Grüne on housing

The Greens want to make preserving, converting and repurposing existing buildings the guiding principle and give it priority over new construction. Saxony's building code is to become a "conversion code," and building materials are to be reused more often.

The Greens would rather convert old buildings than build new ones. That saves raw materials and energy. Saxony's building rules should make conversion easier and cheaper. Before a demolition, there should be a check of which parts can still be used. Empty train stations, department stores or churches should get a new use.

The plans include a mandatory demolition notice with a life-cycle assessment and mandatory inspections of building parts before dismantling. Rules for approving used building products and a digital building resource passport are meant to bring the whole life cycle into view. Urban development funding is to give priority to vacant buildings and to conversions and interim uses. For new buildings the party aims for near climate neutrality, and renewable and recyclable materials are to become the norm through incentives and standards. Also planned are a competence center for sustainable building, training through SAENA and sustainability standards for public civil engineering projects.

The Greens want to pass federal social housing funds on to municipalities in full and top them up where needed. Rent and occupancy commitments would last at least 20 years and be unlimited where possible.

Social housing has low rents. The Greens want to give more money for it to cities and towns. The homes should stay cheap for at least 20 years. Where possible, they should stay cheap forever.

Funding rates would be adjusted continuously to construction prices and standards. Besides new construction, renovation, conversion and the purchase of occupancy-bound apartments would be eligible. The Greens want to implement the new federal non-profit housing status in Saxony. Advice and tailored funding would be expanded for cooperative and public-interest housing projects, as well as for intergenerational housing.

The Greens want the state to make full use of existing tools such as the rent brake and the cap on rent increases to slow rising rents. An appropriate quota would apply for barrier-free and wheelchair-accessible apartments.

In some cities, rents are rising fast. The Greens want to use all existing rules against this. One example is the rent brake. There should also be more homes for people in wheelchairs. A fixed quota should ensure this.

Rules against the misuse of housing for other purposes and against converting rental apartments into condominiums would also be fully applied. Young people and people with an immigrant background would get support on the housing market. A monitoring system would record the stock of barrier-free apartments, and retrofitting listed buildings would become easier. Cooperation between cities and surrounding areas and vacancy management are meant to open up housing outside the cities. New housing outside built-up areas would be allowed only where the market is tight and infill potential is exhausted.

The Greens want funding programs to renovate and repurpose vacant buildings in small towns and villages. In their view this preserves the rural building culture that has grown over time; municipal property should no longer be sold off.

Many old houses in rural areas stand empty. The Greens want to give money to renew them. Examples are old farmsteads, train stations and village schools. Towns should stop selling their buildings. Village shops can open there.

The platform names the programs "Leader," "Vitale Dorfkerne" and "Jung kauft Alt," which would be continued. Communal housing and cooperative models in rural areas are meant to create rental options and home ownership for young families. Multi-family housing modeled on traditional three- and four-sided farmsteads would be supported. Municipal buildings would become shops with community uses, such as village stores. The advisory network "Dezentrale" would be kept and funded further.

The Greens want good planning and building culture throughout Saxony, in cities and villages alike. The platform argues that heritage protection, climate action, accessibility, and affordability can be reconciled through joint, participatory planning.

The Greens want good planning and building in Saxony. This should apply in cities and in villages. Old buildings should stay protected. Building should also help the climate. Local people should have a say.

The work of the Zentrum für Baukultur Sachsen (Saxony's center for building culture) is to be expanded. In rural areas, the platform relies on active land-use planning, mobile design advisory boards, and model design ordinances. Regional materials such as wood, clay, stone, and straw are to be used again with modern technology. Good examples are to be showcased through exhibitions and building awards. Special attention goes to the relationship between heritage protection and renewable energy, and regional cultural development is to be written into the state development plan.

The Greens want binding minimum quotas for recycled materials and circular building materials in construction. In the state's own tenders, reusing building components is to gradually become a planning principle. The platform points to the construction sector's high carbon emissions and raw material use.

Construction produces a lot of CO2. It also uses a lot of raw materials. So the Greens want fixed rules for building. Part of the building materials should be recycled. The state should start with its own buildings.

In all state tenders, the reuse of building components and the recovery of secondary raw materials are to be phased in as a guiding principle. Funding is to be provided for this. In addition, there are to be binding requirements with minimum shares for recycled materials and circular building materials.