and gas heaters will be removed. The buildings should use less energy. The party wants to spend 500 million euros every year on this.

The program covers replacing oil and gas heating systems and energy retrofits of the apartments. The Greens justify this with the state's duty of care, which they say should focus on people with tight budgets. These residents are to be protected from sharply rising oil and gas prices. Investments of 500 million euros per year are planned.

The Greens want to let rural municipalities issue simple building orders so that ready-to-build plots are developed quickly. Municipalities are also to get more freely usable money, for example through regional budgets, and funding procedures are to be simplified.

Some plots in villages stay empty for a long time. The Greens want towns to be able to require building there. That way less new land is needed. Towns should also get more money of their own. To get it, they must work with neighboring towns.

Building orders are meant to put already developed land to use, including for accessible and affordable housing, instead of designating new building areas. According to the platform, this saves land and counters the decline of village centers. The only condition for regional budgets is cooperation between neighboring municipalities. A bonus system is to reward joint projects such as shared commercial yards or sports fields. Municipalities should decide for themselves whether they need a swimming pool, a village shop or a pub, and funding should flow without heavy paperwork.